The 1820–21 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between July 3, 1820, and August 10, 1821. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 17th United States Congress convened on December 3, 1821. They coincided with President James Monroe winning reelection unopposed.
In March 1820, seven House seats transferred from Massachusetts to Maine after the latter seceded from the former to become a separate state. The size of the House then increased to 187 seats after Missouri achieved statehood in 1821.
Incumbent resigned December 14, 1819, when elected U.S. Senator. New member elected January 3, 1820 and seated January 18, 1820.[2][3] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner later re-elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned November 4, 1819, to become assistant collector of the Port of New York.[2] New member elected February 2, 1820 and seated February 16, 1820.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned February 10, 1820, to become as Receiver of Public Monies in St. Louis, Missouri. New member elected in August 1820 and seated November 13, 1820.[2][5] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner later re-elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned August 9, 1820, due to family illness. New delegate elected in 1820 and seated November 20, 1820. Winner later re-elected; see below.
Incumbent resigned July 6, 1820. New member elected in 1820 and seated November 13, 1820.[2][7] Democratic-Republican gain. Winner later re-elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned when appointed as collector of customs in Norfolk. New member elected in 1820 and seated November 13, 1820.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner later lost re-election to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned June 15, 1820. New member elected August 7, 1820 and seated November 13, 1820.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was also elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent died March 1, 1820. New member elected August 7, 1820 and seated November 13, 1820.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was also elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned. New member elected August 21, 1820 and seated November 13, 1820.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was later re-elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned May 15, 1820. New member elected October 10, 1820 and seated November 13, 1820.[2] Federalist gain. Winner was not a candidate for election to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned May 15, 1820, to pursue his law practice. New member elected on the second ballot November 6, 1820 and seated November 27, 1820.[2] Democratic-Republican gain.[j] Winner also elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned July 26, 1820. New member elected November 24, 1820 and seated December 18, 1820.[2] Winner had already been elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned in December 1820 when elected Governor of Pennsylvania. New member elected December 10, 1820 and seated January 8, 1821.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was not a candidate for election to the next term; see below.
Incumbent died December 20, 1820. New member elected February 7, 1821 and seated February 7, 1821.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner later re-elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned sometime before the start of the new Congress. New member elected August 6, 1821 and seated December 3, 1821.[13][14] Democratic-Republican hold.
Incumbent member-elect declined to serve in the next term and resigned March 3, 1821. New member elected October 9, 1821 and seated December 3, 1821.[13] Democratic-Republican hold.
This was the first election in Maine since its separation from Massachusetts. In the previous election, Massachusetts had had 20 representatives. Seven seats (representing the 14th-20th districts) were reassigned from Massachusetts to Maine. In addition, under the terms of the law which admitted Maine to the union, any vacancies in the 16th Congress by Representatives elected to represent Massachusetts but residing in the new states of Maine would be filled by a resident of Maine.[2]John Holmes, who had been elected to the House for the former 14th district of Massachusetts was elected as one of the first two senators for Maine. The vacancy was filled in a special election by Joseph Dane (Federalist). Dane was the only Representative officially considered as representing Maine in the 16th Congress. The Representatives from the 15th-20th districts were still classified as being from Massachusetts for the remainder of the 16th Congress.
Maine elected its members on November 7, 1820. State law required a majority to win an election, necessitating additional ballots if a majority was not received. And, in fact, additional ballots were held on January 22, 1821, and September 10, 1821, after the term began but before the new Congress convened.
Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected on the third ballot after the beginning of the term but before Congress convened. Democratic-Republican hold.
Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected on the third ballot after the beginning of the term but before Congress convened. Democratic-Republican hold.
This was the first election in Massachusetts after the separation of the former District of Maine as the new State of Maine, taking the old 14th – 20th districts with it.
Massachusetts elected its members November 6, 1820. Massachusetts had a majority requirement for election, which was not met in the 2nd district necessitating two additional elections on January 8, 1821, and April 16, 1821, after the term began but before the new Congress convened.
District numbers differed between source used and elsewhere on Wikipedia; district numbers used elsewhere on Wikipedia used here.
New Jersey elected its members November 7, 1820. There were an unusually large number of candidates, 119 candidates according to one contemporary newspaper.[20] Some candidates ran under an "Anti-Caucus" ticket. Only 1 of the 6 six incumbents would serve in the next term, as 4 retired and 1 died after re-election.
New York elected its members April 24–26, 1821, after the term began but before the new Congress convened. The 21st district, previously a plural district with two seats, was divided into two single-member districts for the 17th Congress, the 21st and 22nd.
The Democratic-Republican party in New York was divided between "Bucktails" and "Clintonians". The Clintonians ran on a joint ticket with the remaining Federalists. In a few cases, marked as "Clintonian/Federalist" below, it is unclear whether a candidate on the joint ticket was Democratic-Republican or Federalist.
Only five of the twenty-seven incumbents were re-elected to the next term. Sixteen incumbents retired and five lost re-election. Despite this high turnover of membership, there was only a one-seat net gain for the Federalists.
In 1820, Vermont returned to using districts. This would be the only election in which the 6th district would be used.
Vermont elected its members September 5, 1820. A majority was required for election, which was not met in the 2nd or 3rd district, requiring additional ballots to achieve a majority. The 2nd district required 7 ballots. The 3rd district required two additional ballots. The additional ballots were held December 11, 1820, and February 19, May 1, July 2, September 4, and October 22, 1821.
There were four territories that had the right to send a delegate to at least part of the 17th Congress, only three of which actually sent delegates. Missouri Territory's seat remained vacant, as the territory was admitted as the State of Missouri early in the 17th Congress.
^ abcIncludes "late" elections held after the March 4 beginning of the term.
^Majority requirement for election which was not met in 2 districts requiring 6 additional elections held on December 11, 1820, February 19, May 1, July 2, September 4, and October 22, 1821.
^Majority requirement for election which was not met in 1 district requiring additional elections on January 8 and April 16, 1821.
^After seven districts were moved to the new state of Maine.
^ abcdefgIn New York's 1st district, the winners were initially declared to be Silas Wood (Federalist) and Peter Sharpe (Democratic-Republican). Sharpe's election was challenged. Initial returns showed 3,339 votes for Cadwallader D. Colden (Federalist), with 395 for "Cadwallader Colden" and 220 for "Cadwallader D. Colder". After those votes were declared to be for Cadwallader D. Colden, he finished in 2nd place with 3,954 votes (27.1%), and thus received one of the two seats for that district in place of Sharpe. He was seated December 12, 1821.[13]
Cox, Harold (January 14, 2007). "17th Congress 1821-1823"(PDF). Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 The Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
Mapping Early American Elections project team (2019). "Mapping Early American Elections". Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
External links
Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)
