1790–91 United States House of Representatives elections explained

Election Name:	1790–91 United States House of Representatives elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1777
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1788–89 United States House of Representatives elections
Next Election:	1792–93 United States House of Representatives elections
Outgoing Members:	1st_United_States_Congress#House_of_Representatives_3
Elected Members:	2nd United States Congress#House_of_Representatives_3
Seats For Election:	All 67 seats in the United States House of Representatives
Majority Seats:	34
Election Date:	April 27, 1790 – October 11, 1791
Image1:	JonathanTrumbull.jpg
Leader1:	Jonathan Trumbull Jr.
Party1:	Pro-Administration Party (US)
Last Election1:	37 seats
Seats1:	39^[1]
Seat Change1:	2
Party2:	Anti-Administration Party (US)
Leader2:	James Madison
Last Election2:	28 seats
Seats2:	30
Seat Change2:	2
Map Size:	350px
Speaker
Before Election:	Frederick Muhlenberg
Before Party:	Pro-Administration Party (US)
After Election:	Jonathan Trumbull Jr.
After Party:	Pro-Administration Party (US)

The 1790–91 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 27, 1790, and October 11, 1791. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before or after the first session of the 2nd United States Congress convened on October 24, 1791. This was the first midterm election cycle, which took place in the middle of President George Washington's first term. The size of the House increased to 67 seats after the new state of Vermont elected its first representatives.

While formal political parties still did not exist, coalitions of pro-Washington (pro-Administration) representatives and anti-Administration representatives each gained two seats as a result of the addition of new states to the union.

Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg was succeeded by Jonathan Trumbull Jr., who became the 2nd Speaker of the House.^[2]

Retirements

Either five or six incumbents did not seek re-election.

Anti-Administration

Maryland 4: William Smith retired.
Virginia 6: Isaac Coles retired.

Aedanus Burke, a U.S. representative from South Carolina's 2nd congressional district, either retired or lost re-election but it is not known

Pro-Administration

Pennsylvania at-large: George Clymer retired.
Pennsylvania at-large: Henry Wynkoop retired.
Pennsylvania at-large: Thomas Scott retired.

Election summaries

In this period, each state fixed its own date for congressional general elections, as early as April 27, 1790 (in New York) and as late as October 11, 1791 (in Pennsylvania). Elections to a Congress took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when the Congress convened. In some states, the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd-numbered year). The first session of this Congress was convened in Philadelphia on October 24, 1791.

Kentucky and Vermont became states during the 2nd Congress, adding two seats each. The legislation admitted Vermont was passed at the end of the 1st Congress taking effect on March 4, 1791, the first day of the 2nd Congress, so that Vermont was represented from the start of the Congress, while Kentucky was unrepresented until the 2nd session.

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Anti- Administration
State	Type	Date	Total seats	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
New York	Districts	April 27–29, 1790	6	4	1	2	1
New Hampshire	At-large	August 30, 1790	3	3	1	0	1
Virginia	Districts	September 1, 1790	10	2	1	8	1
Connecticut	At-large	September 20, 1790	5	5		0
Maryland	Mixed	October 4, 1790	6	3	1	3	1
Massachusetts	Districts	October 4, 1790	8	7	1	1	1
South Carolina	Districts	October 12, 1790	5	3	1	2	1
Rhode Island	At-large	October 19, 1790	1	1		0
Delaware	At-large	November 8, 1790	1	1		0
Georgia	District	January 3, 1791	3	0		3
New Jersey	At-large	January 26, 1791	4	4		0
North Carolina	Districts	January 28, 1791	5	2		3
Late elections (after the March 4, 1791, beginning of the term)
Vermont	Districts	July 13, 1791	2	0		2	2
Pennsylvania	Districts	October 11, 1791	8	4	2	4	2
Kentucky	Districts	June 1, 1792	2	0		2	2
Total			67	39	3	30	1

