1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections explained

Election Name:	1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1795
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1798–99 United States House of Representatives elections
Next Election:	1802–03 United States House of Representatives elections
Outgoing Members:	6th_United_States_Congress#House_of_Representatives_3
Elected Members:	7th United States Congress#House_of_Representatives_3
Seats For Election:	All 106 seats in the United States House of Representatives
Majority Seats:	54
Election Date:	April 29, 1800 – August 1, 1801
Party1:	Democratic-Republican Party
Image1:	NC-Congress-NathanielMacon.jpg
Leader1:	Nathaniel Macon^[1]
Last Election1:	46 seats
Seats1:	68
Seat Change1:	22
Party2:	Federalist Party
Leader2:	Theodore Sedgwick
Last Election2:	60 seats
Seats2:	38
Seat Change2:	22
Map Size:	350px
Speaker
Before Election:	Theodore Sedgwick
Before Party:	Federalist Party
After Election:	Nathaniel Macon
After Party:	Democratic-Republican Party

The 1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 29, 1800, and August 1, 1801. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 7th United States Congress convened on December 7, 1801. They were held at the same time as the 1800 presidential election, in which Vice President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic Republican, defeated incumbent President John Adams, a Federalist. Elections were held for all 105 seats, representing 15 states.

These elections resulted in the Democratic-Republicans picking up 22 seats from the Federalists. This brought the Democratic-Republicans a solid majority of 68 seats, whereas the Federalists were only able to secure 38. Many state legislatures also changed to Democratic-Republican control, with the result that many new Democratic-Republicans were voted into the Senate. The Federalists never again succeeded in gaining a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and the national Federalist Party disintegrated completely in the early 1820s.^[2]

The victory of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans can be attributed partially to unpopular policies pursued by the Adams administration, including the Alien and Sedition Acts, which sought to curtail guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press spelled out in the Bill of Rights.

The difference between Federalist policies in support of a strong national government and the Democratic-Republican preference for states' rights played a prominent role in the election. Federal taxation became an issue as Southerners and Westerners rejected federal taxes levied on property.

Election summaries

↓
68	38
Democratic-Republican	Federalist

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Federalist
State	Type	Date	Total seats	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
New York	Districts	April 29 – May 1, 1800	10	6		4
North Carolina	Districts	August 15, 1800	10	6		4
New Hampshire	At-large	August 25, 1800	4	0		4
Rhode Island	At-large	August 26, 1800	2	2	2	0	2
Vermont	Districts	September 2, 1800	2	1		1
Connecticut	At-large	September 22, 1800	7	0		7
Georgia	At-large	October 6, 1800	2	2	2	0	2
Delaware	At-large	October 7, 1800	1	0		1
Pennsylvania	Districts	October 14, 1800	13	10	2	3	2
South Carolina	Districts	October 24, 1800	6	3	2	3	2
Massachusetts	Districts	November 3, 1800	14	7	5	7	5
New Jersey	At-large	December 24, 1800	5	5	2	0	2
Maryland	Districts	January 1, 1801	8	5	2	3	2
Late elections
Virginia	Districts	April 23, 1801	19	18	5	1	5
Kentucky	Districts	August 3, 1801	2	2		0
Tennessee	At-large	August 4, 1801	1	1		0
Total			106	68	22	38	22

Special elections

There were special elections in 1800 and 1801 during the 6th United States Congress and 7th United States Congress.

Elections are sorted here by date then district.

