1860–61 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1860–61 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 6, 1860 and October 24, 1861, before or after the first session of the 37th United States Congress convened on July 4, 1861. The number of House seats initially increased to 239 when California was apportioned an extra one, but these elections were affected by the outbreak of the American Civil War and resulted in over 56 vacancies.
In November 1860, Republican Abraham Lincoln won the Presidency. Though Republicans lost seats, the party won a House majority anyway as seven slave states reacted to Lincoln's election by seceding before the Presidential inauguration. These seceding states formed the Confederacy in February 1861 while withdrawing many Representatives and Senators from Congress, almost all Democrats. As both sides in the impending American Civil War initially mobilized troops, another four slave states seceded by May 1861 in response to Lincoln's policy of using Federal force to defend Federal property and to coerce the seven initially seceding states. The four remaining slave states did not secede, electing and returning Representatives normally.
Unionist regions of three seceding states returned ten Representatives: five from western Virginia, three from eastern Tennessee, and two from southern Louisiana. Except for a tiny minority of outspoken Democrats, all Representatives supported the Union. Representatives opposing Democrats but unwilling to identify as Republican, particularly from slave states and including some remaining nativist American Party members, coalesced as the Unionist Party. In coalition with the Unionists, Republicans commanded over a two-thirds House supermajority.
Election summaries.
California was apportioned one additional seat for the 37th Congress, increasing the total seats to 239.
Representatives from seceding states overwhelmingly were Democrats. Withdrawal of these Representatives boosted Republican House control. Some seceding states held Federal elections, but seceded before the elected Representatives served. Other seceding states held no Federal elections.
Special elections.
There were special elections in 1860–61 during the 36th United States Congress and 37th United States Congress.
36th Congress.
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37th Congress.
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Impact of the secessionist movement.
In the wake of the declared secession of South Carolina from the Union on December 20, 1860, many Southern House members, mostly Democrats, refused to take their seats. Before 1872, different states held elections at various times; the first elections for the 37th Congress were held on August 6, 1860, in Arkansas and Missouri, while the last election took place in California on September 4, 1861, a year later. Three Southern states – Arkansas, Florida, and South Carolina – chose Representatives before the presidential election, electing seven Democrats and two independents. These were the only House elections from the seceding states to the 37th Congress. After South Carolina resolved disunion and the Confederate States of America was formed, other Southern states declared as well and elected Representatives to the new Congress of the Confederate States instead of the United States Congress.
Since the states not holding elections had many strong Democratic districts – in the previous 36th Congress their Representatives included a total of 46 Democrats, 14 Oppositionists, five independents, and one member of the American Party – when Congress was called into session on July 4, 1861 (five months earlier than usual at the time) the size of the Democratic House caucus had been drastically reduced, resulting in a huge Republican majority.
Of the 183 seats, 102 were held by Republicans, 45 by Democrats, 23 by Unionists, and five others by one party each. There were several vacancies, and California had not held its election when Congress assembled.
End of a Congressional era.
In 1860, Lincoln's campaign brought the Republicans the Presidency. Likewise, the congressional elections also marked the transition from one major era of political parties to another. In just six years, over the course of the 35th, 36th–th Congresses, a complete reversal of party fortunes swamped the Democrats.
Elections for Congress were held from August 1860 to June 1861. They were held before, during and after the pre-determined Presidential campaign. And they were held before, during and after the secessionist campaigns in various states as they were reported throughout the country. Political conditions varied hugely from time to time during the course of congressional selection, but they had been shifting to a considerable extent in the years running up to the crisis.
In the 1856 elections, the Democrats had taken the Presidency for the sixth time in the last 40 years, with James Buchanan's victory over John C. Fremont and Millard Fillmore. They held almost a two-thirds majority in both the US House and Senate. Democrats held onto the Senate during the midterm elections, but the four opposition parties then amounted to two-thirds of the House. The congressional elections in 1860 transformed Democratic fortunes: Republican and Unionist candidates won a two-thirds majority in both House and Senate.
After the secessionist withdrawal, resignation and expulsion, the Democrats would have less than 25% of the House for the 37th Congress, and that minority divided further between pro-unionists (Stephen Douglas), and anti-war (Clement Vallandingham) factions.
Results by region.
The politics of these elections were distinctive in every region of the country. The more conventional listing of Members in their state delegations, alphabetically by state, can be found in the 37th Congress article.
Each Region below lists the states composing it using Freehling's descriptions from 1860. The Representative's biographies are linked at their names. Each congressional district has a link, named by its state abbreviation and its assigned number or noted At-large election. In a time before the Census Department published aggregate population data by congressional district, the reader may have ready access to census data identifying the makeup of those each district by referring to their respective articles.
The articles use different formats. The constituent counties of congressional districts are sometimes listed in a content heading "List of representatives" within tables. These tables have a column naming the District's counties for each election, such as (a) "District Area" for Massachusetts, or (b) "Area" for Illinois and Maryland. Virginia uses "Historical composition of the district" to describe composition at each reapportionment. Pennsylvania notes the home county of the elected representative, sometimes holding the largest population for respective districts. Minnesota makes a geographical allusion for its 1st District applicable to the 37th Congress. Michigan uses "History" since 1852 for its 4th district. In some states, previous district composition is not described.
New England.
The twenty-nine seats in the House among these six states are divided 24 Republican, two Union one Constitutional Union, and two Democratic. The region is important nationally in manufacturing and intellectually as the center of literature, Transcendentalism and the abolition movement.
North Central.
The 38 Representatives from this region would seat 25 Republicans and thirteen Democrats. This region had the closest commercial and social ties to the South due to its sea-going commerce and trans-shipping cotton to local textile plants and for export.
