Summary
Contents
Subject index
A manual offering information on the most important laws and treaties approved by Congress in more than 200 years since the first session in 1789. Each Congress is covered in a separate chapter introduced by a historical essay setting the actions of the legislators in the context of their times.
Forty-Ninth Congress: March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1887
Forty-Ninth Congress: March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1887
- First session—December 7, 1885, to August 5, 1886
- Second session—December 6, 1886, to March 3, 1887
- Special session of the Senate—March 4, 1885, to April 2, 1885
- (First administration of Grover Cleveland, 1885–1889)
Historical Background
When the presidential mantle passed to Democrat Grover Cleveland in 1885, hundreds of Republicans were entrenched in high-level federal positions. While the Pendleton of Act 1883 had brought a measure of civil service reform to the government, approximately 88 percent of all federal employees were still subject to removal by the president. As Cleveland began to exercise that prerogative, the Republican-controlled Senate sought to protect Republican appointees by challenging the president's authority to remove anyone without Senate approval. ...
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