1838–39 United States House of Representatives elections explained

Election Name:	1838–39 United States House of Representatives elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1837
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1836–37 United States House of Representatives elections
Next Election:	1840–41 United States House of Representatives elections
Seats For Election:	All 242 seats in the United States House of Representatives
Majority Seats:	122
Election Date:	July 2, 1838 – November 5, 1839
Party1:	Democratic Party (US)
Image1:	JohnWinstonJones.jpg
Leader1:	John Jones
Last Election1:	128 seats
Seats1:	126
Seat Change1:	2
Popular Vote1:	995,133
Percentage1:	50.01%
Swing1:	0.94%
Party2:	Whig Party (US)
Leader2:	Robert M. T. Hunter
Last Election2:	100 seats
Seats2:	116
Seat Change2:	16
Popular Vote2:	989,712
Percentage2:	49.73%
Swing2:	3.23%
Party4:	Independent (US)
Last Election4:	1 seat
Seats4:	0
Seat Change4:	1
Popular Vote4:	8,205
Percentage4:	0.41%
Swing4:	0.58%
Speaker
Before Election:	James K. Polk
After Election:	Robert M. T. Hunter
Before Party:	Democratic Party (US)
After Party:	Whig Party (US)

The 1838–39 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between July 2, 1838, and November 5, 1839. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 26th United States Congress convened on December 2, 1839. They occurred during President Martin Van Buren's term. Elections were held for all 242 seats, representing 26 states.

The Panic of 1837 and consequent economic downturn drove Whig Party gains. Van Buren's Democratic Party had lost popularity and Whig policies of economic nationalism appealed to a larger number of voters. Democrats were able, however, to contain the political fallout by blaming banks for the crisis. The Anti-Masonic Party, influential in New York, Pennsylvania, and other Northern states, lost seats, while the Southern Nullifier Party disappeared. Two Virginia representatives were elected on that state's Conservative Party ticket.

Early business of the new House reflected the close partisan division. When Congress first Convened on December 3, 1839, two contingents of New Jersey representatives-elect, one composed of Democrats and the other of Whigs, arrived and both requested to be seated as members. Charging the Whigs with election fraud and facing loss of control of the House, the Democratic Party majority (119 to 118 Whigs from outside New Jersey) refused to seat all but one Whig.^[1] Massachusetts Representative John Quincy Adams presided as "chairman" of the House after the clerk lost control. Two weeks later, when voting for speaker of the House finally commenced, 11 ballots were needed before Robert M. T. Hunter, a compromise Whig candidate, was elected, receiving 119 votes (out of 232 cast).^[2] This congress also enacted the first Independent Treasury bill.

