1858 and 1859 United States House of Representatives elections

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 36th Congress were held during President James Buchanan's term at various dates in different states from August 1858 to November 1859.

1858 and 1859 United States House of Representatives elections

August 2, 1858 – November 8, 1859[lower-alpha 1]
All 238 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives[1][2] 120 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader William Pennington Thomas Bocock Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat New Jersey 5th Virginia 5th Last election 90 seats 132 seats Seats won 113 83[lower-alpha 2] Seat change 23 49 Popular vote 1,387,921 1,823,106 Percentage 36.59% 48.06% Swing 0.39% 1.21%   Third party Fourth party   Party Opposition Know Nothing Last election Pre-creation 14 seats Seats won 16 5 Seat change 16 9 Popular vote 191,074 133,839 Percentage 5.04% 3.53% Swing New Party 11.68%   Fifth party Sixth party   Party Whig Independent Last election Pre-creation[lower-alpha 3] 1 seat[lower-alpha 4] Seats won 4 15[lower-alpha 5] Seat change 4 14 Popular vote 33,073 261,964[lower-alpha 6] Percentage 0.87% 6.91% Swing New Party[lower-alpha 7] 6.02%
Speaker before election James Orr Democratic Elected Speaker William Pennington Republican

Winning a plurality for the first time, Republicans benefited from multiple political factors. These included the implosion of the nativist American Party, sectional strife in the Democratic Party, Northern voter discomfort with the infamous March 1857 Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, political exposure of Democrats to chaotic violence in Kansas amid repeated attempts to impose legal slavery against the will of the majority of its settlers, and a decline in President Buchanan's popularity due to his perceived fecklessness. In Pennsylvania, his home state, Republicans made particularly large gains.

The pivotal Dred Scott decision was only the second time the Supreme Court had overturned law on Constitutional grounds. The decision created apprehension in the North, where slavery had ceased to exist, that a ruling in a different case widely expected to be heard by the Supreme Court would strike down any limitations on slavery anywhere in the United States.

Short of a majority, Republicans controlled the House with limited cooperation from smaller parties, which also opposed Democrats. Republicans were united in opposition to slavery in the territories and to fugitive slave laws. Republicans thus rejected the abrogation of the Missouri Compromise, key aspects of the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision. Though not yet abolitionist, Republicans derived a primary partisan purpose from open hostility to slavery while furnishing a mainstream platform for abolitionism in its membership. None of the party's views or positions was new. However, their mutual catalysis by unification into a cohesive political vehicle, and the bold dismissal of the South, represented a new, disruptive political force.

Democrats remained divided and politically trapped. Fifteen Democratic members publicly defied their party label. Of seven Independent Democrats, six represented districts in Southern states. Eight Northern Anti-Lecompton Democrats favored a ban on slavery in Kansas, effectively upholding the Missouri Compromise their party had destroyed several years earlier. The party lacked credible leadership. It continued to drift in a direction favorable to the interests of slavery despite both widening and intensifying opposition of Northern voters to the expansion of those interests. A damaging public perception also existed that President Buchanan had improperly influenced and endorsed the Dred Scott decision, incorrectly believing that it had solved his main political problem. Such influence would violate the separation of powers. The sensational gap between Democratic rhetoric and results was visible to voters. Defeat in the North and intra-party defection combined to make the Democratic Party both more Southern and more radical.

Democrats lost seats in some slave states as the disturbing turn of national events and surge in sectional tensions alarmed a significant minority of Southern voters. Southern politicians opposing both Democrats and extremism, but unwilling to affiliate with Republicans, ran on the Southern Opposition Party ticket (not to be conflated with the Opposition Party of 1854).[lower-alpha 8]

For 11 states, this was the last full Congressional election until the Reconstruction. Twenty-nine elected members quit near the end of the session following their states' secession from the Union, whose immediate motivation was the result of the election of 1860.

