1868–69 United States House of Representatives elections
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All 243[Note 3] seats to the United States House of Representatives 122 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1868 to elect Representatives to the 41st United States Congress. The election coincided with the presidential election of 1868, which was won by Ulysses S. Grant.
The Democrats gained 20 seats, but Grant's Republican Party retained a commanding majority in the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War, holding onto a firm legitimacy through an association with victory. As more Southern states exited Reconstruction, more Democratic seats appeared in the South. However, Democratic gains in the South were limited, as the Republican power-brokers of Reconstruction held a great deal of influence. The small Conservative Party of Virginia also picked up several seats in Virginia, as it had support among wealthy Southern leaders who wanted to increase the region's power.
Election summaries
Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia were readmitted during this Congress, leaving Congress without vacant State delegations for the first time since 1860. Georgia had been partially readmitted in the previous Congress, but was not initially admitted to the 41st Congress. With Georgia's final readmission in 1870, all former Confederate states were once more represented in Congress.
| 171 | 5 | 67 |
| Republican | C | Democratic |
| State | Type | Total seats |
Republican | Democratic | Conservative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | Change | Seats | Change | Seats | Change | |||
| Alabama[Note 4] | District | 6 | 4 |  2
|
2 |  2
|
0 | 
|
| Arkansas | District | 3 | 2 | 1
|
1 | 1
|
0 |
|
| California | District | 3 | 1 |
|
2 |
|
0 |
|
| Connecticut[Note 4] | District | 4 | 3 | 2
|
1 | 2
|
0 |
|
| Delaware | At-large | 1 | 0 |
|
1 |
|
0 |
|
| Florida[Note 5] | At-large | 1 | 1 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Georgia[Note 6] | District | 7[Note 7] | 3 | 1
|
4 | 2
|
0 |
|
| Illinois | District + 1 at-large |
14 | 10 | 1
|
4 | 1
|
0 |
|
| Indiana[Note 5] | District | 11 | 7 | 1
|
4 | 1
|
0 |
|
| Iowa[Note 5] | District | 6 | 6 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Kansas | At-large | 1 | 1 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Kentucky | District | 9[Note 7] | 0 | 1
|
9 | 2
|
0 |
|
| Louisiana | District | 5 | 5 | 1
|
0 | 1
|
0 |
|
| Maine[Note 5] | District | 5 | 5 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Maryland | District | 5 | 0 | 1
|
5 | 2
|
0 | 1
|
| Massachusetts | District | 10 | 10 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Michigan | District | 6 | 6 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Minnesota | District | 2 | 1 | 1
|
1 | 1
|
0 |
|
| Mississippi[Note 6] | District | 5 | 5 | 5
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Missouri | District | 9 | 7 | 1
|
2 | 1
|
0 |
|
| Nebraska[Note 5] | At-large | 1 | 1 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Nevada | At-large | 1 | 1 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| New Hampshire[Note 4] | District | 3 | 3 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| New Jersey | District | 5 | 2 | 1
|
3 | 1
|
0 |
|
| New York | District | 31 | 19 | 2
|
12 | 2
|
0 |
|
| North Carolina | District | 7 | 6 |
|
1 | 1
|
0 | 1
|
| Ohio[Note 5] | District | 19 | 13 | 3
|
6 | 3
|
0 |
|
| Oregon[Note 5] | At-large | 1 | 0 | 1
|
1 | 1
|
0 |
|
| Pennsylvania[Note 5] | District | 24 | 18 |
|
6 |
|
0 |
|
| Rhode Island | District | 2 | 2 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| South Carolina | District | 4 | 4 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Tennessee | District | 8 | 8 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Texas[Note 6] | District | 4 | 3 | 3
|
1 | 1
|
0 |
|
| Vermont[Note 5] | District | 3 | 3 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Virginia[Note 6] | District | 8 | 3 | 3
|
0 |
|
5 | 5
|
| West Virginia[Note 5] | District | 3 | 3 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
| Wisconsin | District | 6 | 5 |
|
1 |
|
0 |
|
| Total[Note 3] | 243 | 171 70.4% |
6
|
67 27.6% |
22
|
5 2.1% |
3
| |
Election dates
Mississippi had held rejected elections on July 1, 1868.
