Thus a party success might well be a prelude to a party disaster because neither party knew how to improve its political opportunity.
The record of party fluctuation in Congress during this period is almost unparalleled in sharpness.* * In 1875, at the opening of the Forty-fourth Congress, the House stood 110 Republicans and 182 Democrats.

In 1881, the House stood 150 Republicans to 131 Democrats, with 12 Independent members.

In 1884, the Republican list had declined to 119 and the Democratic had grown to 201, and there were five Independents.

The Senate, although only a third of its membership is renewed every two years, displayed extraordinary changes during this period.

The Republican membership of 46 in 1876 had declined to 33 by 1880, and the Democratic membership had increased to 42.