# 1914 Midterm Elections First-term [[Woodrow Wilson]] administration midterm — the **first election after the [[17th Amendment]]** (ratified 1913) that established direct popular election of U.S. Senators (previously elected by state legislatures). Republicans gained substantial House seats from their 1910 trough but Democrats held majority. The Wilson Progressive legislative agenda — the **[[Federal Reserve Act]]** (1913), the **Underwood Tariff** (1913, lowering tariff rates), the **Clayton Antitrust Act** (October 1914) — defined the cycle. ## Result - **House:** Republicans gained ~66 seats; Democrats held narrow majority (~230 of 435 Democrats vs. ~196 Republicans in the 64th Congress) - **Senate:** Democrats held majority (first direct-elected Senate elections in many states) - **Chambers flipped:** None — Democratic control held - **Net change:** Substantial Republican House recovery from 1910/1912 lows ## Notable - First election after the **17th Amendment** — direct popular Senate election; the 1914 Senate elections produced the first significant cohort of popularly-elected Senators - **Federal Reserve Act** signed December 23, 1913 — created the Federal Reserve System - **Clayton Antitrust Act** signed October 15, 1914 — strengthened federal antitrust enforcement against trusts and supplemented the 1890 [[Sherman Antitrust Act]] - House membership stabilized at **435 seats** (had been fixed by the **1911 Apportionment Act**); the 435-seat House cap has held since - World War I had begun in Europe (August 1914); American intervention debates would intensify through 1916-1917 ## Connections - [[Woodrow Wilson]] — Sitting president.