Mississippi's Congressional Delegation of the 110th Congress Senators Senator Thad Cochran (R) Senator Trent Lott (R) U.S. Representatives Rep. Roger F. Wicker (R - 01) Rep. Bennie Thompson (D - 02) Rep. C. W. (Chip) Pickering (R - 03) Rep. Gene Taylor (D - 04) A Brief History of Mississippians in the United States Senate The territory destined to become Mississippi was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1795. Congress admitted Mississippi as the twentieth State on December 10, 1817, and the first Senators, Walter Leake and Thomas Hill Williams, took their seats the following day. Forty-five men have represented the "Magnolia State" in the Senate. Although 28 served less than a full six-year term, many gained influence through long service as spokesmen for the South or through exceptional oratorical and leadership skills. George Poindexter (1830-1835) was a brilliant orator and engaged in longstanding feuds with Daniel Webster and Andrew Jackson. Henry Stuart Foote (1847-1852) supported Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850 and served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Jefferson Davis ( 1847-1851; 1857-1861) was a leading defender of State rights during the sectional controversies leading up to the War between the States and served as President of the Confederacy. Hiram Revels (1870-1871) was the first African-American elected to the Senate, and Blanche K. Bruce (1875-1881) was the first African-American to serve a full term in the Senate. Lucius Q. C. Lamar (1877-1885) advocated reconciliation of the North and South after the War and became the only Mississippian to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. James Z. George (1881-1897), known among his constituents as "the Great Commoner," played an important role in framing the Sherman Antitrust Act and worked for aid to education and civil service reform. John Sharp Williams (1911-1922) was the first U.S. Senator in the Nation to be elected by popular ballot. (He was first elected in 1911, after Mississippi had created a direct primary for U.S. Senate elections but before the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution required it in 1913). Pat Harrison (1919-1941), as Chairman of the Finance Committee in 1935, guided the Social Security Act to passage, establishing a national retirement pension system. Senator James O. Eastland (1941-1941; 1943-1978) served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee and was a strong advocate of States' rights, agriculture, and national security. John C. Stennis (1947-1989) served in the Senate for 41 years, a record surpassed by only one other person. (Indeed, Senators Eastland and Stennis represented Mississippi concurrently in the Senate for 31 years, the longest period of simultaneous service of any State in the Union.) Senator Stennis not only served as chairman of the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Appropriations, he drafted the first formal code of ethics for the Senate and was selected to chair the forerunner of the present Select Committee on Ethics. The two Mississippians honored with statues in the Capitol were both Senators: the statue of Jefferson Davis is in Statuary Hall, and the statue of James Z. George stands in the Hall of Columns. Mississippi's U.S. Senators (1817-1996) Walter Leake1817-1820 Thomas Hill Williams1817-1829 David Holmes1820-1825 Powhattan Ellis1825-1826 Thomas B. Reed1826-1827 Powhattan Ellis1827-1832 Thomas B. Reed1829-1829 Robert H. Adams1830-1830 George Poindexter1830-1835 John Black1832-1838 Robert J. Walker1835-1845 James F. Trotter1838-1838 Thomas Hickman Williams1838-1839 John Henderson1839-1845 Jesse Speight1845-1847 Joseph W. Chalmers1845-1847 Jefferson Davis1847-1851 Henry Stuart Foote1847-1852 John J. McRae1851-1852 Stephen Adams1852-1857 Walter Brooke1852-1853 Albert G. Brown1852-1861 Jefferson Davis1857-1861 Adelbert Ames1870-1874 Hiram R. Revels1870-1871 James L. Alcorn1871-1877 Henry R. Pease1874-1875 Blanche K. Bruce1875-1881 Lucius Q.C. Lamar1877-1885 James Z. George1881-1897 Edward C. Walthall1885-1894 Anselm J. McLaurin1894-1895 Edward C. Walthall1895-1898 Hernando D. Money1897-1911 William V. Sullivan1898-1901 Anselm J. McLaurin1901-1909 James Gordon1909-1910 Le Roy Percy1910-1913 John Sharp Williams1911-1923 James K. Vardaman1913-1919 Byron Patton Harrison1919-1941 Hubert D. Stevens1923-1935 Theodore G. Bilbo1935-1947 James O. Eastland1941-1941 Wall Doxey1941-1943 James O. Eastland1943-1978 John C. Stennis1947-1989 Thad Cochran1978-- Trent Lott1989--
A Brief History of Mississippians in the United States Senate The territory destined to become Mississippi was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1795. Congress admitted Mississippi as the twentieth State on December 10, 1817, and the first Senators, Walter Leake and Thomas Hill Williams, took their seats the following day. Forty-five men have represented the "Magnolia State" in the Senate. Although 28 served less than a full six-year term, many gained influence through long service as spokesmen for the South or through exceptional oratorical and leadership skills. George Poindexter (1830-1835) was a brilliant orator and engaged in longstanding feuds with Daniel Webster and Andrew Jackson. Henry Stuart Foote (1847-1852) supported Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850 and served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Jefferson Davis ( 1847-1851; 1857-1861) was a leading defender of State rights during the sectional controversies leading up to the War between the States and served as President of the Confederacy. Hiram Revels (1870-1871) was the first African-American elected to the Senate, and Blanche K. Bruce (1875-1881) was the first African-American to serve a full term in the Senate. Lucius