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1854–55 United States House of Representatives elections

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United States House of Representatives elections, 1854
← 1852 August 4, 1854 - November 6, 1855 1856 →
All 234 seats to the United States House of Representatives
118 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader William Alexander Richardson Henry M. Fuller Nathaniel P. Banks
Party Democratic Whig Know Nothing
Leader's seat Illinois-5th Pennsylvania-12th Massachusetts-7th
Last election 158 seats 71 seats 0 seats
Seats won 83[1][2] 54[Note 2] 51[1][2][Note 1]
Seat change Decrease 75 Decrease 17 Increase 51
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Lewis D. Campbell Schuyler Colfax
Party Anti-Nebraska Party People's
Leader's seat Ohio-3rd Indiana-9th
Last election 4 seats 0 seats
Seats won 37[Note 2][Note 3] 9[3][Note 2]
Seat change Increase 33[Note 4] Increase 9
Speaker before election

Linn Boyd
Democratic

Elected Speaker

Nathaniel P. Banks
American

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 34th Congress were held at various dates in each State, the earliest being in the middle of President Franklin Pierce's term on August 4, 1854 (in Arkansas) and the latest on November 6, 1855 (in Louisiana and Maryland).

The American Party (commonly called the Know Nothings) and the Opposition Party formed a coalition government which elected Nathaniel P. Banks as House Speaker even though the Democratic Party was the single party with the largest plurality of seats. The Opposition Party included members of the Whig Party (which would soon collapse), the People's Party of Indiana, Anti-Nebraska candidates, and members of the nascent Republican Party.

The major issue of the election was the Kansas-Nebraska Act which had been passed on May 30, 1854. The Act infuriated much of the North, as it repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and opened the Federal territories to slavery. Because the Pierce Administration and Democrats in Congress had been the primary supporters of the Act, the party lost many seats in the Northern states; this included 16 in New York, 12 in Ohio and 9 in Pennsylvania. The new Anti-Nebraska movement (a loose group of independent, Free Soil, and early Republican politicians) gained a combined 37 seats in the North. The American Party gained seats in both the North and South. It ignored the slavery issue and focused on pushing for reduced immigration, especially from Catholic areas of Ireland and Germany.

The fragmentation of the Democratic and Whig parties led to a drawn out election for Speaker of the House. The Democratic Party supported William Alexander Richardson of Illinois as their candidate. Whigs, Republicans, Americans, and Free Soil members of the House supported various candidates, and no candidate received a majority vote. In the end, the House agreed to elect a Speaker by plurality vote, as the elections were taking up time for legislative matters. Non-Democratic members of Congress then elected Nathaniel P. Banks of Massachusetts as their Speaker.[4]