Election summaries

One seat each was added for the new states of Oregon[3] and Kansas.[4]

↓

98	5	19	116
Democratic	KN	Opp.	Republican

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Democratic[lower-alpha 9]		Know Nothing		Opposition		Republican
				Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Oregon [lower-alpha 10]	At-large	June 7, 1858	1	1	1	0		0		0
Arkansas	Districts	August 2, 1858	2	2		0		0		0
Missouri	Districts	August 2, 1858	7	5[lower-alpha 11]		1	1	0		1	1
Vermont	Districts	September 7, 1858	3	0		0		0		3
Maine	Districts	September 13, 1858	6	0		0		0		6
Florida	At-large	October 4, 1858	1	1		0		0		0
South Carolina	Districts	October 10–11, 1858	6	6		0		0		0
Indiana	Districts	October 12, 1858	11	4[lower-alpha 12]	2	0		0		7	2
Iowa	Districts	October 12, 1858	2	0		0		0		2
Ohio	Districts	October 12, 1858	21	6	3	0		0		15	3
Pennsylvania	Districts	October 12, 1858	25	5[lower-alpha 13]	10	0		0		20	10
Delaware	At-large	November 2, 1858 (Election Day)[lower-alpha 14]	1	1		0		0		0
Illinois	Districts		9	5		0		0		4
Massachusetts	Districts		11	0		0		0		11
Michigan	Districts		4	0		0		0		4
New Jersey	Districts		5	2[lower-alpha 15]	1	0		0		3	1
New York	Districts		33	7[lower-alpha 16]	5	0		0		26	5
Wisconsin	Districts		3	1	1	0		0		2	1
Late elections (after the March 4, 1859 beginning of the term)
New Hampshire	Districts	March 8, 1859	3	0		0		0		3
Connecticut	Districts	April 4, 1859	4	0	2	0		0		4	2
Rhode Island	Districts	April 7, 1859	2	0		0		0		2
Virginia	Districts	May 26, 1859	13	12[lower-alpha 17]	1	0		1	1	0
Alabama	Districts	August 1, 1859	7	7		0		0		0
Kentucky	Districts	August 1, 1859	10	5	3	0	2	5	5	0
Texas	Districts	August 1, 1859	2	2[lower-alpha 18]		0		0		0
North Carolina	Districts	August 4, 1859	8	4	3	0	1	4	4	0
Tennessee	Districts	August 4, 1859	10	3	4	0	3	7	7	0
California	At-large	September 7, 1859	2	2		0		0		0
Georgia	Districts	October 3, 1859	8	6		0	2	2	2	0
Mississippi	Districts	October 3, 1859	5	5		0		0		0
Minnesota	At-large	October 4, 1859	2	0	2	0		0		2	2
Louisiana	Districts	November 7, 1859	4	3		1		0		0
Maryland	Districts	November 8, 1859	6	3		3		0		0
Kansas [lower-alpha 19]	At-large	December 1, 1859	1	0		0		0		1	1
Total			238[lower-alpha 20]	98[lower-alpha 2] 41.4%	35	5 2.1%	9	19 8.0%	19	116 48.5%	26

House seats Democratic   41.4% Know Nothing   2.1% Opposition   8.0% Republican   48.5%

Special elections

See also: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

There were special elections in 1858 and 1859 to the 35th United States Congress and 36th United States Congress.

Special elections are sorted by date then district.

35th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Massachusetts 7	Nathaniel P. Banks	Republican	1852	Incumbent resigned December 24, 1857 to become Governor of Massachusetts. New member elected in December 1857 or January 1858. Republican hold. Successor seated January 21, 1858.[6] Successor already elected to the next term, see below.	Y Daniel W. Gooch (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Oregon at-large	New state			New state. New member elected June 7, 1858. Democratic gain. Successor seated February 14, 1859.[6] Successor did not run for the next term, see below.	Y La Fayette Grover (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
North Carolina 8	Thomas L. Clingman	Democratic	1852	Incumbent resigned May 7, 1858 to become U.S. Senator. New member elected August 5, 1858[7] Know Nothing gain. Successor seated December 7, 1858.[6] Successor later elected to the next term, see below.	Y Zebulon B. Vance (Know Nothing) 57.02% William W. Avery (Democratic) 42.98%[7]
Mississippi 5	John A. Quitman	Democratic	1855	Incumbent died July 17, 1858. New member elected October 4, 1858. Democratic hold. Successor seated December 7, 1858.[6] Successor later elected to the next term, see below.	Y John J. McRae (Democratic) 99.08% Scattering 0.92%
Pennsylvania 8	J. Glancy Jones	Democratic	1850	Incumbent resigned October 30, 1858. New member elected November 30, 1858.[8] Republican gain. Successor seated December 7, 1858.[6] Successor not elected to the next term, see below.	Y William H. Keim (Republican) 51.98% Joel B. Warner (Democratic) 48.02%[8]
Illinois 6	Thomas L. Harris	Democratic	1854	Incumbent died November 24, 1858. New member elected January 4, 1859. Democratic hold. Successor seated January 20, 1859.[6] Successor not elected to the next term, see below.	Y Charles D. Hodges (Democratic) 61.31% James Cook Conkling (Republican) 38.69%
New York 4	John Kelly	Democratic	1854	Incumbent resigned December 25, 1858. New member elected January 4, 1859.[9] Independent Democratic gain. Successor seated January 17, 1859.[6] Successor was also elected to the next term, see below.	Y Thomas J. Barr (Independent Democratic) 96.89% Scattering 3.11%

