1788 and 1789 United States Senate elections

The United States Senate elections of 1788 and 1789 were the first elections for the United States Senate, which coincided with the election of President George Washington. As of this election, formal organized political parties had yet to form in the United States, but two political factions were present: The coalition of senators who supported George Washington's administration were known as "Pro-Administration", and the senators against him as "Anti-Administration".

For related races, see 1788–89 United States elections.

1788 and 1789 United States Senate elections
Dates vary by state
All 26 seats in the United States Senate
14 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Pro-Administration Anti-Administration
Seats won 13 7
Results of the elections:
     Pro-Administration      Anti-Administration
     Territories
Majority Faction before election

None (This was the first U.S. Senate election)

 Elected Majority Faction


Pro-Administration

As these elections were prior to the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, senators were chosen by State legislatures.

Resulting composition

Note: There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.[1]

Beginning of the 1st Congress

New York failed to elect its senators until after the Congress began, so its seats are labelled here as "Vacant." North Carolina and Rhode Island did not ratify the Constitution until after the Congress began, so their seats are not included here.

V1
N.Y.
A1
Del.		 A2
Ga.		 A3
Ga.		 A4
N.H.		 A5
Penn.		 A6
Va.		 A7
Va.		 P13
S.C.		 P12
S.C.		 P11
Penn.
Majority →
P1
Conn.		 P2
Conn.		 P3
Del.		 P4
Md.		 P5
Md.		 P6
Mass.		 P7
Mass.		 P8
N.H.		 P9
N.J.		 P10
N.J.
V2
N.Y.
Key:
A# Anti-Administration
P# Pro-Administration
V# Vacant

Race summaries

Except if/when noted, the number following candidates is the whole number vote(s), not a percentage.

Races leading to the 1st Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected in advance of March 4, 1789, the date set to be the beginning of the 1st Congress. Ordered by state, then by class.

State Result Candidates
Connecticut
(Class 1)		 Winner elected October 16, 1788.[2]
Pro-Administration win.
Connecticut
(Class 3)		 Winner elected October 16, 1788.[2]
Pro-Administration win.
Delaware
(Class 2)		 Winner elected October 25, 1788.[3]
Anti-Administration win.
  • Y Richard Bassett (Anti-Administration)
  • [data unknown/missing]
Delaware
(Class 1)		 Winner elected October 25, 1788.[3]
Pro-Administration win.
  • Y George Read (Pro-Administration)
  • [data unknown/missing]
Georgia
(Class 2)		 Winner elected January 17, 1789.[4]
Anti-Administration win.
  • Y William Few (Anti-Administration)
  • [data unknown/missing]
Georgia
(Class 3)		 Winner elected January 17, 1789.[4]
Anti-Administration win.
  • Y James Gunn (Anti-Administration)
  • [data unknown/missing]
Maryland
(Class 1)		 Winner elected December 10, 1788 on the third ballot "to represent the western shore."[5][6]
Pro-Administration win.
Maryland
(Class 3)		 Winner elected December 10, 1788 on the second ballot "to represent the eastern shore."[5][7]
Pro-Administration win.
Massachusetts
(Class 1)		 Winner elected November 24, 1788 on the seventh ballot.
Pro-Administration win.
Massachusetts
(Class 2)		 Winner elected November 24, 1788.
Pro-Administration win.
New Hampshire
(Class 3)		 Winner elected November 12, 1788.
Pro-Administration win.
New Hampshire
(Class 2)		 Josiah Bartlett was at first elected November 12, 1788, but "declined the appointment."[13]
Winner elected January 3, 1789.
Anti-Administration win.
New Jersey
(Class 1)		 Winner elected November 25, 1788.[15]
Pro-Administration win.
New Jersey
(Class 2)		 Winner elected November 25, 1788.[15]
Pro-Administration win.
Pennsylvania
(Class 1)		 Winner elected September 30, 1788.
Anti-Administration win.
Pennsylvania
(Class 3)		 Winner elected September 30, 1788.
Pro-Administration win.
South Carolina
(Class 2)		 Winner elected January 22, 1789.
Pro-Administration win.
South Carolina
(Class 3)		 Winner elected January 22, 1789.
Pro-Administration win.
Virginia
(Class 2)		 Winner elected November 8, 1788.[19]
Anti-Administration win.
Virginia
(Class 1)		 Winner elected November 8, 1788.[19]
Anti-Administration win.

Elections during the 1st Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected in 1789 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State Result Candidates
New York
(Class 3)		 State legislature failed to pick Senator until after Congress began.
Winner elected July 25, 1789.
Pro-Administration win.
  • Y Rufus King (Pro-Administration)
  • [data unknown/missing]
New York
(Class 1)		 State legislature failed to pick Senator until after Congress began.
Winner elected July 27, 1789.
Pro-Administration win.
North Carolina
(Class 2)		 North Carolina ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789.
Winner elected November 27, 1789.
Pro-Administration win.
North Carolina
(Class 3)		 North Carolina ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789.
Winner elected November 27, 1789.
Pro-Administration win.


