1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections explained

Election Name:	1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1870
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1868–69 United States House of Representatives elections
Next Election:	1872–73 United States House of Representatives elections
Seats For Election:	All 243 seats in the United States House of Representatives
Majority Seats:	122
Election Date:	June 6, 1870 – October 6, 1871
Party1:	Republican Party (US)
Image1:	Unsuccessful 1884.jpg
Leader1:	James G. Blaine
Last Election1:	171 seats
Seats1:	136
Seat Change1:	35
Popular Vote1:	2,719,276
Percentage1:	49.59%
Swing1:	2.22%
Party2:	Democratic Party (US)
Leader2:	Fernando Wood
Last Election2:	61 seats
Seats2:	94
Seat Change2:	33
Popular Vote2:	2,441,956
Percentage2:	44.53%
Swing2:	0.40%
Party4:	Conservative Party (Virginia, 1867)
Last Election4:	6 seats
Seats4:	10
Seat Change4:	4
Popular Vote4:	160,295
Percentage4:	2.92%
Swing4:	0.27%
Party5:	Liberal Republican Party (United States)
Last Election5:	New Party
Seats5:	2
Seat Change5:	2
Popular Vote5:	55,551
Percentage5:	1.01%
Swing5:	Pre-creation
Party7:	Independent (US)
Last Election7:	0 seats
Seats7:	1
Seat Change7:	1
Popular Vote7:	98,591
Percentage7:	1.80%
Swing7:	0.81%
Map Size:	320px
Speaker
Before Election:	James G. Blaine
After Election:	James G. Blaine
Before Party:	Republican Party (US)
After Party:	Republican Party (US)

The 1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 6, 1870, and October 6, 1871. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before or after the first session of the 42nd United States Congress convened on March 4, 1871. They occurred in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's first term. Elections were held for all 243 seats, representing 37 states.

With Grant's administration rocked by a number of scandals (including a shady deal for gold speculation that led to a crash in the market and several business deals that saw high-ranking governmental officials gain kickbacks) and Reconstruction winding down, his Republican Party lost seats to the opposition Democratic Party but retained an overall majority. Also, since white-supremacist governments controlled by the Democratic Party were reestablishing themselves in some portions of the Southern United States, the Democrats were able to make huge gains in this election.

Election summaries

↓
104	139
Democratic	Republican

State	Type	Total seats	Republican
State	Type	Total seats	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Mississippi	District	5	0		5
Alabama	District	6	3	1	3	1
Arkansas	District	3	1		2
California	District	3	0	2	3	2
Connecticut	District	4	1		3
Delaware	At-large	1	1		0
Florida	At-large	1	1	1	0	1
Georgia	District	7	4		3
Illinois	District + 1 at-large	14	6	2	8	2
Indiana	District	11	5	1	6	1
Iowa	District	6	0		6
Kansas	At-large	1	0		1
Kentucky	District	9	9		0
Louisiana	District	5	0		5
Maine	District	5	0		5
Maryland	District	5	5		0
Massachusetts	District	10	0		10
Michigan	District	6	1	1	5	1
Minnesota	District	2	0	1	2	1
Missouri	District	9	4	2	5	2
Nebraska	At-large	1	0		1
Nevada	At-large	1	1	1	0	1
New Hampshire	District	3	3	3	0	3
New Jersey	District	5	2	1	3	1
New York	District	31	16	3	15	3
North Carolina	District	7	5	4	2	4
Ohio	District	19	5	1	14	1
Oregon	At-large	1	1		0
Pennsylvania	District	24	11	3	13	3
Rhode Island	District	2	0		2
South Carolina	District	4	0		4
Tennessee	District	8	6	6	2	6
Texas	District	4	4	3	0	3
Vermont	District	3	0		3
Virginia	District	8	5	5	3
West Virginia	District	3	2	2	1	2
Wisconsin	District	6	2	1	4	1
Total		243	104	37	139	32

The previous election included 5 Conservatives

Election dates

In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors.^[1] 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 this date as well. In 1870, there remained 12 States that held elections before Election Day, and 4 that held it after at this time:

Early elections:
- December 1, 1869: Mississippi (Mississippi was a special case, having held elections for both the 41st Congress upon readmission and for the 42nd Congress on the same day)
- June 6: Oregon
- August 4: North Carolina
- September 6: Vermont
- September 12: Maine
- October 11: Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania
- October 25: West Virginia
- November 1: South Carolina
Late elections:
- March 14, 1871: New Hampshire
- April 4, 1871: Connecticut
- August 6, 1871: Montana Territory
- September 6, 1871: California
- October 6, 1871: Texas

Special elections

|-! |-! |-! |-! | Benjamin F. Hopkins| | Republican| 1866| | Incumbent died January 1, 1870.
New member elected February 15, 1870.
Republican hold.| nowrap |

Alabama

Arizona Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Arkansas

California

Election Name:	California elections
Country:	California
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1868 United States House of Representatives elections in California
Previous Year:	1868
Next Election:	1872 United States House of Representatives elections in California
Next Year:	1872
Seats For Election:	3 seats
Election Date:	September 6, 1871
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Last Election1:	1
Seats1:	3
Seat Change1:	2
Popular Vote1:	62,539
Percentage1:	52.3%
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Last Election2:	2
Seats2:	0
Seat Change2:	2
Popular Vote2:	57,065
Percentage2:	47.7%
Map Size:	160px

See main article: 1871 United States House of Representatives elections in California.

Colorado Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Connecticut

Dakota Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Delaware

District of Columbia

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Florida

Election Name:	Florida election
Country:	Florida
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1868 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida
Previous Year:	1868
Next Election:	1872 United States House of Representatives election in Florida
Next Year:	1872
Seats For Election:	1 seat
Election Date:	November 8, 1870 (Election Day)
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Last Election1:	1
Seats1:	1^[2]
Popular Vote1:	12,439
Percentage1:	51.3%
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Last Election2:	0
Seats2:	0
Popular Vote2:	11,812
Percentage2:	48.7%

See main article: 1870 United States House of Representatives election in Florida.

Niblack subsequently successfully challenged Walls's election and was seated from Florida's at-large district on January 29, 1873.^[3]

Georgia

Idaho Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

New Mexico Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Utah Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Vermont

Virginia

Washington Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

See also: List of United States representatives from Wisconsin. Wisconsin elected six members of congress on Election Day, November 8, 1870.

Wyoming Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates

Bibliography

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.
Book: John L. . Moore . Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections . Congressional Quarterly Inc. . Third . 1994 . 978-0871879967.
Web site: Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present . Office of the Historian, House of 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

Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721.
Initial result, Democratic candidate successfully challenged Republican victory
Web site: Forty-Second Congress (membership roster) . June 4, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130309234550/http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/bioguide-front/42.pdf . March 9, 2013 . dead .