Election summaries

↓
100 51 83
Opposition American Democratic
State Type Date Total
seats 		Opposition Democratic American
Seats Change[Note 5] Seats Change Seats Change
Illinois District November 7, 1854
(Election Day)[Note 6] 		9 4 Steady 5 Steady 0 Steady
Michigan District 4 3 Increase2 1 Decrease3 0 Steady
New Jersey District 5 4 Increase3 1 Decrease3 0 Steady
New York District 33 25 Increase13 5 Decrease16 3 Increase3
Wisconsin District 3 2 Increase2 1 Decrease2 0 Steady
Arkansas District August 4, 1854 2 0 Steady 2 Steady 0 Steady
California At-large September 6, 1854 2 0 Steady 2 Steady 0 Steady
Delaware At-large November 14, 1854 1 0 Steady 0 Decrease1 1 Increase1
Florida At-large October 2, 1854 1 0 Steady 1 Steady 0 Steady
Indiana District October 10, 1854 11 9 Increase8 2 Decrease8 0 Steady
Iowa District August 7, 1854 2 1 Steady 1 Steady 0 Steady
Maine District September 11, 1854 6 5 Increase2 1 Decrease2 0 Steady
Massachusetts District November 12, 1854 11 0 Decrease10 0 Decrease1 11 Increase11
Missouri District August 7, 1854 7 6 Increase2 1 Decrease2 0 Steady
Ohio District October 10, 1854 21 21 Increase12 0 Decrease12 0 Steady
Pennsylvania District October 10, 1854 25 17 Increase8 7 Decrease9 1 Increase1
South Carolina District October 9–10, 1854 6 0 Steady 6 Steady 0 Steady
Vermont District September 5, 1854 3 3 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
1855 elections
Alabama District August 6, 1855 7 0 Decrease1 5 Decrease1 2 Increase2
Connecticut District April 2, 1855 4 0 Steady 0 Decrease4 4 Increase4
Georgia District October 1, 1855 8 0 Decrease2 6 Steady 2 Increase2
Kentucky District August 6, 1855 10 0 Decrease5 4 Decrease1 6 Increase6
Louisiana District November 5, 1855 4 0 Decrease1 3 Steady 1 Increase1
Maryland District November 6, 1855 6 0 Decrease2 2 Decrease2 4 Increase4
Mississippi District[Note 7] November 5–6, 1855 5 0 Steady 4 Decrease1 1 Increase1
New Hampshire District March 13, 1855 3 0 Steady 0 Decrease3 3 Increase3
North Carolina District August 2, 1855 8 0 Decrease3 5 Steady 3 Increase3
Rhode Island District April 4, 1855 2 0 Steady 0 Decrease2 2 Increase2
Tennessee District August 2, 1855 10 0 Decrease5 5 Steady 5 Increase5
Texas District August 6, 1855 2 0 Steady 1 Decrease1 1 Increase1
Virginia District May 24, 1855 13 0 Steady 12 Decrease1 1 Increase1
Total 234 100[1][2]
42.7% 		Increase29[Note 8] 83[1][2]
35.0% 		Decrease75 51[1][2]
21.8% 		Increase51
House seats
Opposition
 
 42.74%
Democratic
 
 35.47%
American
 
 21.79%

Complete returns

Arkansas

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Arkansas 1 Alfred B. Greenwood Democratic 1853 Re-elected
Arkansas 2 Albert Rust Democratic 1854 Retired
Democratic Hold

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 		Result Candidates
California at-large
2 seats on a general ticket 		Milton S. Latham Democratic 1852 Withdrew
Democratic hold 		James W. Denver (D) 22.41%
Philemon T. Herbert (D) 22.24%
George W. Bowie (W) 21.14%
Calhoun Benham (W) 20.94%
James Churchman (Broderick Democrat) 6.09%
James A. McDougall (Broderick Democrat) 6.07%
Milton S. Latham (Broderick Democrat) 1.12%
James A. McDougall Democratic 1852 Lost re-election
Democratic hold

Florida

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Florida at-large Augustus Maxwell Democratic 1852 Re-elected Augustus Maxwell (D) 55.26%
Thomas Brown (W) 44.74%

Iowa

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Iowa 1 Bernhart Henn Democrat 1850 Retired
Democratic Hold
  • Augustus Hall (R) 50.27%
  • R.L. Clark (W) 49.50%
  • J.L. Ashbaugh (I) 0.23%
Iowa 2 William Vandever Whig 1852 Retired
Whig Hold

Maine

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Maine 1 Moses Macdonald Democrat 1850 Retired
Republican Gain
  • John M. Wood (R) 59.36%
  • Samuel Wells (D) 39.91%
  • Lorenzo D. Wilkinson (I) 0.74%
Maine 2 Samuel Mayall Democrat 1852 Retired
Republican Gain
  • John J. Perry (R) 56.88%
  • William K. Kimball (D) 42.46%
  • Charles J. Gilman (I) 0.66%
Maine 3 E. Wilder Farley Whig 1852 Lost re-election
Republican Gain
Maine 4 Samuel P. Benson Whig 1852 Re-elected
Republican Gain
Maine 5 Israel Washburn, Jr. Whig 1850 Re-elected
Republican Gain
Maine 6 Thomas J. D. Fuller Democrat 1848 Re-elected