Change in composition

End of the last Congress

	A		A
	A		A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
	A		A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
	A		A	A	A	A	A	V	P	P	P
Majority →		P
	P		P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
	P		P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
	P		P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
	P		P

Beginning of the next Congress

	A		A	A	A
	A		A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
	A		A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
	A		A	A	A	A	A	P	P	P	P
Majority →		P
	P		P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
	P		P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
	P		P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
	P		P	P	P

Key:

align=center	A	Anti-Administration
align=center	P	Pro-Administration
align=center	V	Vacant

Special elections

There were special elections in 1790 and 1791 during the 1st United States Congress and 2nd United States Congress.New states and newly ratified states are not included as special elections.

Elections are sorted by date then district.

1st Congress

2nd Congress

Connecticut

See main article: 1790 United States House of Representatives election in Connecticut.

See also: List of United States representatives from Connecticut. Connecticut elected all five of its representatives at-large on a general ticket on September 20, 1790.

There were two subsequent special elections. The first was held to fill the vacancy left by Pierpont Edwards (Pro-Administration) declining to serve and was won by Jeremiah Wadsworth (Pro-Administration). The second was held September 19, 1791, to fill the vacancy left by Roger Sherman (Pro-Administration)'s election to the Senate and was won by Amasa Learned (Pro-Administration).

Delaware

See main article: 1790 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware.

Georgia

See main article: 1791 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia.

See also: List of United States representatives from Georgia. Georgia switched to a conventional district system for the Second Congress. At the time, the districts were not numbered, but are retroactively renumbered as the,, and respectively here.

Kentucky

Kentucky was admitted during the 2nd Congress and elected its first representatives in 1792.

Maryland

See main article: 1790 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland.

See also: List of United States representatives from Maryland. Under Maryland law for the election for the 1st and 2nd Congresses "candidates were elected at-large but had to be residents of a specific district with the statewide vote determining winners from each district."

In Maryland, two local factions briefly emerged, the Chesapeake and Potomac (or Potowmack) "parties". The Potomac faction, consisting of individuals from the small counties of southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore, aimed to maintain their status by curbing the increasing influence of the city of Baltimore and the more populous counties. To do so, they supported the development of the federal city and a canal on the Potomac River to secure their economic future. Conversely, the Chesapeake faction advocated for Baltimore's growth. Their strategy involved improving the Susquehanna River to channel the lucrative wheat trade from western Maryland and Pennsylvania through Baltimore. They also believed that political representation should reflect population growth patterns rather than be defined by the counties. They feared that a canal on the Potomac River would undermine Baltimore's prosperity by diverting trade to competitors like Georgetown, the proposed federal city, and Alexandria.^[3] ^[4]

Temporarily setting aside differences at the national level, the "Chesapeake Ticket" was formed to punish incumbents who had supported the Potomac location for the proposed federal city. A "Potomac Ticket" was organized and led by Governor Smallwood. Turnout in Baltimore was around 99%, and almost every ballot was cast for the Chesapeake Ticket. Statewide, the ticket won an overwhelming majority, securing all six seats. This victory threatened the county-based rural oligarchy, prompting the House of Delegates to transition from a mixed system to a district-based system on December 19, 1790. Under this new system, all of Baltimore's votes would go to just one representative, Hartford County was grouped with Kent and Cecil Counties, and Anne Arundel County was grouped with Prince George's County and Annapolis. With the base of the Chesapeake "party" split between three districts, the Chesapeake faction would disappear. The political pattern created by this division would, however, "linger on indefinitely."

|-! | Benjamin Contee| | Anti-Administration| 1789| | Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
Winner later resigned due to questions of ineligibility due to his residence^[5] and was replaced in a special election by John Francis Mercer (Anti-Administration).| nowrap |

Massachusetts

See main article: 1790–1792 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts.

