1838 and 1839 United States House of Representatives elections

1838 and 1839 United States House of Representatives elections
	July 2, 1838 – November 5, 1839
	July 2, 1838 – November 5, 1839
All 242 seats to the U.S. House of Representatives; 122 seats needed for a majority
Speaker before election; James K. Polk; Democratic	Elected Speaker ; Robert M. T. Hunter; Whig

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 26th Congress were held during President Martin Van Buren's term at various dates in different states from July 1838 to November 1839.

The Panic of 1837 and consequent economic downturn drove Whig Party gains. Van Buren's Democratic Party had lost popularity and Whig policies of economic nationalism appealed to a larger number of voters. Democrats were able, however, to contain the political fallout by blaming banks for the crisis. The Anti-Masonic Party, influential in New York, Pennsylvania, and other Northern states, lost seats, while the Southern Nullifier Party disappeared. Two Virginia representatives were elected on that state's Conservative Party ticket.

Early business of the new House reflected the close partisan division. When Congress first Convened on December 3, 1839, two contingents of New Jersey representatives-elect, one composed of Democrats and the other of Whigs, arrived and both requested to be seated as members. Charging the Whigs with election fraud and facing loss of control of the House, the Democratic Party majority (119 to 118 Whigs from outside New Jersey) refused to seat all but one Whig.[1] Massachusetts Representative John Quincy Adams presided as "chairman" of the House after the clerk lost control.

Two weeks later, when voting for speaker of the House finally commenced, 11 ballots were needed before Robert M. T. Hunter, a compromise Whig candidate, was elected, receiving 119 votes (out of 232 cast).[2] The 26th Congress also passed the first Independent Treasury bill.

Election summaries

↓
125	8	109
Democratic	[lower-alpha 1]	Whig

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Democratic		Whig		Others
State	Type	Date	Total seats	Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Louisiana	District	July 2–4, 1838	3	0	1	3	1	0
Illinois	District	August 6, 1838	3	2	1	1	1	0
Missouri	At-large	August 6, 1838	2	2		0		0
Vermont	District	September 1, 1838	5	2	1	3	1	0
Maine	District	September 10, 1838	8	6		2		0
Arkansas	At-large	October 1, 1838	1	1		0		0
Georgia	At-large	October 1, 1838	9	0	8	9	8	0
New Jersey	At-large	October 8, 1838	6	5	5	1	5	0
South Carolina	District	October 8–9, 1838	9	8	6	1		0	6[lower-alpha 2]
Ohio	District	October 9, 1838	19	11	3	8	3	0
Pennsylvania	Districts[lower-alpha 3]	October 9, 1838	28	17		5	1	6[lower-alpha 4]	1
Michigan	At-large	November 6, 1838	1	1		0		0
New York	Districts[lower-alpha 5]	November 5–7, 1838	40	19	11	21	11	0
Massachusetts	District	November 12, 1838	12	2		10		0
Delaware	At-large	November 13, 1838	1	1	1	0	1	0
New Hampshire	At-large	March 12, 1839	5	5		0		0
Connecticut	District	April 1, 1839	6	0	6	6	6	0
Virginia	District	May 23, 1839	21	12	3	7	1	2[lower-alpha 6]	2
Kentucky	District	August 1, 1839	13	2	1	11		0	1[lower-alpha 7]
Tennessee	District	August 1, 1839	13	6	3	7	3	0
Alabama	District	August 5, 1839	5	3		2		0
Indiana	District	August 5, 1839	7	5	4	2	4	0
North Carolina	District	August 8, 1839	13	8	3	5	3	0
Rhode Island	At-large	August 27, 1839	2	0		2		0
Maryland	Districts[lower-alpha 8]	October 3, 1839	8	5	1	3	1	0
Mississippi	At-large	November 4–5, 1839	2	2	2	0	2	0
Total			242	125 51.7%	3	109 45.0%	9	8 3.3%	6

House seats

Anti-Masonic			2.48%
Conservative			0.83%
Democratic			51.65%
Whig			45.04%

Special elections

There were special elections in 1838 and 1839 to the 25th United States Congress and 26th United States Congress.

Special elections are sorted by date then district.