In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors. This law did not affect election dates for Congress, which remained within the jurisdiction of State governments, but over time, the States moved their Congressional elections to that date. 1868 was the first year in which the majority of States (20 of 37) held their elections on that date. There were still 9 states which held elections before that date and 4 that held regular elections after that date, in addition to 4 readmitted states that held elections after that date
- Early dates (1868):
- June 1 Oregon
- September 1 Vermont
- September 14 Maine
- October 13 Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania
- October 22 West Virginia
- Late dates (regular elections):
- December 29, 1868 Florida
- March 9, 1869 New Hampshire
- April 5, 1869 Connecticut
- August 2, 1869 Alabama
- Readmitted states:
- July 6, 1869 Virginia
- December 1, 1869 Mississippi
- Mississippi also held elections to the 42nd Congress on the same day
- December 3, 1868 Texas
- December 20–22, 1870 Georgia
Late elections to the 40th Congress
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida at-large | None (Readmitted state) | Republican gain | Charles M. Hamilton (R) 58.1% John Friend (D) 32.6% Liberty Billings (I) 9.4% | ||
Complete list of elections
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California 1 | Samuel Beach Axtell | Democratic | 1866 | Re-elected | Samuel Beach Axtell (D) 54.1% Frank M. Pixley (R) 45.9% |
| California 2 | William Higby | Republican | 1863 | Lost renomination Republican hold |
Aaron A. Sargent (R) 54.7% James W. Coffroth (D) 45.3% |
| California 3 | James A. Johnson | Democratic | 1866 | Re-elected | James A. Johnson (D) 50.4% Chancellor Hartson (R) 49.6% |
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida at-large | Charles M. Hamilton | Republican | 1868[Note 8] | Re-elected | Charles M. Hamilton (R) 56.4% W. D. Barnes (D) 38.5% William U. Saunders (I) 5.1% |
Ohio
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio 1 | Benjamin Eggleston | Republican | 1864 | Lost Re-election Democratic gain |
|
| Ohio 2 | Samuel F. Cary | Ind-Republican | 1867 (s) | Lost Re-election Republican hold |
|
| Ohio 3 | Robert C. Schenck | Republican | 1862 | Re-elected |
|
| Ohio 4 | William Lawrence | Republican | 1864 | Re-elected |
|
| Ohio 5 | William Mungen | Democratic | 1866 | Re-elected |
|
| Ohio 6 | Reader W. Clarke | Republican | 1864 | Retired Republican hold |
|
| Ohio 7 | Samuel Shellabarger | Republican | 1864 | Retired Republican hold |
|
| Ohio 8 | John Beatty | Republican | 1868 (s) | Re-elected |
|
| Ohio 9 | Ralph P. Buckland | Republican | 1864 | Retired Democratic gain |
|
| Ohio 10 | James M. Ashley | Republican | 1862 | Lost Re-election Democratic gain |
|
| Ohio 11 | John Thomas Wilson | Republican | 1866 | Re-elected |
|
| Ohio 12 | Philadelph Van Trump | Democratic | 1866 | Re-elected |
|
| Ohio 13 | Columbus Delano | Republican | 1866[Note 9] | Retired Democratic gain |
|
| Ohio 14 | Martin Welker | Republican | 1864 | Re-elected |
|
| Ohio 15 | Tobias A. Plants | Republican | 1864 | Retired Republican hold |
|
| Ohio 16 | John Bingham | Republican | 1864 | Re-elected |
|
| Ohio 17 | Ephraim R. Eckley | Republican | 1862 | Retired Republican hold |
|
| Ohio 18 | Rufus P. Spalding | Republican | 1862 | Retired Republican hold |
|
| Ohio 19 | James A. Garfield | Republican | 1862 | Re-elected |
|
See also
- United States presidential election, 1868
- United States Senate elections, 1868
- 41st United States Congress
Notes
- ^ Excludes states readmitted after the start of Congress.
- ^ The majority of States held elections on November 3, 1868 (i.e. "Election Day") for the first time.
- ^ a b Including late elections.
- ^ a b c Elections held late.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Elections held early.
- ^ a b c d Readmitted state.
- ^ a b Previous election had one vacancy.
- ^ Late election to 40th Congress.
- ^ Columbus Delano lost election in 1866 to George W. Morgan, contested the election, and was seated June 1868.
References
- ^ Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Vol. I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 258, 259.
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)