Help: Map of Congress

The map of Congress is available via link off the left navigation bar. It defaults to the current Congress, but users may select a different Congress from the drop-down menu, and users may elect to see either the House or Senate by clicking on the radio buttons provided.

The map of Congress serves two purposes: its color coding indicates partisan control of the state delegations in the selected chamber for the selected Congress, and it serves as an entryway to state delegation rosters and member biographies.

Partisan Control of Congress

On the map, Democrats are represented by blue, and Republicans by red. The darker the shade of blue, the more heavily Democratic is the state's delegation in the selected chamber for the selected Congress. The darker the shade of red, the more heavily Republican is the state's delegation. Diagonal hatch marks indicate an even split between Democrats and Republicans.

The design of the map allows users to see graphically the partisan control of a chamber at a point in time or how partisan control has changed over time. If you are researching changes in the Senate's makeup over time, for example, you would leave the Senate radio button clicked and use the Previous and Next buttons to click through one Congress after another. As you click, you might focus on changes in one particular state over time, or you might focus on the regional characteristics of partisan control of the Senate over time.

The coloration will represent the political makeup of a particular Congress when it first convenes; any changes during the two-year period of that Congress will not be represented. For example, if the state delegation initially comprises seven Democrats and six Republicans, and one Democrat leaves office six months after the start of the Congress, the color code will remain light blue (indicative of the 7/6 split) rather than switch to the diagonal hatch marks indicative of an equally divided state.

State Rosters and Member Biographies

The map of Congress is interactive and clickable. Run your mouse over a state and you will see the partisan breakdown of that state's delegation in the selected chamber for the selected Congress (e.g., the Senate of the 104th Congress). Click on the state and you will get a list of every member who served in the chamber of that Congress. For example, a user who selects "105th Congress" in the drop-down menu, clicks the "House" radio button, and then clicks on Nebraska on the map will get a page that lists every U.S. House member who represented Nebraska in the 105th Congress.

The results page includes the member's name, position (either senator or representative), district (if a member of the House), and party affiliation. The member's name is a link to that person's biography.