6th Congress

|-! | William Henry Harrison| | None| 1799| | Incumbent resigned to become Governor of Indiana Territory.
New member elected November 6, 1800 by the territorial legislature.
Federalist gain.
Successor seated November 24, 1800.
Successor was not a candidate for the next term, see below.| nowrap |

7th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
	James Jones		Democratic-Republican	1798		Incumbent died January 11, 1801, before the beginning of the Congress. New member elected March 23, 1801. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
	Elizur Goodrich		Federalist	1799 ^[3]		Incumbent resigned March 3, 1801. New member elected April 9, 1801. Federalist hold.	nowrap
	George Thatcher		Federalist	1788		Incumbent declined re-election. New member elected June 22, 1801. Democratic-Republican gain. Winner seated December 7, 1801.	nowrap
	David Stone		Federalist	1798		Incumbent elected U.S. Senator, and therefore chose not to serve in the House in the 7th Congress. New member elected August 6, 1801. Democratic-Republican gain. Winner seated December 7, 1801.	nowrap
	Levi Lincoln		Democratic-Republican	1800		Incumbent resigned March 5, 1801, to become U.S. Attorney General. New member elected August 24, 1801. Federalist gain. Winner seated January 11, 1802.	nowrap
	William Edmond		Federalist	1797		Incumbent resigned March 3, 1801. New member elected September 21, 1801. Federalist hold.	nowrap
	John Bird		Federalist	1798		Incumbent resigned July 25, 1801. New member elected October 8, 1801. Democratic-Republican gain. Winner seated December 7, 1801.	nowrap
	Thomas Tillotson		Democratic-Republican	1800		Incumbent resigned August 10, 1801, to become N.Y. Secretary of State. New member elected October 8, 1801. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner seated December 7, 1801.	nowrap
	Peter Muhlenberg		Democratic-Republican	1798		Incumbent elected U.S. Senator, and therefore declined to serve in the House in the 7th Congress. New member elected October 13, 1801. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner seated December 7, 1801.	nowrap
	Albert Gallatin		Democratic-Republican	1794		Incumbent appointed U.S. Treasury May 14, 1801, during the 7th Congress but before that congress formally convened. New member elected October 13, 1801. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner seated December 7, 1801.	nowrap
	Silas Lee		Federalist	1800		Incumbent resigned August 20, 1801. No majority was achieved on the September 25, 1801, and December 7, 1801, ballots, so the election was continued in 1802.	nowrap

Connecticut

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives election in Connecticut.

Note: Between the two sources used, there is disagreement over the ordering of the candidates. Both sources have the same numbers of votes recorded, but disagree on which candidates received those votes, one source lists Goddard as 8th, Talmadge as 9th, etc., as listed here, while the other has them as 11th, 12th, etc., three places off for all of them until the bottom three listed here which are moved up to 8th-10th, suggesting that one of the two sources accidentally misplaced three names on the list. They are ordered here as Goddard and Talmadge in 8th and 9th place as it is more likely that they'd been at the top of the runners-up given that they were subsequently elected to fill vacancies in the 7th Congress.

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
	William Edmond		Federalist	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap rowspan=7
	Chauncey Goodrich		Federalist	1794		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist hold. Winner (William Edmond) chose not to serve. A special election was therefore held to replace him, see above.
	Jonathan Brace		Federalist	1798		Incumbent resigned in May 1800. Federalist hold. Winner (John Cotton Smith) also elected to finish the term, see above.
	Roger Griswold		Federalist	1794	Incumbent re-elected.
	Elizur Goodrich		Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected. Winner (Elizur Goodrich) chose not to serve. A special election was therefore held to replace him, see above.
	John Davenport		Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected.
	Samuel W. Dana		Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.

Delaware

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware.

Georgia

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives election in Georgia.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
	James Jones		Federalist	1798		Incumbent re-elected to a different party. Democratic-Republican gain.
	Benjamin Taliaferro		Federalist	1798		Incumbent re-elected to a different party. Democratic-Republican gain.

