1855 Massachusetts legislature

The 76th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1855 during the governorship of Henry Gardner. Henry Wetherby Benchley served as president of the Senate and Daniel C. Eddy served as speaker of the House.^[4]

Legislative bodyGeneral Court

Members40

PresidentHenry Wetherby Benchley

Party controlKnow-Nothing^[1]

Quick facts 76th Massachusetts General Court, Overview ...

76th Massachusetts General Court
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Overview
Legislative body	General Court
Senate
Members	40
President	Henry Wetherby Benchley
Party control	Know-Nothing[1]
House
Members	380 [2]
Speaker	Daniel C. Eddy
Party control	Know-Nothing [1]
Sessions
1st January 3, 1855 (1855-01-03) â€“ May 21, 1855 (1855-05-21) [3]

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Henry Benchley, Senate president.

Daniel Eddy, House speaker.

Leaders of the Massachusetts General Court, 1855.

"Know-Nothings won all 40 state Senate seats and all but three of the 379 state House seats in 1854, in addition to the governorship.... Once in power, the Know-Nothings passed legislation to deport poor or mentally ill Irish residents; to 'inspect' Catholic schools and convents; and to order daily readings from the Protestant Bible in public schools."^[1]

On May 9, 1855, Joseph Hiss became the first Massachusetts state representative to be expelled from the House.^[5]