Election summaries

↓
125	8	109
Democratic		Whig

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Democratic	Whig	Others
State	Type	Date	Total seats		Seats		Change		Seats		Change	Seats	Change
Louisiana	Districts	data-sort-value="July 4, 1838"	July 2–4, 1838	3		0	data-sort-value="-1"	1		3	data-sort-value="1"	1	0	data-sort-value=0
Illinois	Districts	August 6, 1838	3		2	data-sort-value="-1"	1		1	data-sort-value="1"	1	0	data-sort-value=0
Missouri	At-large	August 6, 1838	2		2	data-sort-value=0			0	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value=0
Vermont	Districts	September 1, 1838	5		2	data-sort-value="1"	1		3	data-sort-value="-1"	1	0	data-sort-value=0
Maine	Districts	September 10, 1838	8		6	data-sort-value=0			2	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value=0
Arkansas	At-large	October 1, 1838	1		1	data-sort-value=0			0	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value=0
Georgia	At-large	October 1, 1838	9		0	data-sort-value="-8"	8		9	data-sort-value="8"	8	0	data-sort-value=0
New Jersey	At-large	October 8, 1838	6		5	data-sort-value="5"	5		1	data-sort-value="-5"	5	0	data-sort-value=0
South Carolina	Districts	data-sort-value="October 9, 1838"	October 8–9, 1838	9		8	data-sort-value="6"	6		1	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value="-6"	6
Ohio	Districts	October 9, 1838	19		11	data-sort-value=3	3		8	data-sort-value="-3"	3	0	data-sort-value=0
Pennsylvania	Districts	October 9, 1838	28		17	data-sort-value=0			5	data-sort-value="1"	1	6	data-sort-value="-1"	1
Michigan	At-large	November 6, 1838	1		1	data-sort-value=0			0	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value=0
New York	Districts	data-sort-value="November 7, 1838"	November 5–7, 1838	40		19	data-sort-value="-11"	11		21	data-sort-value="11"	11	0	data-sort-value=0
Massachusetts	Districts	November 12, 1838	12		2	data-sort-value=0			10	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value=0
Delaware	At-large	November 13, 1838	1		1	data-sort-value="1"	1		0	data-sort-value="-1"	1	0	data-sort-value=0
New Hampshire	At-large	March 12, 1839	5		5	data-sort-value=0			0	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value=0
Connecticut	Districts	April 1, 1839	6		0	data-sort-value="-6"	6		6	data-sort-value="6"	6	0	data-sort-value=0
Virginia	Districts	May 23, 1839	21		12	data-sort-value="-3"	3		7	data-sort-value="1"	1	2	data-sort-value="2"	2
Kentucky	Districts	August 1, 1839	13		2	data-sort-value="1"	1		11	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value="-1"	1
Tennessee	Districts	August 1, 1839	13		6	data-sort-value=3	3		7	data-sort-value="-3"	3	0	data-sort-value=0
Alabama	Districts	August 5, 1839	5		3	data-sort-value=0			2	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value=0
Indiana	Districts	August 5, 1839	7		5	data-sort-value="4"	4		2	data-sort-value="-4"	4	0	data-sort-value=0
North Carolina	Districts	August 8, 1839	13		8	data-sort-value="3"	3		5	data-sort-value="-3"	3	0	data-sort-value=0
Rhode Island	At-large	August 27, 1839	2		0	data-sort-value=0			2	data-sort-value=0		0	data-sort-value=0
Maryland	Districts	October 3, 1839	8		5	data-sort-value="1"	1		3	data-sort-value="-1"	1	0	data-sort-value=0
Mississippi	At-large	data-sort-value="November 5, 1839"	November 4–5, 1839	2		2	data-sort-value="2"	2		0	data-sort-value="-2"	2	0	data-sort-value=0
Total	242		125	data-sort-value="-3"	3		109	data-sort-value="9"	9	8	6

Special elections

There were special elections in 1838 and 1839 to the 25th United States Congress and 26th United States Congress.

Special elections are listed by date then district.

25th Congress

|-! | | | | New member elected March 8, 1838.||-! | | | | New member elected April 28, 1838.||-! | | | | New member elected May 29, 1838.||-! rowspan=2 |
| John F. H. Claiborne| | Democratic| 1835| rowspan=2 | The House rescinded its former decision February 5, 1838 and declared the seats vacant.
New members elected May 29, 1838.
Two Whig gains.
Successors seated May 30, 1838.^[3] | rowspan=2 nowrap |

|-| Samuel J. Gholson| | Democratic| 1836

|-! | | | | New member elected October 9, 1838.||-! | | | | New member elected November 5, 1838.||-! | Stephen C. Phillips| | Whig| 1834 | | Incumbent resigned September 28, 1838 to become Mayor of Salem.
New member elected November 12, 1838.
Whig hold.
Successor also elected the same day to the next term; see below.| nowrap |

26th Congress

|-! | | | | New member elected November 20, 1839.||-! | James C. Alvord| | Whig| 1838| | Incumbent died September 27, 1839.
New member elected December 23, 1839 on the second ballot.
Whig hold.| nowrap |

Alabama

Arkansas

Connecticut

Connecticut elected its six members April 1, 1839, flipping all six seats from Democratic to Whig.

Delaware

Florida Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

|-!

Maryland

Massachusetts

Elections were held November 12, 1838, but one district's election went to a fourth ballot in 1839, after the March 4, 1839 start of the term but before the House convened in December 1839.

