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88th Congress (1963–1965)

Congressional Profile

Total Membership:

435 Representatives
1 Resident Commissioner

Party Divisions:^*

258 Democrats
176 Republicans
1 Independent Democrat

^*Party division totals are based on election day results.

Election Statistics, 1962 [PDF]

/tiles/non-collection/s/speaker_mccormack_2005_016_045.xml Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object Massachusetts Representative John McCormack served five terms as Speaker of the House.

Congress Overview

Democrats retained control of Congress after the 1962 elections. Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Senate approved the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and in the wake of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the 88th Congress (1963–1965) desegregated public accommodations with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Congress passed programs to combat the causes of poverty and tackled environmental problems through the Clean Air Act, the Urban Mass Transportation Act, and the Wilderness Act. Congress also granted broad authority to Kennedy’s successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, to use force in Vietnam with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Member Information

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, (1774–2005), Official Annotated Membership Roster by State with Vacancy and Special Election Information for the 88th Congress [PDF]
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Committee Information

Leadership & Officers

Speaker of the House:: John W. McCormack (D–Massachusetts)
Majority Leader:: Carl B. Albert (D–Oklahoma)
Minority Leader:: Charles A. Halleck (R–Indiana)
Democratic Whip:: Thomas Hale Boggs (D–Louisiana)
Republican Whip:: Leslie C. Arends (R–Illinois)
Democratic Caucus Chairman:: Albert Thomas (D–Texas)
Francis E. Walter (D–Pennsylvania) ¹
Republican Conference Chairman:: Gerald R. Ford (R–Michigan)
Clerk of the House:: Ralph R. Roberts
Sergeant at Arms:: Zeake W. Johnson
Chaplain of the House:: Bernard Braskamp – Presbyterian
Doorkeeper:: William M. Miller
Postmaster:: H. H. Morris
Parliamentarian:: Lewis Deschler