See also: List of United States representatives from Massachusetts. Massachusetts law required a majority for election. This condition was met in four of the eight districts, the remaining four required between 2 and 9 ballots for election.

|-! | George Partridge| | Pro-Administration| 1788| | Incumbent resigned August 14, 1790.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.| nowrap | :
:

|-! | George Leonard
| | Pro-Administration| 1788| Incumbent re-elected.| nowrap | :

|-! | Jonathan Grout
| | Anti-Administration| 1789| | Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.| nowrap | :
:

|-! | George Thatcher
| | Pro-Administration| 1788| Incumbent re-elected.| nowrap | :
:
:
:

New Hampshire

See main article: 1790 United States House of Representatives election in New Hampshire.

New Jersey

See main article: 1791 United States House of Representatives election in New Jersey.

New York

See main article: 1790 United States House of Representatives elections in New York.

New York's districts were not numbered at the time, therefore the numbering here is retroactive.

|-! | William Floyd| | Anti-Administration| 1789| Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
Winner died May 24, 1790, before the start of the 2nd Congress. A special election was then held (see above), leading to an Anti-Administration hold.| nowrap |

North Carolina

North Carolina ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789, and elected its representatives after admission.

1st Congress

See main article: 1790 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina.

|-!
| colspan=3 | State ratified the U.S. Constitution November 21, 1789.| | First member elected March 24, 1790.
Pro-Administration win.
District covered areas beyond the Appalachian Mountains that were ceded to in May 1790 to form the Southwest Territory, but member retained seat for the remainder of term.| nowrap |

2nd Congress

See main article: 1791 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina.

Due to the cession of North Carolina's trans-Appalachian territory to form the Southwest Territory, the territory of the old was lost. North Carolina retained the same number of Representatives, and so it redistricted for the Second Congress.

Pennsylvania

See main article: 1791 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania.

See also: List of United States representatives from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania had elected its Representatives at-large in the 1st Congress, but switched to using districts in the 2nd Congress. Five incumbents ran for re-election, four of whom won, while three others retired leaving three open seats. Two districts had no incumbents residing in them, while one (the) had a single representative who declined to run for re-election and one (the) had three incumbents, only one of whom ran for re-election.

Rhode Island

1st Congress

See main article: August 1790 United States House of Representatives election in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island ratified the Constitution May 29, 1790. It elected its representatives after admission.

2nd Congress

See main article: October 1790 United States House of Representatives election in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island held elections for the 2nd Congress on October 18, 1790, about six weeks after elections for the 1st Congress due to the state's late ratification of the Constitution.

South Carolina

See main article: 1790 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina.

Vermont

See main article: 1791 United States House of Representatives elections in Vermont.

See also: List of United States representatives from Vermont. Vermont was admitted at the end of the First Congress, with the admission taking effect at the start of the Second Congress. Vermont was entitled to elect two representatives. Vermont law at the time required a majority to win an office. In the, no candidate won a majority, necessitating a run-off.

Virginia

Bibliography

Web site: A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825 . Tufts Digital Library, Tufts University . January 17, 2015 . January 29, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150129054451/http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:de.uscongress.1789 . dead .
Book: Dubin, Michael J. . 1788 United States Congressional Elections-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses . McFarland and Company . March 1, 1998 . 978-0786402830.
Book: Martis, Kenneth C. . The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989 . Macmillan Publishing Company . January 1, 1989 . 978-0029201701.
Web site: Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present . Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives . January 21, 2015.

External links

Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)

Notes and References

Web site: Party Divisions of the House of Representatives, 1789 to Present US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives . 2024-06-30 . history.house.gov . en.
Book: Jenkins . Jeffrey A. . Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government . 2013 . Princeton University . Princeton, N. J. . 26-27 .
Book: Ridgway, Whitman H. . Community Leadership in Maryland, 1790-1840: A Comparative Analysis of Power in Society . . 2018 . 9781469648040.
Book: Renzulli, L. Marx . Maryland: the Federalist Years . . 1973 . 9780838679036 . 149-155.
Web site: Second Congress (membership roster) . March 8, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130306182456/http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/bioguide-front/2.pdf . March 6, 2013 . dead .