1896–1900 Mississippi Legislature

1896–1900 Mississippi Legislature
← 1892–1896 Mississippi Legislature 1900–1904 Mississippi Legislature →
Overview
Legislative body	Mississippi Legislature
Jurisdiction	Mississippi,  United States
Meeting place	Old Mississippi State Capitol
Term	7 January 1896 (1896-01-07) – 2 January 1900 (1900-01-02)
Election	1895 Mississippi elections
Mississippi State Senate
Members	45
President	J. H. Jones
President pro tempore	James T. Harrison
Party control	Democratic
Mississippi House of Representatives
Members	133
Speaker	James F. McCool
Party control	Democratic
Sessions
1st 7 January 1896 (1896-01-07) – 24 March 1896 (1896-03-24) 2nd 27 April 1897 (1897-04-27) – 27 May 1897 (1897-05-27) 3rd 4 January 1898 (1898-01-04) – 11 February 1898 (1898-02-11)

The 1896–1900 Mississippi Legislature met in three sessions between 1896 and 1900.

Members were elected on November 7, 1895, to a four-year term.^[1] A vast majority of legislators elected were members of the Democratic Party.^[2]

The first session of the term, and the state's 73rd overall,^[3] started on January 7, 1896, for both houses.^[4][5] The House adjourned on March 16, 1896, and the Senate adjourned on March 24, 1896.^[4][5]

The second session of the term, and the state's 74th overall, was a special session called by Governor Anselm J. McLaurin.^[6] It convened for both houses on April 27, 1897, and the House adjourned on May 27, 1897.^[3][6]

The third and final session of the term (the state's 75th) first met on January 4, 1898.^[7] The session adjourned on February 11, 1898.^[3][7]

The legislative term officially ended when members were sworn in for the 1900–1904 Legislature on January 2, 1900.^[8]

The Senate had 45 members from 38 districts.^[4] James T. Harrison from the 25th District was elected President Pro Tempore, defeating 12th District senator William Gwin Kiger in a 25–20 vote.^[5]

The House had 133 members representing different counties of Mississippi.^[4] James F. McCool of Attala County was elected to the position of Speaker of the House near-unanimously, with 126 members voting for him and 7 members absent or not voting.^[4] When the 1897 session began, 7 new members were sworn in to replace six members who had resigned and one member (Carroll Cooper) who had died in-between sessions.^[6] At the beginning of the 1898 session, four new members were sworn in, all replacing members who had died after the 1897 session.^[9]