Kentucky

See main article: 1801 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
	Thomas T. Davis		Democratic-Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
	John Fowler		Democratic-Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap

Maryland

See main article: 1801 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
George Dent	Federalist	1792		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap
John C. Thomas	Federalist	1798		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
William Craik	Federalist	1796		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold	nowrap
George Baer Jr.	Federalist	1796		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Samuel Smith	Democratic-Republican	1792	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Gabriel Christie	Democratic-Republican	1792 1794 (Lost) 1798		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Joseph H. Nicholson	Democratic-Republican	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John Dennis	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap

Massachusetts

See main article: 1800–1801 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts law required a majority for election, which was not met in the 1st and 6th districts, necessitating a second trial.

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
	Theodore Sedgwick		Federalist	1798		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
	William Shepard		Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
	Samuel Lyman		Federalist	1794		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold. Incumbent then resigned November 6, 1800, and the winner then elected to finish the term, see above.	nowrap
	Dwight Foster		Federalist	1793		Incumbent resigned June 6, 1800, when elected U.S. Senator. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain. Winner also elected to finish the term, see above.	nowrap
	Lemuel Williams		Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
	John Reed Sr.		Federalist	1794		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
	Phanuel Bishop		Democratic-Republican	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
	Harrison Gray Otis		Federalist	1796		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
	Joseph Bradley Varnum		Democratic-Republican	1794	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
	Samuel Sewall		Federalist	1796		Incumbent resigned January 10, 1800, to become Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. New member elected. Federalist hold. Winner also elected to finish the term, see above.	nowrap
	Bailey Bartlett		Federalist	1797		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap
	Silas Lee		Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
	Peleg Wadsworth		Federalist	1792	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
	George Thatcher		Federalist	1788	Incumbent re-elected. Winner later declined to serve and a special election would be held to fill the vacancy. Cutts won the special election and took the seat before congress convened. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap

Mississippi Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

New Hampshire

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives election in New Hampshire.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
James Sheafe	Federalist	1799 (special)		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap rowspan=4
Jonathan Freeman	Federalist	1796		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.
William Gordon	Federalist	1796		Incumbent resigned June 12, 1800, to become N.H. Attorney General. New member elected. Federalist hold. Winner (Samuel Tenney) also elected to finish current term, see above.
Abiel Foster	Federalist	1794	Incumbent re-elected.

New Jersey

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives election in New Jersey.

In 1800, New Jersey returned to its traditional at-large district, continued to use this system to select representatives until it was abolished in 1842, with a single exception in 1813.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
John Condit	Democratic-Republican	1798	Incumbent re-elected.
Aaron Kitchell	Democratic-Republican	1798		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.
James Linn	Democratic-Republican	1798		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.
James H. Imlay	Federalist	1797		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.
Franklin Davenport	Federalist	1798		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.

New York

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives elections in New York.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
John Smith	Democratic-Republican	1799 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Edward Livingston	Democratic-Republican	1794		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Philip Van Courtlandt	Democratic-Republican	1793	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Lucas C. Elmendorf	Democratic-Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Theodorus Bailey	Democratic-Republican	1798		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
John Bird	Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John Thompson	Democratic-Republican	1798		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Henry Glen	Federalist	1793		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap
Jonas Platt	Federalist	1798		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap
William Cooper	Federalist	1798		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap

North Carolina

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Joseph Dickson	Federalist	1798		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Archibald Henderson	Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Robert Williams	Democratic-Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Richard Stanford	Democratic-Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Nathaniel Macon	Democratic-Republican	1791	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
William H. Hill	Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
William Barry Grove	Federalist	1791	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
David Stone	Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected. Winner was also elected U.S. Senator, and therefore chose not to serve in the House in the next congress. A special election was held August 6, 1801, see above.	nowrap
Willis Alston	Democratic-Republican	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Richard Dobbs Spaight	Democratic-Republican	1798		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Federalist gain.	nowrap

