File:Combined--Control of the U.S. House of Representatives - Control of the U.S. Senate.png

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Description
English:
Presidents, all elections
Graph of Control of the U.S. Senate (top - see expanded graph) and House of Representatives (bottom - see expanded graph) from 1855-2015, including control of the Executive (middle bar - see expanded detailed graph of President election history).


This graph was created by simply cutting & pasting parts of the two source documents. Half of each graph was eliminated, but little information is lost as the bottom half of each graph typically shows the reciprocal. The information that has been lost deals with 3rd Party percentages. Justification for this removal is to make the combined graph more clear and concise, with 3rd Party influence often having little impact on control over each house.


Along with a simple majority of greater than 50%, other important thresholds have to do with attaining a supermajority. The Constitution requires a two-thirds majority for certain critical actions such as passing a bill that has been vetoed by the President. A 2/3rds supermajority is also required for the Senate to remove an official that has been impeached by the House (by simple majority).

Senate rules also require a 3/5ths (60%) supermajority for ending a filibuster through cloture. Prior to 1975, the requirement was a 2/3rds supermajority.

The most powerful position a party can be in is to hold a 2/3rds supermajority in both the House and Senate, along with holding the Presidency. This has been a rare occurrence for either party in both the 1800s and 1900s. Neither party has yet achieved this so far in the 2000s.


The starting point of this graph is not arbitrary. The 34th Congress that started in 1855 marked the rise of the Republican Party in the wake of the Whig Party and the Free Soil Party in particular. The Republican Party marks its founding year as 1854. 1855 was the start of the stable two-party system of Democrats and Republicans. Since that time, the majority party in either chamber has been from one of these two. Millard Fillmore, whose term ended in 1853, was the last Whig President. All Presidents after him have been Democrat or Republican.

For a graph of the history of popular votes in US presidential elections, see File:PartyVotes.png.
Date
Source File:Control of the U.S. Senate.PNG
File:Control of the U.S. House of Representatives.PNG
Author ChrisnHouston
Other versions

File:Control of the U.S. House of Representatives.PNG = House of Representatives;

File:Control of the U.S. Senate.PNG = Senate
This graph image could be re-created using vector graphics as an SVG file. This has several advantages; see Commons:Media for cleanup for more information. If an SVG form of this image is available, please upload it and afterwards replace this template with {{vector version available|new image name}}.


It is recommended to name the SVG file “Combined--Control of the U.S. House of Representatives - Control of the U.S. Senate.svg”—then the template Vector version available (or Vva) does not need the new image name parameter.

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File history

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current16:28, 20 December 2022Thumbnail for version as of 16:28, 20 December 20221,469 × 706 (210 KB)Foghe (talk | contribs)118th Congress.
13:50, 7 January 2021Thumbnail for version as of 13:50, 7 January 20211,469 × 706 (208 KB)Foghe (talk | contribs)117th Congress.
10:57, 15 January 2020Thumbnail for version as of 10:57, 15 January 20201,442 × 706 (232 KB)Foghe (talk | contribs)Percentages of seats.
16:04, 9 November 2018Thumbnail for version as of 16:04, 9 November 20181,442 × 706 (205 KB)Foghe (talk | contribs)8 y.
15:57, 9 November 2018Thumbnail for version as of 15:57, 9 November 20181,442 × 706 (170 KB)Foghe (talk | contribs)116th Congress.
09:08, 29 July 2018Thumbnail for version as of 09:08, 29 July 20181,442 × 706 (229 KB)Foghe (talk | contribs)Updated 2017–2019 term. * President: R. * Senate: R. * House: R.
22:59, 5 February 2016Thumbnail for version as of 22:59, 5 February 20161,399 × 706 (165 KB)ChrisnHouston (talk | contribs)Long overdue update for 114th Congress, with need pointed out on Sep 16, 2015, by user at '49.200.127.180'.
20:05, 28 June 2014Thumbnail for version as of 20:05, 28 June 20141,399 × 706 (163 KB)ChrisnHouston (talk | contribs)Fixing the shading for Republican controlled House during the 83rd Congress. Mistake found by Czrisher.
11:17, 13 October 2013Thumbnail for version as of 11:17, 13 October 20131,399 × 706 (162 KB)ChrisnHouston (talk | contribs)Updated to include the 112th and 113th Congress. The graph is now current, and can be expected to remain current through the 2014 election.
09:00, 13 October 2013Thumbnail for version as of 09:00, 13 October 20131,399 × 706 (159 KB)ChrisnHouston (talk | contribs)Errors in the source image had been identified back in Nov2010 but went unfixed. The Presidents' bar had the party reversed in several places, and those errors are now fixed.
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