25th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Mississippi at-large 2 seats on a general ticket	John F. H. Claiborne	Democratic	1835	The House rescinded its former decision February 5, 1838 and declared the seats vacant. New members elected May 29, 1838. Two Whig gains. Successors seated May 30, 1838.[3]	Y Sergeant S. Prentiss (Whig) 26.55% Y Thomas J. Word (Whig) 25.20% John F. H. Claiborne (Democratic) 24.57% Samuel J. Gholson (Democratic) 23.68%[4]
Mississippi at-large 2 seats on a general ticket	Samuel J. Gholson	Democratic	1836 (Special)
Pennsylvania 9				New member elected March 8, 1838.
Maine 3				New member elected April 28, 1838.
Maine 5				New member elected May 29, 1838.
Ohio 16				New member elected October 9, 1838.
Ohio 19				New member elected November 5, 1838.

26th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Pennsylvania 14				New member elected November 20, 1839.

Connecticut

Connecticut elected its six members April 1, 1839, flipping all six seats from Democratic to Whig.

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Connecticut 1	Isaac Toucey	Democratic	1835	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Whig gain.	Y Joseph Trumbull (Whig) 53.23% Isaac Toucey (Democratic) 42.21% Charles Chapman (Unknown) 4.56%[5]
Connecticut 2	Samuel Ingham	Democratic	1835	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Whig gain.	Y William L. Storrs (Whig) 50.67% Samuel Ingham (Democratic) 49.33%[6]
Connecticut 3	Elisha Haley	Democratic	1835	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Whig gain.	Y Thomas W. Williams (Whig) 50.73% Coolidge Billings (Democratic) 49.27%[7]
Connecticut 4	Thomas T. Whittlesey	Democratic	1836 (Special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Whig gain.	Y Thomas B. Osborne (Whig) 52.40% Thomas T. Whittlesey (Democratic) 47.60%[8]
Connecticut 5	Lancelot Phelps	Democratic	1835	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Whig gain.	Y Truman Smith (Whig) 53.50% Charles B. Phelps (Democratic) 46.50%[9]
Connecticut 6	Orrin Holt	Democratic	1836 (Special)	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Whig gain.	Y John H. Brockway (Whig) 52.86% Chauncey Fitch Cleveland (Democratic) 47.14%[10]

Mississippi

A special election was held in Mississippi on July 17–18, 1837. Its winners were Democrats John F. H. Claiborne and Samuel J. Gholson. The first session of the 25th Congress was a special session beginning on September 4, 1837, extending to October 16. In November, Mississippi held the regular election. Seargent Smith Prentiss, a Vicksburg lawyer and Whig, unexpectedly launched a vigorous, partisan campaign. He and fellow Whig Thomas J. Word won in an upset. Claiborne and Gholson then argued that the July result entitled them to serve full terms. With the Whig Party newly organizing, the closely divided House, in which Anti-Masons, Nullifiers, and the Independent tended to align more with Whigs and to oppose Democrats, agreed to hear Prentiss. He spoke for nine hours over three days, packing the gallery, drawing Senators, and earning a national reputation for oratory and public admiration from leading Whigs including Senators Clay and Webster. The Elections Committee then required a third election. Scheduled for April 1838, it confirmed the November result. Both Whigs were seated in May late in the second session, also serving for the third session.