Connecticut
See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut

Delaware
See also: List of United States senators from Delaware

Georgia
See also: List of United States senators from Georgia

Maryland
See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

Massachusetts
See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts

New Hampshire
See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire

New Jersey
See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey

New York
Main article: 1789 United States Senate elections in New York

The election was held in July 1789.[21] It was the first such election, and before the actual election the New York State Legislature had to establish rules for proceeding.[21] They decided to ballot separately, and then pass a joint resolution once they had concurred in the election of two candidates.[21]

On July 15, Schuyler was nominated first, and members of each chamber attempted to substitute the names of other candidates, including Ezra L'Hommedieu and Rufus King.[21] These motions failed, and Schuyler was elected by a vote of 37 to 19 in the Assembly, and 13 to 6 in the Senate.[21]

King's election came after individual legislators and the two chambers failed to agree on the election of James Duane, Ezra L'Hommedieu, or Lewis Morris.[21] King was then elected unanimously by the Assembly, and by a vote of 11 to 8 in the Senate.[21] On July 16, Schuyler and King were appointed to the U.S. Senate by a joint resolution of the State Legislature.[21]

King took his seat on July 25, and drew the lot for Class 3, his term expiring on March 3, 1795.[22] Schuyler took his seat on July 27, and drew the lot for Class 1, his term expiring on March 3, 1791.[22] The 1st United States Congress convened at New York City, as did the regular session of the New York State Legislature in January 1790. Schuyler retained his seat in the State Senate while serving concurrently in the U.S. Senate.[23] Schuyler was also elected on January 15 a member of the State's Council of Appointments which consisted of the Governor of New York, and four State Senators elected annually by the State Assembly. On January 27, the New York State Legislature resolved that it was "incompatible with the U.S. Constitution for any person holding an office under the United States government at the same time to have a seat in the Legislature of this State", and that if a member of the State Legislature was elected or appointed to a federal office, the seat should be declared vacant upon acceptance. Thus U.S. Senator Schuyler, Federal Judge James Duane and Congressmen John Hathorn and John Laurance vacated their seats in the State Senate. On April 3, John Cantine, a member of the Council of Appointments, raised the question if Schuyler, after vacating his State Senate seat, was still a member of the Council. Philip Livingston, another member, held that once elected a member could not be expelled in any case. On April 5, Governor Clinton asked the State Assembly for a decision, but the latter refused to do so, arguing that it was a question of law, which could be pursued in the courts. Schuyler thus kept his seat in the Council of Appointments until the end of the term.[24]

North Carolina
See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina

Pennsylvania
Main article: 1788 United States Senate elections in Pennsylvania

The election was held on September 30, 1788. The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, elected Pennsylvania's first two United States Senators, William Maclay and Robert Morris.[25] Anti-Federalist William Maclay was elected to the two-year staggered term of the Class 1 seat, while Federalist and founding father Robert Morris was elected to the full six-year term of the Class 3 seat.

While no official results of the votes were recorded, the State House recorded minutes of its election:

Agreeably to the order of the day, the House proceeded to the election of Senators to represent this state in the Congress of the United States, agreeably to the constitution adopted for the government of the said states; and the ballots being taken, it appeared that the Honorable William Maclay and Robert Morris, Esquires, were duly elected.[25]

South Carolina
See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina

Virginia
See also: List of United States senators from Virginia

See also

Notes
  1. Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
  2. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 2, p. 28.
  3. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 2, p. 74.
  4. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 2, p. 451.
  5. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 2, p. 153.
  6. "Maryland 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  7. "Maryland 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  8. "Massachusetts 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 7". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  9. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 1, p. 520.
  10. "Massachusetts 1788 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  11. "New Hampshire 1788 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  12. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 1, pp. 772-773.
  13. "New Hampshire 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  14. "New Hampshire 1788 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  15. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 3, p. 24.
  16. "New Jersey 1788 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018., citing The New-Jersey Journal, and Political Intelligencer (Elizabethtown, NJ). December 3, 1788.
  17. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 1, pp. 294-295.
  18. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 1, p. 208.
  19. Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, Vol. 2, p. 281.
  20. "Virginia 1788 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 15, 2018., citing The Virginia Centinel, or, the Winchester Mercury (Winchester, VA). November 19, 1788., The New-Jersey Journal, and Political Intelligencer (Elizabethtown, NJ). December 10, 1788., and Mattern, David B., J. C. A. Stagg, Jeanne K. Cross and Susan Holbrook Perdue, ed. The Papers of James Madison, Congressional Series. Vol. 11. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1977. 336, 339, 340.
  21. Power, Nicholas (July 28, 1789). "Proceedings of the Legislature of the State of New-York". Poughkeepsie Journal. Poughkeepsie, NY. pp. 1–2.
  22. Power, Nicholas (August 4, 1789). "New-York, July 29". Poughkeepsie Journal. Poughkeepsie, NY. p. 2.
  23. Congress was in session from January 4 to August 12, the State Legislature from January 13 to April 6, 1790.
  24. There was actually a precedent: In March 1781, Ephraim Paine, then a member of the Council of Appointments, was expelled from the State Senate, and soon after State Senator Arthur Parks was elected by the Assembly to serve the remainder of Paine's term in the Council. All members, Parks included, protested formally, but Parks remained in the Council until the end of the term. However, this precedent was not mentioned during the proceedings in 1790.
  25. "U.S. Senate Election - 30 September 1788" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.

References
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