Missouri

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Missouri 1 Thomas Hart Benton Benton Democrat 1852 Lost re-election
Whig Gain
Missouri 2 Alfred W. Lamb Democrat 1852 Retired
Whig Gain
Missouri 3 James J. Lindley Whig 1853 Re-elected
Missouri 4 Mordecai Oliver Whig 1852 Re-elected
  • Mordecai Oliver (W) 41.95%
  • S.L. Leonard (D) 34.21%
  • Shelton J. Howe (Benton Democrat) 19.08%
  • J.F. Pitt (Ind. Whig) 4.76%
Missouri 5 John G. Miller Whig 1850 Re-elected
Missouri 6 John S. Phelps Democratic 1844 Re-elected
Missouri 7 Samuel Caruthers Whig 1853 Re-elected

Pennsylvania

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Pennsylvania 1 Thomas B. Florence Democratic 1848 Re-elected
Pennsylvania 2 Joseph R. Chandler Whig 1848 Lost Reelection as Independent
Whig Gain
Pennsylvania 3 John Robbins Democrat 1848 Retired
Whig Gain
Pennsylvania 4 William Henry Witte Democrat 1852 Retired
American Gain
Pennsylvania 5 John McNair Democrat 1850 Retired
Democratic Hold
Pennsylvania 6 William Everhart Whig 1852 Retired
Democratic Gain
Pennsylvania 7 Samuel A. Bridges Democratic 1852 Lost re-election
Republican Gain
Pennsylvania 8 J. Glancy Jones Democratic 1854 Reelected
Pennsylvania 9 Isaac E. Hiester Whig 1852 Lost re-election
Independent Gain
Pennsylvania 10 Ner Middleswarth Whig 1852 Retired
Whig Hold
  • John C. Kunkel (W) 55.99%
  • Amos Boughter (D) 43.01%
  • George A. Seiler (I) 1.00%
Pennsylvania 11 Christian M. Straub Democrat 1852 Retired
Whig gain
  • James H. Campbell (R) 38.87%
  • William L. Dewart (D) 36.68%
  • Joseph W. Cake (D) 21.90%
  • Kimber Cleaver (KN) 2.56%
Pennsylvania 12 Hendrick B. Wright Democrat 1852 Lost Reelection
Whig gain
Pennsylvania 13 Asa Packer Democratic 1852 Reelected
  • Asa Packer (D) 58.67%
  • Edward F. Stewart (W) 41.33%
Pennsylvania 14 Galusha A. Grow Democrat 1850 Reelected

Vermont

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Vermont 1 James Meacham Whig 1849 Re-elected
Vermont 2 Andrew Tracy Whig 1852 Retired
Republican Gain
  • Justin S. Morrill (R) 50.26%
  • J.W. Parker (D) 35.07%
  • Oscar L. Shafter (Free Soil) 14.68%
Vermont 3 Alvah Sabin Whig 1852 Re-elected

Wisconsin

Election results in Wisconsin for 1854:[5]

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Wisconsin 1 Daniel Wells, Jr. Democrat 1852 Re-elected
Wisconsin 2 Ben C. Eastman Whig 1850 Retired
Republican Gain
Wisconsin 3 Alvah Sabin Whig 1852 Lost Re-election
Republican Gain

See also

Notes

  1. ^ While Martis, et al. count 51 American Party members, Dubin (p. 174) counts 52.
  2. ^ a b c Counted as part of the plurality winning "Opposition Party".
  3. ^ According to Dubin (p. 174), this figure includes 13 Republicans, along with approximately 24 Anti-Nebraskans.
  4. ^ Compared to Free Soilers elected in the previous election of 1852.
  5. ^ Compared to Whigs, Free Soilers, and Independents elected in the previous election of 1852.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ At-large district abolished in redistricting.
  8. ^ Compared to just Whig Party members elected in the previous election of 1852. If Whig Party and Free Soil Party members are counted together, the increase was only Increase25.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Martis, pp. 108–109.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  3. ^ Dubin, p. 174.
  4. ^ Allan Nevins (1947). Ordeal of the Union, Volume II: A House Dividing 1852-1857. New York. pp. 413–415.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Retrieved August 27, 2014.

Bibliography

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