Senate roll call 484 · 45th Congress · Feb 24, 1879
To amend H.R. 6145, by authorizing the postmaster general to report to the next session of Congress upon the practicability of establishing a postal telegraph s
On Feb 24, 1879, the Senate voted 20–45 (HR 6145). Result: failed. By party: Republicans 19–14, Democrats 1–31, Independents 0–1. It was a split vote: the parties took opposite sides, with some members crossing over. 15 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
- 20
- No
- 45
- Did not vote
- 16
- Date
- Feb 24, 1879
By party
- Republicans19 yes · 14 no · 10 didn’t vote
- Democrats1 yes · 31 no · 6 didn’t vote
- Independents0 yes · 1 no
Who broke with their party
- Stephen Wallace Dorsey R-AR voted no
- Henry Moore Teller R-CO voted no
- Simon Barclay Conover R-FL voted no
- William Boyd Allison R-IA voted no
- John James Ingalls R-KS voted no
- Preston B. Plumb R-KS voted no
- William Pitt Kellogg R-LA voted no
- James Shields D-MO voted yes
- Blanche Kelso Bruce R-MS voted no
- Alvin Saunders R-NE voted no
- Bainbridge Wadleigh R-NH voted no
- Edward Henry Rollins R-NH voted no
- Roscoe Conkling R-NY voted no
- Stanley Matthews R-OH voted no
- Timothy Otis Howe R-WI voted no
How each senator voted: Yes
- George Eliphaz Spencer R-AL
- Aaron Augustus Sargent R-CA
- Newton Booth R-CA
- Samuel Jordan Kirkwood R-IA
- Richard James Oglesby R-IL
- Henry Laurens Dawes R-MA
- Hannibal Hamlin R-ME
- James Gillespie Blaine R-ME
- Zachariah Chandler R-MI
- Samuel James Renwick Mcmillan R-MN
- James Shields D-MO
- Algernon Sidney Paddock R-NE
- John Hipple Mitchell R-OR
- James Donald Cameron R-PA
- Ambrose Everett Burnside R-RI
- Henry Bowen Anthony R-RI
- John James Patterson R-SC
- George Franklin Edmunds R-VT
- Justin Smith Morrill R-VT
- Angus Cameron R-WI
How each senator voted: No
- John Tyler Morgan D-AL
- Augustus Hill Garland D-AR
- Stephen Wallace Dorsey R-AR
- Henry Moore Teller R-CO
- William Henry Barnum D-CT
- William Wallace Eaton D-CT
- Eli Saulsbury D-DE
- Thomas Francis Bayard Sr. D-DE
- Charles William Jones D-FL
- Simon Barclay Conover R-FL
- Benjamin Harvey Hill D-GA
- John Brown Gordon D-GA
- William Boyd Allison R-IA
- David Davis I-IL
- Daniel Wolsey Voorhees D-IN
- Joseph Ewing Mcdonald D-IN
- John James Ingalls R-KS
- Preston B. Plumb R-KS
- James Burnie Beck D-KY
- Thomas Clay Mccreery D-KY
- James Biddle Eustis D-LA
- William Pitt Kellogg R-LA
- George Robertson Dennis D-MD
- William Pinkney Whyte D-MD
- Francis Marion Cockrell D-MO
- Blanche Kelso Bruce R-MS
- Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar D-MS
- Augustus Summerfield Merrimon D-NC
- Alvin Saunders R-NE
- Bainbridge Wadleigh R-NH
- Edward Henry Rollins R-NH
- John Rhoderic Mcpherson D-NJ
- Francis Kernan D-NY
- Roscoe Conkling R-NY
- Allen Granberry Thurman D-OH
- Stanley Matthews R-OH
- La Fayette Grover D-OR
- William Andrew Wallace D-PA
- Isham Green Harris D-TN
- James Edmund Bailey D-TN
- Richard Coke D-TX
- Samuel Bell Maxey D-TX
- Robert Enoch Withers D-VA
- Timothy Otis Howe R-WI
- Frank Hereford D-WV
- Henry Gassaway Davis D-WV
Did not vote
- Jerome Bunty Chaffee R-CO
- Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton R-IN
- George Frisbie Hoar R-MA
- Isaac Peckham Christiancy R-MI
- Thomas White Ferry R-MI
- William Windom R-MN
- David Hartley Armstrong D-MO
- Lewis Vital Bogy D-MO
- Matt Whitaker Ransom D-NC
- Theodore Fitz Randolph D-NJ
- John Percival Jones R-NV
- William Sharon R-NV
- John Sherman R-OH
- Simon Cameron R-PA
- Matthew Calbraith Butler D-SC
- 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 authorizing the…: Senate Vote, Feb 24, 1879,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/45-S-484/to-amend-h-r-6145-by-authorizing-the-postmaster (accessed 2026-10-15).