The 1818–19 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 26, 1818 and August 12, 1819. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 16th United States Congress convened on December 6, 1819. They occurred during President James Monroe's first term. Also, newly admitted Alabama elected its first representatives in September 1819, increasing the size of the House to 186 seats.
This election occurred in a politically uneventful period marked by exceptionally low levels of partisan rivalry known as the Era of Good Feelings. The weak Federalist Party, with limited influence in few states, no longer effectively opposed the Democratic-Republican Party, which increased its large majority.
Election summaries
Illinois was admitted in 1818, adding one seat.[1]
Alabama and Maine were admitted during the 16th Congress. One new seat was added for Alabama,[2] while Maine, splitting from Massachusetts, simply retained its Representatives.[3]
Incumbent resigned sometime in 1818. New member elected before November 1818 and seated November 16, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican gain. Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below.
Member-elect Alexander McMillan died before this Congress began. New member elected January 1, 1818 and seated January 26, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican gain. Winner later lost re-election; see below.
Incumbent resigned November 3, 1817 to become U.S. Secretary of War. New member elected in January 1818 and seated February 9, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner later re-elected; see below.
Incumbent resigned February 3, 1818. New member elected March 16, 1818 and seated November 16, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner later re-elected; see below.
Incumbent resigned February 24, 1818 to become President Judge of Pennsylvania's 7th Judicial Circuit. New member elected March 3, 1818 and seated March 24, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner resigned July 6, 1818; see below.
Incumbent resigned April 20, 1818. New member elected between April and November 1818 and seated November 16, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned April 20, 1818. New member elected July 6–8, 1818 and seated November 16, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned July 6, 1818. New member elected October 13, 1818 and seated November 16, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent died February 21, 1818. New member elected November 16, 1818 and seated April 21, 1818.[4] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner later lost re-election; see below.
Incumbent resigned November 23, 1818 when elected U.S. Senator. New member elected January 4, 1819 and seated February 18, 1819 both to finish the term and to the next term.[4] Democratic-Republican hold.
Incumbent died December 31, 1818. New member elected between January 1, 1819 and February 11, 1819 and seated February 11, 1819.[4] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was later re-elected to the next term; see below.
Alabama was admitted as a state December 14, 1819.[17] Incumbent territorial delegate re-elected as member and seated December 14, 1819.[17] Democratic-Republican gain.
Connecticut elected its members September 21, 1818. The delegation changed from seven Federalists to seven Democratic-Republicans then the retirement of six incumbents and the party-change of the seventh.
Illinois elected its member August 2, 1819, after the new congress began but before the first session convened. The incumbent had just been elected to the new seat in late 1818.
Illinois was admitted December 3, 1818. New member elected in 1818 and seated December 4, 1818 to finish the term ending March 3, 1819.[4] Democratic-Republican gain. The next year, the winner lost re-election; see below.
Louisiana held an election for the 16th Congress at the same time that it held a special election to finish the 15th Congress. Data were only available for the special election, but the general election would presumably have had very similar results, and so the results for the special election are duplicated here.
Massachusetts elected its members November 2, 1818. Massachusetts's electoral law required a majority for election, n Massachusetts's electoral law required a majority for electionMassachusetts's electoral law required a majority for electionecessitating additional elections in five districts on April 5, 1819 and July 26, 1819.
This was the last election in which the District of Maine — comprising congressional districts 14 through 20 — was part of Massachusetts. The District became the State of Maine during the 16th Congress.
District numbers differed between source used and elsewhere on Wikipedia; district numbers used elsewhere on Wikipedia used here.
New York elected its members April 28–30, 1818, the earliest of any state.
At this time, the Democratic-Republicans in New York were divided into two factions, the "Bucktails" who were opposed to Governor Dewitt Clinton's Erie Canal project, led by Martin Van Buren, and on the other side, Clinton's supporters, known as Clintonians. In many districts, the remaining Federalists allied with the Clintonians, with candidates running on a joint ticket. Several candidates who ran under that joint ticket cannot be clearly categorized, and are marked C/F. Others who ran under the joint ticket are marked by their party with a footnote indicating that they ran under the joint ticket.
^ abIn New York's 1st district, an election dispute arose. Initial returns showed the winners to be Silas Wood and Ebenezer Sage. This election was contested, however, on the grounds that there were 396 votes for "James Guyon" which, when added to the total number of votes reported for James Guyon Jr., would place Guyon in second place, above Sage. Sage never appeared to take his seat, and Guyon was awarded the seat January 14, 1820.[17]
^ abcdefghijRan under Clintonian/Federalist joint ticket.
^The official certificate of vote in the General Assembly Session Records states that Slocumb won by 1,476 votes. No other returns are known to exist for this race.[citation needed]
^ abcInitial returns showed Rollin C. Mallary in 8th place with 6,879 votes and Orsamus Cook Merrill in 6th place with 6,955 votes, but after challenging the results, the House Committee on Elections declared Mallary the winner of the last seat with 6,961 votes, a 6-vote lead over Merrill.[citation needed] Mallary was seated January 13, 1820.[17]
Mapping Early American Elections project team (2019). "Mapping Early American Elections". Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
External links
Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)
