Senate roll call 483 · 45th Congress · Feb 24, 1879
To amend H.R. 6145, by requiring railroad companies operating telegraph lines to file their written acceptances of the restrictions and obligations imposed on t
On Feb 24, 1879, the Senate voted 22–39 (HR 6145). Result: failed. By party: Republicans 16–15, Democrats 6–24, Independents 1–0. It was a split vote: the parties took opposite sides, with some members crossing over. 21 members voted against their own party.
During the 45th Congress (1877–1878), Rutherford B. Hayes was president, and Democrats held the House majority and Republicans the Senate majority.
- Yes
- 22
- No
- 39
- Did not vote
- 20
- Date
- Feb 24, 1879
By party
- Republicans16 yes · 15 no · 12 didn’t vote
- Democrats6 yes · 24 no · 8 didn’t vote
- Independents1 yes · 0 no
Who broke with their party
- George Eliphaz Spencer R-AL voted no
- William Henry Barnum D-CT voted yes
- William Wallace Eaton D-CT voted yes
- Eli Saulsbury D-DE voted yes
- Samuel Jordan Kirkwood R-IA voted no
- Joseph Ewing Mcdonald D-IN voted yes
- Henry Laurens Dawes R-MA voted no
- William Pinkney Whyte D-MD voted yes
- Hannibal Hamlin R-ME voted no
- James Gillespie Blaine R-ME voted no
- Thomas White Ferry R-MI voted no
- Samuel James Renwick Mcmillan R-MN voted no
- William Windom R-MN voted no
- James Shields D-MO voted yes
- Alvin Saunders R-NE voted no
- Bainbridge Wadleigh R-NH voted no
- Edward Henry Rollins R-NH voted no
- Stanley Matthews R-OH voted no
- John Hipple Mitchell R-OR voted no
- Henry Bowen Anthony R-RI voted no
- George Franklin Edmunds R-VT voted no
How each senator voted: Yes
- Aaron Augustus Sargent R-CA
- Newton Booth R-CA
- Henry Moore Teller R-CO
- William Henry Barnum D-CT
- William Wallace Eaton D-CT
- Eli Saulsbury D-DE
- Simon Barclay Conover R-FL
- David Davis I-IL
- Joseph Ewing Mcdonald D-IN
- Preston B. Plumb R-KS
- William Pitt Kellogg R-LA
- George Frisbie Hoar R-MA
- William Pinkney Whyte D-MD
- Zachariah Chandler R-MI
- James Shields D-MO
- Blanche Kelso Bruce R-MS
- Roscoe Conkling R-NY
- James Donald Cameron R-PA
- Ambrose Everett Burnside R-RI
- John James Patterson R-SC
- Justin Smith Morrill R-VT
- Angus Cameron R-WI
- Timothy Otis Howe R-WI
How each senator voted: No
- George Eliphaz Spencer R-AL
- John Tyler Morgan D-AL
- Augustus Hill Garland D-AR
- Charles William Jones D-FL
- John Brown Gordon D-GA
- Samuel Jordan Kirkwood R-IA
- Daniel Wolsey Voorhees D-IN
- James Burnie Beck D-KY
- Thomas Clay Mccreery D-KY
- Henry Laurens Dawes R-MA
- George Robertson Dennis D-MD
- Hannibal Hamlin R-ME
- James Gillespie Blaine R-ME
- Thomas White Ferry R-MI
- Samuel James Renwick Mcmillan R-MN
- William Windom R-MN
- Francis Marion Cockrell D-MO
- Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar D-MS
- Augustus Summerfield Merrimon D-NC
- Matt Whitaker Ransom D-NC
- Alvin Saunders R-NE
- Bainbridge Wadleigh R-NH
- Edward Henry Rollins R-NH
- John Rhoderic Mcpherson D-NJ
- Francis Kernan D-NY
- Allen Granberry Thurman D-OH
- Stanley Matthews R-OH
- John Hipple Mitchell R-OR
- La Fayette Grover D-OR
- William Andrew Wallace D-PA
- Henry Bowen Anthony R-RI
- Matthew Calbraith Butler D-SC
- Isham Green Harris D-TN
- Richard Coke D-TX
- Samuel Bell Maxey D-TX
- Robert Enoch Withers D-VA
- George Franklin Edmunds R-VT
- Frank Hereford D-WV
- Henry Gassaway Davis D-WV
Did not vote
- Stephen Wallace Dorsey R-AR
- Jerome Bunty Chaffee R-CO
- Thomas Francis Bayard Sr. D-DE
- Benjamin Harvey Hill D-GA
- William Boyd Allison R-IA
- Richard James Oglesby R-IL
- Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton R-IN
- John James Ingalls R-KS
- James Biddle Eustis D-LA
- Isaac Peckham Christiancy R-MI
- David Hartley Armstrong D-MO
- Lewis Vital Bogy D-MO
- Algernon Sidney Paddock R-NE
- Theodore Fitz Randolph D-NJ
- John Percival Jones R-NV
- William Sharon R-NV
- John Sherman R-OH
- Simon Cameron R-PA
- James Edmund Bailey D-TN
- John Warfield Johnston D-VA
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
Cite or embed this page
Capitol Receipts, “To amend H.R. 6145, by requiring railroad…: Senate Vote, Feb 24, 1879,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/45-S-483/to-amend-h-r-6145-by-requiring-railroad-companies (accessed 2026-10-17).