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The United States on January 21, 1956

Who held every office, how Congress and the Court were made up, and what happened within a week. Diff this day against today →

President

Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower R · since Jan 20, 1953

Senate

48 D · 47 R

96 senators · 84th Congress

House

232 D · 203 R

435 representatives

Supreme Court

7 D · 2 R

9 justices by appointing party

Union

48 states

22 amendments in force

Unemployment

4.2%

Dec 1955 · $1 then ≈ $12.57 today

Public debt

$274B

as of Jun 30, 1955

1956-01-21/executiveThe administration

President Dwight David Eisenhower R

since Jan 20, 1953

Vice President Richard Milhous Nixon R

White House Chief of Staff Sherman Adams R

since Jan 20, 1953

Secretary of the Treasury George Magoffin Humphrey R

since Jan 21, 1953

Attorney General Herbert Brownell R

since Jan 21, 1953

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles R

since Jan 21, 1953

Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson R

since Jan 21, 1953

Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. R

since Jan 26, 1953

Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson R

since Jan 28, 1953

Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles D

since Feb 26, 1953

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Rowland Hughes R

since Apr 16, 1954

Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Marion B. Folsom R

since Aug 1, 1955

1956-01-21/congress84th Congress

Senate · 48 D · 47 R · 1 I

House · 232 D · 203 R

1956-01-21/supreme-courtThe bench

Hugo Lafayette Black D

Associate Justice · appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt · since Aug 18, 1937

Stanley Forman Reed D

Associate Justice · appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt · since Jan 27, 1938

Felix Frankfurter D

Associate Justice · appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt · since Jan 20, 1939

William Orville Douglas D

Associate Justice · appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt · since Apr 15, 1939

Harold Hitz Burton D

Associate Justice · appointed by Harry S Truman · since Sep 22, 1945

Tom C. Clark D

Associate Justice · appointed by Harry S Truman · since Aug 19, 1949

Sherman Minton D

Associate Justice · appointed by Harry S Truman · since Oct 5, 1949

Earl Warren R

Chief Justice · appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower · since Mar 20, 1954

John Marshall Harlan R

Associate Justice · appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower · since Mar 17, 1955

1956-01-21/weekWithin a week · Jan 14, 1956 – Jan 28, 1956

Ruling Rea v. United States

Jan 16, 1956 · 350 U.S. 214

Ruling United States v. Minker

Jan 16, 1956 · 350 U.S. 179

Ruling United States v. Twin City Power Co.

Jan 23, 1956 · 350 U.S. 222

Each office is shown as it stood at the end of the day. Cabinet records come from Wikidata and have gaps for some historical offices.