Michigan

Isaac E. Crary (Democratic) 50.3%
Hezekiah Wells (Whig) 49.7%^[4]

Mississippi

See also: List of United States representatives from Mississippi. A special election was held in Mississippi on July 17–18, 1837. Its winners were Democrats John F. H. Claiborne and Samuel J. Gholson. The first session of the 25th Congress was a special session beginning on September 4, 1837, extending to October 16. In November, Mississippi held the regular election. Seargent Smith Prentiss, a Vicksburg lawyer and Whig, unexpectedly launched a vigorous, partisan campaign. He and fellow Whig Thomas J. Word won in an upset. Claiborne and Gholson then argued that the July result entitled them to serve full terms. With the Whig Party newly organizing, the closely divided House, in which Anti-Masons, Nullifiers, and the Independent tended to align more with Whigs and to oppose Democrats, agreed to hear Prentiss. He spoke for nine hours over three days, packing the gallery, drawing Senators, and earning a national reputation for oratory and public admiration from leading Whigs including Senators Clay and Webster. The Elections Committee then required a third election. Scheduled for April 1838, it confirmed the November result. Both Whigs were seated in May late in the second session, also serving for the third session.

Missouri

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Pennsylvania

In the, Charles Naylor's election was unsuccessfully contested by Charles J. Ingersoll.^[5]

There were three special elections in Pennsylvania during the 26th Congress.^[6] The first was in the caused by the death of William W. Potter (Democratic) on October 28, 1839. This vacancy was filled by George McCulloch (Democratic). The second was in the caused by the resignation of Richard Biddle. This vacancy was filled by Henry M. Brackenridge (Whig). The third was in the caused by the death of William S. Ramsey (Democratic) on October 17, 1840. Ramsey had also been re-elected to the 27th Congress and so an additional special election was held the following May to fill the vacancy in the 27th Congress.

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Elections held late, on August 1, 1839.

Vermont

Virginia

Wisconsin Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates

25th Congress

26th Congress

|-! | William W. Chapman| | Democratic| 1838| Incumbent lost re-election.
New delegate elected August 5, 1839, but election was invalidated due to a misdrafting of the a territorial statute, and Congress extended the term of the incumbent delegate to 1840.^[7] | nowrap |

|-! | George Wallace Jones| | Democratic| 1836| | Incumbent lost re-election.
New delegate elected in September 1838.
Democratic hold.
Incumbent claimed that prior 1836 election had entitled him to serve until March 1839, but the house disagreed and seated the winner January 14, 1839.| nowrap |

Bibliography

Book: Dubin, Michael J. . 1788 United States Congressional Elections-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses . March 1, 1998 . McFarland and Company . 978-0786402830.
Book: Martis, Kenneth C. . The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989 . January 1, 1989 . Macmillan Publishing Company . 978-0029201701.
Book: Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections . 1994 . Congressional Quarterly Inc. . 978-0871879967 . Moore . John L. . Third . .
Web site: Party Divisions of the House of Representatives 1789–Present . January 21, 2015 . Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives.

External links

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

Notes and References

Lalor . John Joseph . 1899 . Lalor . John J. . Cyclopædia of political science, political economy, and of the political history of the United States, by the best American and European writers . New York, New York . New York . 309 . 2027/umn.319510014074381.
Web site: 26th Congress (1839–1841) . March 1, 2019 . Congress Profiles . Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives . Washington, D.C..
Web site: Twenty-fifth Congress March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1839 . April 9, 2019 . Historian of the United States House of Representatives.
Web site: MI - District 01 Race - Nov 06, 1838 . Our Campaigns . January 11, 2010 . June 27, 2022 .
Web site: Twenty-Sixth Congress (membership roster) – see footnote 42 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402113616/http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/bioguide-front/26.pdf . April 2, 2015 . January 14, 2013.
Web site: Twenty-Sixth Congress (membership roster) – see footnotes 43-48 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402113616/http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/bioguide-front/26.pdf . April 2, 2015 . January 14, 2013.
Pelzer . Louis . 1907 . Shambaugh . Benjamin F. . The Election of Francis Gehon in 1839 . Iowa Journal of History and Politics . . . 4 . 4 . 539 . 2027/uc1.31210003483169?urlappend=%3Bseq=553 . December 18, 2020.