36th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Ohio 14	Cyrus Spink	Republican	1858	Incumbent died May 31, 1859. New member elected October 11, 1859. Republican hold. Successor seated December 5, 1859.[10]	Y Harrison G. O. Blake (Republican) 56.17% Neal Power (Democratic) 43.83%[11]
Virginia 4	William Goode	Democratic	1853	Incumbent died May 31, 1859. New member elected October 27, 1859. Democratic hold. Successor seated December 7, 1859.[10]	Y Roger Pryor (Democratic) Thomas F. Goode (Democratic)
Illinois 6	Thomas L. Harris	Democratic	1854	Incumbent died November 24, 1858. New member elected November 8, 1859. Democratic hold. Successor seated December 5, 1859.[10]	Y John A. McClernand (Democratic) 58.94% John M. Palmer (Republican) 41.06%

Alabama

See also: List of United States Representatives from Alabama and 1858 United States Senate election in Alabama

Arkansas

See also: List of United States Representatives from Arkansas and 1859 United States Senate election in Arkansas

California

Main article: 1859 United States House of Representatives election in California

See also: List of United States Representatives from California

California held its election September 7, 1859. From statehood to 1864, California's members were elected at-large, with the top finishers winning election.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
California at-large 2 seats on a general ticket	Charles L. Scott	Democratic	1856	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John C. Burch (Democratic) 28.4% Y Charles L. Scott (Democratic) 28.1% Joseph C. McKibbin (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 21.4% Edward D. Baker (Republican) 20.4% S. A. Booker (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 1.5% P. H. Sibley (Republican) 0.1%
	Joseph C. McKibbin	Anti-Lecompton Democratic	1856	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic hold.

Connecticut

See also: List of United States Representatives from Connecticut

Delaware

See also: List of United States Representatives from Delaware and 1858 United States Senate election in Delaware

Florida

See also: List of United States Representatives from Florida

Georgia

See also: List of United States Representatives from Georgia and 1858 United States Senate election in Georgia

Illinois

See also: List of United States Representatives from Illinois and 1858 United States Senate election in Illinois

Indiana

See also: List of United States Representatives from Indiana

Iowa

See also: List of United States Representatives from Iowa and 1858 United States Senate election in Iowa

Kansas

See also: List of United States Representatives from Kansas

Kentucky

See also: List of United States Representatives from Kentucky and 1858 United States Senate election in Kentucky

Louisiana

See also: List of United States Representatives from Louisiana and 1859 United States Senate election in Louisiana

Maine

See also: List of United States Representatives from Maine and 1859 United States Senate election in Maine

Maryland

See also: List of United States Representatives from Maryland

Massachusetts

See also: List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts and 1859 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

Michigan

See also: List of United States Representatives from Michigan and 1858 United States Senate election in Michigan

Minnesota

Main article: 1859 United States House of Representatives election in Minnesota

See also: List of United States Representatives from Minnesota and 1858 United States Senate elections in Minnesota

Minnesota became a new state in 1858 having already elected its first two members at-large in October 1857 to finish the current term. The state then held elections to the next term October 4, 1859.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Minnesota at-large 2 seats on a general ticket	James M. Cavanaugh	Democratic	1857	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y Cyrus Aldrich (Republican) 27.54% Y William Windom (Republican) 27.10% James M. Cavanaugh (Democratic) 22.78% Christopher C. Graham (Democratic) 22.58%[12]
	William Wallace Phelps	Democratic	1857	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.

