United States House of Representatives elections, 1858 and 1859
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Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 36th Congress were held in 1858–1859. Following these elections, the Republicans gained control of the House for the first time, benefiting from the continued breakdown in the anti-immigration and anti-Catholic American Party of the Know Nothing Movement, and from strife within the Democratic Party.
The Republicans were actually several seats short of a numerical majority and were forced to form a minority government, but were able to exercise authority with assistance from members of the two smaller parties also elected to the House. The deeply divided Democrats continued to fall apart due to the slavery issue, losing a number of seats. The American Party all but collapsed as immigration became a less prominent issue and because of the party's vague stance on slavery. Southern politicians opposed to secession, Whigs who had been dissatisfied with the Republican Party during their short membership, as well as some former Know-Nothings, came together and ran on the Opposition Party ticket (not to be confused with the Northern Opposition Party of 1854 which was opposed to the spread of slavery into the new territories),[1] which generally allied more with the Republicans than Democrats.
For several states, this was the last Congressional election until the Reconstruction Era, and 29 of the Representatives elected in this election resigned near the end of the Congress following their states' secession from the Union.
Election summaries
One seat was added for the new State of Kansas,[2] which was unrepresented for most of the 36th Congress. For several Southern states, these were the last congressional elections they took part in until Reconstruction.
116 | 19 | 5 | 98 |
Republican | Opp. | AKN | Democratic |
State | Type | Date | Total seats |
Republican | Democratic | Opposition | Know-Nothing | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seats | Change | Seats | Change | Seats | Change | Seats | Change | ||||
Delaware | At-large | November 2, 1858 (Election Day)[Note 4] |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Illinois | District | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Massachusetts | District | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Michigan | District | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
New Jersey | District | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2[Note 5] | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
New York | District | 33 | 26 | 5 | 7[Note 6] | 5 | 0 | 0 | |||
Wisconsin | District | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
Arkansas | District | August 2, 1858 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Florida | At-large | October 4, 1858 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Indiana | District | October 12, 1858 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 4[Note 7] | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
Iowa | District | October 12, 1858 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Maine | District | September 13, 1858 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Missouri | District | August 2, 1858 | 7 | 1 | 5[Note 8] | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
Ohio | District | October 12, 1858 | 21 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
Pennsylvania | District | October 12, 1858 | 25 | 20 | 10 | 5[Note 9] | 10 | 0 | 0 | ||
South Carolina | District | October 10–11, 1858 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Vermont | District | September 7, 1858 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
1859 elections | |||||||||||
Alabama[Note 10] | District | August 1, 1859 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | ||||
California | At-large | September 7, 1859 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Connecticut | District | April 4, 1859 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
Georgia[Note 10] | District | October 3, 1859 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
Kansas[Note 11] | At-large | December 1, 1859 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
Kentucky | District | August 1, 1859 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | |
Louisiana[Note 10] | District | November 7, 1859 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | ||||
Maryland | District | November 8, 1859 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||
Minnesota | At-large | October 4, 1859 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
Mississippi[Note 10] | District | October 3, 1859 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||
New Hampshire | District | March 8, 1859 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
North Carolina[Note 10] | District | August 4, 1859 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
Oregon | At-large | June 27, 1859 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Rhode Island | District | April 7, 1859 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Tennessee | District | August 4, 1859 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | |
Texas[Note 10] | District | August 1, 1859 | 2 | 0 | 2[Note 12] | 0 | 0 | ||||
Virginia | District | May 26, 1859 | 13 | 0 | 12[Note 13] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
Total[Note 2] | 238 | 116 48.9% |
26 | 98[Note 3] 41.4% |
35 | 19 8.0% |
19 | 5 2.1% |
9 |
Complete returns
California
Note: From statehood to 1864, California's representatives were elected at-large, with the top two vote-getters winning election from 1849 to 1858; in 1860 when California gained a seat in the House the top three vote-getters were elected.
District | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Status | Candidates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
California at-large (Seat 1) |
Charles L. Scott | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
California at-large (Seat 2) |
Joseph C. McKibbin | Anti-Lecompton Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic hold. |
Ohio
District | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ohio 1 | George H. Pendleton | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Ohio 2 | William S. Groesbeck | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. |
|
Ohio 3 | Clement L. Vallandigham | Democratic | 1856[Note 14] | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Ohio 4 | Matthias H. Nichols | Republican | 1852 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain. |
|
Ohio 5 | Richard Mott | Republican | 1854 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. |
|
Ohio 6 | Joseph R. Cockerill | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold. |
|
Ohio 7 | Aaron Harlan | Republican | 1852 | Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold. |
|
Ohio 8 | Benjamin Stanton | Republican | 1854 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Ohio 9 | Lawrence W. Hall | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. |
|
Ohio 10 | Joseph Miller | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. |
|
Ohio 11 | Albert C. Thompson | Republican | 1854 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain. |
|
Ohio 12 | Samuel S. Cox | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Ohio 13 | John Sherman | Republican | 1854 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Ohio 14 | Philemon Bliss | Republican | 1854 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. |
|
Ohio 15 | Joseph Burns | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. |
|
Ohio 16 | Cydnor B. Tompkins | Republican | 1856 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Ohio 17 | William Lawrence | Democratic | 1856 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain. |
|
Ohio 18 | Benjamin F. Leiter | Republican | 1854 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. |
|
Ohio 19 | Edward Wade | Republican | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Ohio 20 | Joshua Reed Giddings | Republican | 1842 | Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold. |
|
Ohio 21 | John Bingham | Republican | 1854 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
See also
- United States elections, 1858
- List of United States House of Representatives elections, 1856–present
- 35th United States Congress
- 36th United States Congress
Notes
- ↑ Excludes states admitted during this Congress
- 1 2 3 Includes late elections
- 1 2 Includes 8 Anti-Lecompton Democrats and 7 Independent Democrats.
- ↑ In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform date for choosing presidential electors (see: Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721). Congressional elections were unaffected by this law, but the date was gradually adopted by the states for Congressional elections as well.
- ↑ Both Anti-Lecompton Democrats
- ↑ Includes 1 Independent Democrat (NY-04) and 3 Anti-Lecompton Democrats (NY-08, NY-09, and NY-14) – see Martis, pp. 112–113.
- ↑ Includes 1 Anti-Lecompton Democrat (IN-07).
- ↑ Includes 1 Independent Democrat (MO-02).
- ↑ Includes 2 Anti-Lecompton Democrats (PA-06 and PA-08).
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Last election before Reconstruction
- ↑ New state. Representative seated January 29, 1861, and continued into the 37th Congress.
- ↑ Includes 1 Independent Democrat (TX-02).
- ↑ Includes 4 Independent Democrats (VA-03, VA-06, VA-09, and VA-13).
- ↑ Contested election
References
- ↑ See The Kansas-Nebraska act
- ↑ 11 Stat. 269
- ↑ Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 84, 85.
Bibliography
- Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses. McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0786402830.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (January 1, 1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989. Macmillan Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0029201701.
- Moore, John L., ed. (1994). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections (Third ed.). Congressional Quarterly Inc. ISBN 978-0871879967.
- "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
External links
- Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)