Pennsylvania

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates[lower-alpha 9][11]
Pennsylvania 1	Lemuel Paynter	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Lemuel Paynter (Democratic) 55.1% Joel B. Sutherland (Whig) 44.9%
Pennsylvania 2 Plural district with 2 seats	John Sergeant	Whig	1816 1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George W. Toland (Whig) 69.4% Y John Sergeant (Whig) 69.2% Joseph R. Evans (Democratic) 30.7% Samuel Brasnears (Democratic) 30.7%
Pennsylvania 2 Plural district with 2 seats	George W. Toland	Whig	1836	Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania 3	Charles Naylor	Whig	1837 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Charles Naylor (Whig) 53.1% Charles J. Ingersoll (Democratic) 46.9%
Pennsylvania 4 Plural district with 3 seats	Edward Davies	Anti-Masonic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John Edwards (Anti-Masonic) 57.2% Y Edward Davies (Anti-Masonic) 57.0% Y Francis James (Anti-Masonic) 57.0% Joshua Evans Jr. (Democratic) 43.0% Reah Frazer (Democratic) 43.0% Samuel Leiper (Democratic) 42.8%
	Edward Darlington	Anti-Masonic	1832	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Anti-Masonic hold.
	David Potts Jr.	Anti-Masonic	1830	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Anti-Masonic hold.
Pennsylvania 5	Jacob Fry Jr.	Democratic	1834	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y Joseph Fornance (Democratic) 54.9% Joseph Royer (Whig) 45.1%
Pennsylvania 6	Mathias Morris	Whig	1834	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y John Davis (Democratic) 51.9% Mathias Morris (Whig) 48.1%
Pennsylvania 7	David D. Wagener	Democratic	1832	Incumbent re-elected.	Y David D. Wagener (Democratic) 63.7% Peter S. Michler (Whig) 36.3%
Pennsylvania 8	Edward B. Hubley	Democratic	1834	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y Peter Newhard (Democratic) 54.5% Walter C. Livingston (Whig) 45.5%
Pennsylvania 9	George Keim	Democratic	1838 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George Keim (Democratic) 69.3% Daniel M. Bieber (Whig) 30.7%
Pennsylvania 10	Luther Reily	Democratic	1836	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Whig gain.	Y William Simonton (Whig) 59.1% William Reily (Democratic) 40.9%
Pennsylvania 11	Henry Logan	Democratic	1834	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y James Gerry (Democratic) 56.6% Charles A. Barnitz (Whig) 43.4%
Pennsylvania 12	Daniel Sheffer	Democratic	1836	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Whig gain.	Y James Cooper (Whig) 55.9% Daniel Sheffer (Democratic) 44.1%
Pennsylvania 13	Charles McClure	Democratic	1836	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y William S. Ramsey (Democratic) 57.3% Frederick Watts (Whig) 42.7%
Pennsylvania 14	William W. Potter	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William W. Potter (Democratic) 50.9% William Irvin (Whig) 49.1%
Pennsylvania 15	David Petrikin	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y David Petrikin (Democratic) 53.5% David Hurley (Whig) 46.5%
Pennsylvania 16	Robert H. Hammond	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Robert H. Hammond (Democratic) 56.6% James Morrill (Whig) 43.4%
Pennsylvania 17	Samuel W. Morris	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Samuel W. Morris (Democratic) 54.2% William Willard (Whig) 45.8%
Pennsylvania 18	Charles Ogle	Anti-Masonic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Charles Ogle (Anti-Masonic) 55.9% Job Mann (Democratic) 44.1%
Pennsylvania 19	John Klingensmith Jr.	Democratic	1832	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y Albert G. Marchand (Democratic) 60.9% Joseph Markle (Whig) 39.1%
Pennsylvania 20	Andrew Buchanan	Democratic	1832	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y Enos Hook (Democratic) 62.4% Fideleo Hughes (Whig) 37.6%
Pennsylvania 21	Thomas M. T. McKennan	Anti-Masonic	1830	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y Isaac Leet (Democratic) 50.1% Joseph Lawrence (Whig) 49.9%
Pennsylvania 22	Richard Biddle	Anti-Masonic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Richard Biddle (Anti-Masonic) 58.1% James Power (Democratic) 41.9%
Pennsylvania 23	William Beatty	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William Beatty (Democratic) 61.5% George W. Smith (Whig) 38.5%
Pennsylvania 24	Thomas Henry	Anti-Masonic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Thomas Henry (Anti-Masonic) 54.7% James D. White (Democratic) 45.3%
Pennsylvania 25	Arnold Plumer	Democratic	1836	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y John Galbraith (Democratic) 51.2% David Dick (Whig) 48.8%

In the 3rd district, Charles Naylor's election was unsuccessfully contested by Charles J. Ingersoll.[12]

There were three special elections in Pennsylvania during the 26th Congress.[13] The first was in the 14th district caused by the death of William W. Potter (Democratic) on October 28, 1839. This vacancy was filled by George McCulloch (Democratic). The second was in the 22nd district caused by the resignation of Richard Biddle. This vacancy was filled by Henry M. Brackenridge (Whig). The third was in the 13th district caused by the death of William S. Ramsey (Democratic) on October 17, 1840. Ramsey had also been re-elected to the 27th Congress and so an additional special election was held the following May to fill the vacancy in the 27th Congress.