Mississippi

See also: List of United States Representatives from Mississippi and 1859 United States Senate election in Mississippi

Missouri

See also: List of United States Representatives from Missouri

New Hampshire

See also: List of United States Representatives from New Hampshire and 1859 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

New Jersey

See also: List of United States Representatives from New Jersey and 1858 United States Senate election in New Jersey

New York

See also: List of United States Representatives from New York

North Carolina

See also: List of United States Representatives from North Carolina and 1858 United States Senate special election in North Carolina

Ohio

Main article: 1858 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio

See also: List of United States Representatives from Ohio and 1859 Ohio's 14th congressional district special election

Ohio elected its members October 12, 1858, netting a 3-seat Republican gain.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates[13]
Ohio 1	George H. Pendleton	Democratic	1856	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George H. Pendleton (Democratic) 51.2% Timothy C. Day (Opposition) 48.8%
Ohio 2	William S. Groesbeck	Democratic	1856	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y John A. Gurley (Republican) 52.6% William S. Groesbeck (Democratic) 47.4%
Ohio 3	Clement L. Vallandigham	Democratic	1856[lower-alpha 21]	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Clement L. Vallandigham (Democratic) 50.5% Lewis D. Campbell (Republican) 49.5%
Ohio 4	Matthias H. Nichols	Republican	1852	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y William Allen (Democratic) 50.2% Matthias H. Nichols (Republican) 49.8%
Ohio 5	Richard Mott	Republican	1854	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	Y James M. Ashley (Republican) 51.3% William Mungen (Democratic) 48.7%
Ohio 6	Joseph R. Cockerill	Democratic	1856	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y William Howard (Democratic) 53.0% Reader W. Clarke (Republican) 47.0%
Ohio 7	Aaron Harlan	Republican	1852	Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold.	Y Thomas Corwin (Republican) 63.8% Charles W. Blair (Democratic) 36.2%
Ohio 8	Benjamin Stanton	Republican	1854	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Benjamin Stanton (Republican) 59.5% William Hubbard (Democratic) 40.5%
Ohio 9	Lawrence W. Hall	Democratic	1856	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y John Carey (Republican) 50.3% Lawrence W. Hall (Republican) 49.7%
Ohio 10	Joseph Miller	Democratic	1856	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y Carey A. Trimble (Republican) 55.0% Joseph Miller (Democratic) 45.0%
Ohio 11	Albert C. Thompson	Republican	1854	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y Charles D. Martin (Democratic) 50.7% Nelson H. Van Vorhes (Republican) 49.3%
Ohio 12	Samuel S. Cox	Democratic	1856	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Samuel S. Cox (Republican) 51.8% Lucius Case (Democratic) 48.2%
Ohio 13	John Sherman	Republican	1854	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John Sherman (Republican) 57.1% S. J. Patrick (Democratic) 42.9%
Ohio 14	Philemon Bliss	Republican	1854	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. Successor died May 31, 1859, leading to a special election.	Y Cyrus Spink (Republican) 56.3% J. P. Jeffries (Democratic) 43.7%
Ohio 15	Joseph Burns	Democratic	1856	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y William Helmick (Republican) 50.7% Joseph Burns (Democratic) 49.3%
Ohio 16	Cydnor B. Tompkins	Republican	1856	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Cydnor B. Tompkins (Republican) 52.8% George W. Manypenny (Democratic) 47.2%
Ohio 17	William Lawrence	Democratic	1856	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y Thomas C. Theaker (Republican) 50.3% Benjamin T. Sprigg (Democratic) 49.7%
Ohio 18	Benjamin F. Leiter	Republican	1854	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	Y Sidney Edgerton (Republican) 53.3% J. L. Ranney (Democratic) 46.7%
Ohio 19	Edward Wade	Republican	1852	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Edward Wade (Republican) 65.1% J. W. Gray (Democratic) 34.9%
Ohio 20	Joshua Reed Giddings	Republican	1843	Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold.	Y John Hutchins (Republican) 64.7% David Tod (Democratic) 35.3%
Ohio 21	John Bingham	Republican	1854	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John Bingham (Republican) 57.3% Thomas Means (Democratic) 42.7%