Northwest Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Pennsylvania

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates^[4]
Robert Waln	Federalist	1798		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Michael Leib	Democratic-Republican	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Richard Thomas	Federalist	1794		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap
Peter Muhlenberg	Democratic-Republican	1798	Incumbent re-elected. Incumbent/winner was then elected U.S. Senator February 19, 1801, leading to a special election, see above.
Robert Brown	Democratic-Republican	1798	Incumbent re-elected.
Joseph Hiester	Democratic-Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John A. Hanna	Democratic-Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John W. Kittera	Federalist	1791		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap
Thomas Hartley	Federalist	1788		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain. Incumbent died December 21, 1800, and winner was then elected to finish the current term, see above.	nowrap
Andrew Gregg	Democratic-Republican	1791	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Henry Woods	Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John Smilie	Democratic-Republican	1792 1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Albert Gallatin	Democratic-Republican	1794	Incumbent re-elected. Incumbent/winner was later appointed U.S. Treasury May 14, 1801, during the 7th Congress but before that congress formally convened, leading to a special election, see above.	nowrap

Rhode Island

See main article: 1800–1801 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island switched to a general ticket for its two seats, instead of electing each one separately. Only one candidate received a majority in the 1800 election, requiring an 1801 run-off election to choose a Representative for the second seat.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
	John Brown		Federalist	1798		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap rowspan=2
	Christopher G. Champlin		Federalist	1796		Incumbent retired. Democratic-Republican gain.

South Carolina

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Thomas Pinckney	Federalist	1797 (special)		Incumbent retired. Federalist hold.	nowrap
John Rutledge Jr.	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Benjamin Huger	Federalist	1798	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Thomas Sumter	Democratic-Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Robert Goodloe Harper	Federalist	1794		Incumbent retired. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Abraham Nott	Federalist	1798		Incumbent retired. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap

Tennessee

See main article: 1801 United States House of Representatives election in Tennessee.

Claiborne did not serve in the 7th Congress as he was appointed Governor of Mississippi Territory and was replaced in a special election by William Dickson (Democratic-Republican)

Vermont

See main article: 1800 United States House of Representatives elections in Vermont.

Vermont law required a candidate to win a majority to take office, necessitating a run-off election in the 2nd (Eastern) district.

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
	Matthew Lyon		Democratic-Republican	1797		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
	Lewis R. Morris		Federalist	1797 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap

Virginia

See main article: 1801 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Robert Page	Federalist	1799		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
David Holmes	Democratic-Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
George Jackson	Democratic-Republican	1799	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Abram Trigg	Democratic-Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John J. Trigg	Democratic-Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Matthew Clay	Democratic-Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John Randolph	Democratic-Republican	1799	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Samuel Goode	Democratic-Republican	1799		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New member elected.	nowrap
Joseph Eggleston	Democratic-Republican	1798		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Edwin Gray	Democratic-Republican	1799	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Josiah Parker	Federalist	1789		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Thomas Evans	Federalist	1797		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Federalist hold.	nowrap
Littleton Waller Tazewell	Democratic-Republican	1800		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain from previous house elections.	nowrap
Samuel J. Cabell	Democratic-Republican	1795	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John Dawson	Democratic-Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Anthony New	Democratic-Republican	1793	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Leven Powell	Federalist	1799		Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
John Nicholas	Democratic-Republican	1793		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Henry Lee	Federalist	1799		Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap

Non-voting delegates

|-! | William Henry Harrison| | None| 1799| | Incumbent resigned to become Governor of Indiana Territory.
New member elected November 6, 1800, by the territorial legislature.
Federalist gain.
Successor seated November 24, 1800.
Successor was not a candidate to finish the current next term, see above.| nowrap |

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. . United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: 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: Seventh Congress (membership roster) . February 1, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141206141022/http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/bioguide-front/7.pdf . December 6, 2014 . dead .
Book: Jenkins. Jeffrey A.. Stewart. Charles Haines. Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government. 60. 2013. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey. 978-0691156446. July 30, 2019.
Web site: A New Nation Votes. elections.lib.tufts.edu. 2018-08-15. 2020-03-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20200316120524/https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:ct.special.congress.1799. dead.
Web site: Wilkes University Elections Statistics Project.