The 54th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1895, to March 4, 1897, during the last two years of Grover Cleveland's second presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1890 United States census. The House had a Republican majority, and the Republicans were the largest party in the Senate. Major events Major legislation May 21, 1896: Oil Pipe Line Act, ch. 212, ( et seq.) May 22, 1896: Condemned Cannon Act, May 28, 1896: United States Commissioners Act, June 1, 1896: Married Women's Rights Act (District of Columbia), June 6, 1896: Filled Cheese Act, January 13, 1897: Stock Reservoir Act, , ( et seq.) March 2, 1897: Tea Importation Act, , ( et seq.) States admitted January 4, 1896: Utah was admitted as the 45th state. Party summary This count identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section. Senate House of Representatives Leadership Senate President: Adlai E. Stevenson (D) President pro tempore: William P. Frye (R) Majority (Republican) leadership Republican Conference Chairman: John Sherman Minority (Democratic) leadership Democratic Caucus Chairman: Arthur P. Gorman House of Representatives Speaker: Thomas B. Reed (R) Majority (Republican) leadership Republican Conference Chairman: Charles H. Grosvenor Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Babcock Minority (Democratic) leadership Democratic Caucus Chairman: David B. Culberson Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Charles James Faulkner Members This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district. Skip to House of Representatives, below Senate Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1898; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1896. Alabama 2. John T. Morgan (D) 3.