Q. C. Lamar (1877-1885) advocated reconciliation of the North and South after the War and became the only Mississippian to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. James Z. George (1881-1897), known among his constituents as "the Great Commoner," played an important role in framing the Sherman Antitrust Act and worked for aid to education and civil service reform. John Sharp Williams (1911-1922) was the first U.S. Senator in the Nation to be elected by popular ballot. (He was first elected in 1911, after Mississippi had created a direct primary for U.S. Senate elections but before the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution required it in 1913). Pat Harrison (1919-1941), as Chairman of the Finance Committee in 1935, guided the Social Security Act to passage, establishing a national retirement pension system. Senator James O. Eastland (1941-1941; 1943-1978) served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee and was a strong advocate of States' rights, agriculture, and national security. John C. Stennis (1947-1989) served in the Senate for 41 years, a record surpassed by only one other person. (Indeed, Senators Eastland and Stennis represented Mississippi concurrently in the Senate for 31 years, the longest period of simultaneous service of any State in the Union.) Senator Stennis not only served as chairman of the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Appropriations, he drafted the first formal code of ethics for the Senate and was selected to chair the forerunner of the present Select Committee on Ethics. The two Mississippians honored with statues in the Capitol were both Senators: the statue of Jefferson Davis is in Statuary Hall, and the statue of James Z. George stands in the Hall of Columns. Mississippi's U.S. Senators (1817-1996) Walter Leake1817-1820 Thomas Hill Williams1817-1829 David Holmes1820-1825 Powhattan Ellis1825-1826 Thomas B. Reed1826-1827 Powhattan Ellis1827-1832 Thomas B. Reed1829-1829 Robert H. Adams1830-1830 George Poindexter1830-1835 John Black1832-1838 Robert J. Walker1835-1845 James F. Trotter1838-1838 Thomas Hickman Williams1838-1839 John Henderson1839-1845 Jesse Speight1845-1847 Joseph W. Chalmers1845-1847 Jefferson Davis1847-1851 Henry Stuart Foote1847-1852 John J. McRae1851-1852 Stephen Adams1852-1857 Walter Brooke1852-1853 Albert G. Brown1852-1861 Jefferson Davis1857-1861 Adelbert Ames1870-1874 Hiram R. Revels1870-1871 James L. Alcorn1871-1877 Henry R. Pease1874-1875 Blanche K. Bruce1875-1881 Lucius Q.C. Lamar1877-1885 James Z. George1881-1897 Edward C. Walthall1885-1894 Anselm J. McLaurin1894-1895 Edward C. Walthall1895-1898 Hernando D. Money1897-1911 William V. Sullivan1898-1901 Anselm J. McLaurin1901-1909 James Gordon1909-1910 Le Roy Percy1910-1913 John Sharp Williams1911-1923 James K. Vardaman1913-1919 Byron Patton Harrison1919-1941 Hubert D. Stevens1923-1935 Theodore G. Bilbo1935-1947 James O. Eastland1941-1941 Wall Doxey1941-1943 James O. Eastland1943-1978 John C. Stennis1947-1989 Thad Cochran1978-- Trent Lott1989--
Mississippi's U.S. Senators (1817-1996) Walter Leake1817-1820 Thomas Hill Williams1817-1829 David Holmes1820-1825 Powhattan Ellis1825-1826 Thomas B. Reed1826-1827 Powhattan Ellis1827-1832 Thomas B. Reed1829-1829 Robert H. Adams1830-1830 George Poindexter1830-1835 John Black1832-1838 Robert J. Walker1835-1845 James F. Trotter1838-1838 Thomas Hickman Williams1838-1839 John Henderson1839-1845 Jesse Speight1845-1847 Joseph W. Chalmers1845-1847 Jefferson Davis1847-1851 Henry Stuart Foote1847-1852 John J. McRae1851-1852 Stephen Adams1852-1857 Walter Brooke1852-1853 Albert G. Brown1852-1861 Jefferson Davis1857-1861 Adelbert Ames1870-1874 Hiram R. Revels1870-1871 James L. Alcorn1871-1877 Henry R. Pease1874-1875 Blanche K. Bruce1875-1881 Lucius Q.C. Lamar1877-1885 James Z. George1881-1897 Edward C. Walthall1885-1894 Anselm J. McLaurin1894-1895 Edward C. Walthall1895-1898 Hernando D. Money1897-1911 William V. Sullivan1898-1901 Anselm J. McLaurin1901-1909 James Gordon1909-1910 Le Roy Percy1910-1913 John Sharp Williams1911-1923 James K. Vardaman1913-1919 Byron Patton Harrison1919-1941 Hubert D. Stevens1923-1935 Theodore G. Bilbo1935-1947 James O. Eastland1941-1941 Wall Doxey1941-1943 James O. Eastland1943-1978 John C. Stennis1947-1989 Thad Cochran1978-- Trent Lott1989--
Relations Committee. Jefferson Davis ( 1847-1851;
1857-1861) was a leading defender of State rights during the
sectional controversies leading up to the War between the States
and served as President of the Confederacy. Hiram Revels
(1870-1871) was the first African-American elected to the
Senate, and Blanche K. Bruce (1875-1881) was the first
African-American to serve a full term in the Senate. Lucius
Q. C. Lamar (1877-1885) advocated reconciliation of the North
and South after the War and became the only Mississippian to
serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. James Z. George
(1881-1897), known among his constituents as "the Great
Commoner," played an important role in framing the Sherman
Antitrust Act and worked for aid to education and civil service
reform. John Sharp Williams (1911-1922) 
was
the first U.S. Senator in the Nation to be elected by popular
ballot. (He was first elected in 1911, after Mississippi had
created a direct primary for U.S. Senate elections but before the
Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution required it in
1913).
Eastland and Stennis represented Mississippi concurrently
in the Senate for 31 years, the longest period of simultaneous
service of any State in the Union.) Senator Stennis not only
served as chairman of the Committee on Armed Services and the
Committee on Appropriations, he drafted the first formal code of
ethics for the Senate and was selected to chair the forerunner of
the present Select Committee on Ethics.