Border North.
The 73 seats in this region were split 50 Republican, 23 Democratic. Illinois is the only state here with more Democrats than Republicans.
These are free-soil states, north of the Mason–Dixon line. These states had either abolished slavery, or Congress had forbidden it in their Territory, and they had forbidden it at the beginning of their statehood.
Border South and Middle South.
Of the 47 Representatives in these six states, 24 are Union Party, 1 Constitutional Union, 6 Democratic,– would be vacant in Virginia and Tennessee.
These were "slaveholding" states, all south of the Mason–Dixon line. The border south states had less than 2% to more than 19% of their 1860 population held as slaves, with an average of 13%; middle south states ranged from 25-33% slaves, with an average of 29%. (Deep South 43-57%, except Texas, with 30%.)
Eight seats in Virginia and seven seats in Tennessee represented large numbers of citizens resisting the Lincoln administration of the United States government during the Civil War. They were declared vacant in 37th Congress documents.
Trans-Mississippi West.
West of the Mississippi, there were 16 Representatives from states, and 9 Delegates from territories. The states elected nine Republicans and one Democrat. The Territories elected four Republicans, one Democrat and two Independents.
When California entered the Union, it broke the free soil - slave state tie in the Senate. Minnesota, and Oregon followed as free-soil states. Once Congress was depleted of the secessionist Democrats, the lame-duck 36th Congress admitted Kansas as a free state in January 1861, in time for it to send a Representative to the 37th Congress in March. The Republican Congress elected in 1860 began funding the transcontinental railroad, in July 1862. Nevada was admitted before the end of the Civil War in the next, 38th, Congress.
Vacant state delegations.
Alabama — Arkansas — Florida — Georgia — Louisiana — Mississippi — North Carolina — South Carolina — Texas
Forty-three seats represented large numbers of citizens in nine states resisting the Lincoln administration of the United States government during the Civil War. The following state delegations were entirely vacated.
Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia are accounted for in the "Border South and Middle South" section.
Alabama.
Alabama did not elect members to the House.
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Arkansas.
Arkansas elected its members on August 6, 1860.
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California.
From statehood to 1864, California's representatives were elected at large, with the top two vote-getters winning the election from 1849 to 1858. In the 1860 Census, California gained a seat in the House.
California elected its members on September 4, 1861, after the first session of the new Congress began.
The top three vote-getters were elected, but only the top two were seated at the beginning of the session. When Congress later authorized California the third seat, Frederick Low was seated June 3, 1862.
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Colorado Territory.
See non-voting delegates, below.
Connecticut.
Connecticut elected its members on April 1, 1861, after the new term began but before Congress convened.
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Dakota Territory.
See non-voting delegates, below.
Delaware.
Delaware elected its member on November 6, 1860 Election Day.
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Florida.
Florida elected its member on October 1, 1860.
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Georgia.
Georgia did not elect members to the House.
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Illinois.
Illinois elected its members on November 6, 1860 Election Day.
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Indiana.
Indiana elected its members on October 9, 1860.
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Iowa.
Iowa elected its members on October 9, 1860.
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Kansas.
Kansas elected its member on December 1, 1859.
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Kentucky.
Kansas elected its members on June 20, 1861, after the new term began but before Congress convened.
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Louisiana.
Louisiana seceded on January 26, 1861, and did not elect members of the 37th Congress.
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Maine.
Maine elected its members on September 10, 1860.
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Maryland.
Maryland elected its members on June 13, 1861, after the new term began but before Congress convened.
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Massachusetts.
Massachusetts elected its members on November 6, 1860 Election Day.
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Michigan.
Michigan its members on the November 6, 1860 Election Day.
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Minnesota.
Minnesota elected its members on November 6, 1860 Election Day.
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Mississippi.
Mississippi seceded on January 9, 1861, and did not elect members of the 37th Congress.
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Missouri.
Missouri elected its members on September 10, 1860.
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Nebraska Territory.
See non-voting delegates, below.
Nevada Territory.
See non-voting delegates, below.
New Hampshire.
New Hampshire elected its members on March 12, 1861, after the new term began but before Congress convened.
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New Jersey.
New Jersey its members on the November 6, 1860 Election Day.
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New Mexico Territory.
See non-voting delegates, below.
New York.
New York its members on the November 6, 1860 Election Day.
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North Carolina.
North Carolina seceded on May 20, 1861, and did not elect members of the 37th Congress.
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Ohio.
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Oregon.
Poorly coordinated state legislation created confusion. As a result, two elections were held in 1860: on June 4 (won by George K. Shiel and on November 6 (won by Andrew J. Thayer). Thayer was seated March 4, 1861, but Shiel contested the election. On July 30, 1861, the House Elections Committee seated the Shiel for the rest of the term ending March 3, 1863. Both disputants were Democrats.
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Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania elected its members on October 9, 1860.
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Rhode Island.
Rhode Island elected its members April 3, 1861, after the new term began but before Congress convened..
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South Carolina.
South Carolina its members October 8–9, 1860.
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Tennessee.
Tennessee elected its members August 1, 1861, but only in East Tennessee, after the first session of the new Congress began.
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Texas.
Texas seceded on February 1, 1861, and did not elect members of the 37th Congress.
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Utah Territory.
See non-voting delegates, below.
Vermont.
Vermont its members September 4, 1860.
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Virginia.
Virginia its members October 24, 1861.
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Washington Territory.
See non-voting delegates, below.
Wisconsin.
Wisconsin its members on Election Day, November 6, 1860.
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Non-voting delegates.
All are trans-Mississippi west non-voting delegates in the 37th Congress.
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