Oregon

See also: List of United States Representatives from Oregon and 1859 United States Senate elections in Oregon

Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

See also: List of United States Representatives from Rhode Island and 1858 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

South Carolina

See also: List of United States Representatives from South Carolina, 1858 United States Senate election in South Carolina, and 1858 United States Senate special election in South Carolina

Tennessee

See also: List of United States Representatives from Tennessee and 1858 United States Senate election in Tennessee

Texas

See also: List of United States Representatives from Texas, 1859 United States Senate election in Texas, and 1859 United States Senate special election in Texas

Vermont

See also: List of United States Representatives from Vermont

Virginia

See also: List of United States Representatives from Virginia and 1858 United States Senate election in Virginia

Wisconsin

See also: List of United States Representatives from Wisconsin

Election results in Wisconsin for 1858:[14]

District	Incumbent			This race
	Representative	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Wisconsin 1	John F. Potter	Republican	1856	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John F. Potter (Republican) 56.4% Beriah Brown (Democratic) 43.6%
Wisconsin 2	Cadwallader C. Washburn	Republican	1854	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Cadwallader C. Washburn (Republican) 54.3% Charles Dunn (Democratic) 45.7%
Wisconsin 3	Charles Billinghurst	Republican	1854	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y Charles H. Larrabee (Democratic) 51.0% Charles Billinghurst (Republican) 49.0%

See also

• 1858 United States elections
  • 1858 and 1859 United States Senate elections
• 35th United States Congress
• 36th United States Congress

Notes

1. Excludes new states.
2. Includes two elected as Lecompton Democrats.
3. While most of the Whig State Party affiliates in the South transitioned from the American Party to the newly formed Opposition Party, the North Carolina affiliate seems to have declined to do so.
4. Included one Independent Democrat or "Benton" Democrat: Francis Preston Blair Jr. of Missouri.
5. Includes five Anti-Lecompton Democrats, seven Independent Democrats, and three Anti-Administration Democrats.
6. Includes votes for those who ran labeled as a Independent, Union Democrat, Anti-Administration Democrat, Anti-Lecompton Democrat, and Independent Democrat.
7. There was only one Whig candidate during the 1856-1857 period, who earned twenty-three votes.
8. See The Kansas-Nebraska act
9. "Democratic" includes Independent Democrats and Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
10. New state. Representative seated February 14, 1859.
11. Includes 1 Independent Democrat.
12. Includes 1 Anti-Lecompton Democrat.
13. Includes 2 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
14. In January 1845, Congress mandated a uniform date for choosing Presidential electors.[5] Gradually, states brought other elections into conformity with this date.
15. Includes 2 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
16. Includes 1 Independent Democrat and 3 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
17. Includes 4 Independent Democrats.
18. Includes 1 Independent Democrat.
19. New state. Representative seated January 29, 1861.
20. An increase of one seat for the new state of Oregon. (See 11 Stat. 383 and United States congressional apportionment.)
21. Contested election

References

1. http://mcimaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/36th-Congress.png
2. "Electing the House of Representatives". dsl.richmond.edu.
3. 11 Stat. 383
4. 12 Stat. 126
5. 5 Stat. 721
6. "Thirty-fifth Congress March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1859". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved February 18, 2019 – via History.house.gov.
7. "Our Campaigns - NC District 08 - Special Election Race - Aug 05, 1858". www.ourcampaigns.com.
8. "Our Campaigns - PA District 08 - Special Election Race - Nov 30, 1858". www.ourcampaigns.com.
9. "Our Campaigns - NY District 4 - Special Election Race - Jan 04, 1859". www.ourcampaigns.com.
10. "Thirty-sixth Congress March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1861". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved February 18, 2019 – via History.house.gov.
11. "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com.
12. "Our Campaigns - MN At-Large Race - Oct 04, 1859". www.ourcampaigns.com.
13. Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 84, 85.
14. "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2014.

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)