Non-voting delegates

Iowa Territory

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Delegate	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates[14]
Iowa Territory at-large	New seat.			New seat. New delegate elected. Democratic gain.	Y William W. Chapman (Democratic) 33.32% Peter H. Engle (Democratic) 32.51% Benjamin F. Wallace (Whig) 20.42% David Rorer (Democratic) 13.53% Lawrence Taliaferro (Independent) 0.07% William H. Wallace (Whig) 0.07% Isaac Leffler (Whig) 0.04% H. Craighton (Independent) 0.02% John Foley (Independent) 0.02%

Notes

Anti-Masons had 6 seats and Conservatives had 2.
Nullifiers
Includes two plural districts, one with three members
Anti-Masons
Includes five plural districts, one with four members
Conservatives
Independent joined Whigs
Includes 1 plural district
For plural districts, percent is based on assumption that each voter cast as many votes as there are seats

References

Lalor, John Joseph (1899). Lalor, John J. (ed.). "Cyclopædia of political science, political economy, and of the political history of the United States, by the best American and European writers". New York, New York: New York: 309. hdl:2027/umn.319510014074381. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
"26th Congress (1839–1841)". Congress Profiles. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
"Twenty-fifth Congress March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1839". Historian of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=482979
"Our Campaigns - CT District 1 Race - Apr 01, 1839".
"Our Campaigns - CT District 2 Race - Apr 01, 1839".
"Our Campaigns - CT District 3 Race - Apr 01, 1839".
"Our Campaigns - CT District 4 Race - Apr 01, 1839".
"Our Campaigns - CT District 5 Race - Apr 01, 1839".
"Our Campaigns - CT District 6 Race - Apr 01, 1839".
Wilkes University Elections Statistics Project
"Twenty-Sixth Congress (membership roster) – see footnote 42" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
"Twenty-Sixth Congress (membership roster) – see footnotes 43-48" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
Pelzer, Louis (1908). Shambaugh, Benjamin F. (ed.). "The History and Principles of the Democratic Party of the Territory of Iowa". Iowa Journal of History and Politics. Vol. 6 no. 1. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa. p. 10. Retrieved May 27, 2020.

Bibliography

Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). 1788 United States Congressional Elections-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)

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[3] Anti-Masons had 6 seats and Conservatives had 2.

[4] Nullifiers

[5] Includes two plural districts, one with three members

[6] Anti-Masons

[7] Includes five plural districts, one with four members

[8] Conservatives

[9] Independent joined Whigs

[10] Includes 1 plural district

[pl-19] For plural districts, percent is based on assumption that each voter cast as many votes as there are seats

[1] Lalor, John Joseph (1899). Lalor, John J. (ed.). "Cyclopædia of political science, political economy, and of the political history of the United States, by the best American and European writers". New York, New York: New York: 309. hdl:2027/umn.319510014074381. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[2] "26th Congress (1839–1841)". Congress Profiles. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 1, 2019.

[25th_Roster-11] "Twenty-fifth Congress March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1839". Historian of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 9, 2019.

[12] ttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=482979

[13] "Our Campaigns - CT District 1 Race - Apr 01, 1839".

[14] "Our Campaigns - CT District 2 Race - Apr 01, 1839".

[15] "Our Campaigns - CT District 3 Race - Apr 01, 1839".

[16] "Our Campaigns - CT District 4 Race - Apr 01, 1839".

[17] "Our Campaigns - CT District 5 Race - Apr 01, 1839".

[18] "Our Campaigns - CT District 6 Race - Apr 01, 1839".

[20] Wilkes University Elections Statistics Project

[21] "Twenty-Sixth Congress (membership roster) – see footnote 42" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2013.

[22] "Twenty-Sixth Congress (membership roster) – see footnotes 43-48" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2013.

[demparty-23] Pelzer, Louis (1908). Shambaugh, Benjamin F. (ed.). "The History and Principles of the Democratic Party of the Territory of Iowa". Iowa Journal of History and Politics. Vol. 6 no. 1. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa. p. 10. Retrieved May 27, 2020.

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