Benjamin Harrison Administration - Harrison and Congress
Harrison and Congress
Harrison's endorsement of the GOP (Grand Old Party) platform of 1888 and his cooperation on most issues with the Republican controlled Fifty-first Congress (1889–91) produced the major legislation of his administration. Losses in the election of 1890 gave Democrats a majority in the House of Representatives and halted the Republican's legislative agenda during the Fifty-second Congress (1891–93).
Although Harrison believed that a president should not initiate a domestic program, he pushed for the passage of legislation he supported. He used receptions and dinner parties to influence members of Congress and at times threatened to veto legislation to get changes made. Sometimes he had cabinet members serve as emissaries to Congress to get bills amended. For their part, Democrats used delaying tactics, such as the silent or disappearing quorum, to block action before they gained control of the House in...
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