The 1842–43 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 1, 1842, and November 8, 1843. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 28th United States Congress convened on December 4, 1843. The exception was Maryland, who held theirs so late that they ran into February 1844. These elections occurred during President John Tyler's term. The congressional reapportionment based on the 1840 United States census unusually decreased the number of House seats, from 242 down to 223.
After Whig President William Henry Harrison died within a month of taking office, his successor as president, John Tyler was only nominally a Whig who had not been properly validated for alignment to Whig policy. Effectively an independent, Tyler was disliked by politicians and was unpopular with voters of both parties, leaving the Whigs unexpectedly leaderless and in visible disarray.
Despite the improving economy, rural voters favored Democrats, again rejecting Whig economic nationalism. The Whig Party lost 69 seats and their sizeable majority from the 1840 election, almost half their House delegation (one of the Whigs who won re-election was William Wright of New Jersey, elected as an "Independent Whig").
The Democrats won a majority, flipping 48 Whig seats (this includes Henry Nes of Pennsylvania, elected as an Independent Democrat). In Rhode Island, the Law and Order Party, formed in response to the Dorr Rebellion, won both of Rhode Island's two seats.
Apportionment Act of 1842
Apportionment was based on the census of 1840 and was unusual in that the number of House seats was decreased, from 242 to 223: this came after the Apportionment Act of 1842 mandated that all members be elected from single-member contiguous districts, thus abolishing plural districts and at-large districts. Four states that did not comply with this new law delayed redistricting under a grandfather clause.
Election summaries
Special elections
27th Congress
28th Congress
Alabama
Alabama gained 2 seats, going from 5 to 7 members. Elections were held August 7, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term. In the 1841 elections, Alabama briefly used at-large general-ticket elections, but in these elections it returned to districts.
Arkansas
Arkansas stayed at 1 seat, electing its one member at-large October 3, 1842.
Connecticut
Connecticut lost 2 seats, reduced from 6 to 4 members. Elections were held April 5, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1843.
Delaware
Delaware stayed at 1 seat, electing its one member at-large November 8, 1842.
The election was decided by a nine-vote margin.
Florida Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Georgia
Georgia lost 1 seat, going from 9 to 8 members. Elections were held at-large on a general ticket October 3, 1842.
Illinois
Illinois gained 4 seats, going from 3 to 7 members. Elections were held August 7, 1842.
Indiana
Indiana gained 3 seats, going from 7 to 10 members. Elections were held August 7, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Kentucky
Kentucky lost 3 seats, going from 13 to 10 members. Elections were held August 7, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Louisiana
Louisiana gained 1 seats, going from 3 to 4 members. Elections were held July 3–5, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Maine
Maine lost 1 seat, going from 8 to 7 members. Elections were held September 11, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Maryland
Maryland lost 2 seats, going from 8 to 6 members. Elections were held February 14, 1844, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Maryland's elections to the next Congress were held February 14, 1844, after the 1842–1843 election cycle was passed and almost after the next Congress completed.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts lost 2 seats, going from 12 to 10 members. Elections were held November 14, 1842, but some districts' elections stretched to multiple ballots into 1843 and very early 1844.
Michigan
Michigan gained 2 seats, going from 1 to 3 members. Elections were held from districts November 8, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term, having previously elected a single member at-large.
Mississippi
Mississippi gained 2 seats, going from 2 to 4 members. Elections were held at-large on a general ticket November 6–7, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term. Due to a banking crisis in Mississippi, the state Democratic party was split into two factions; the Redemptions, which favored the repudiation of bank bonds, and Anti-Redemptions, which opposed it.
Missouri
Missouri gained 3 seats, going from 2 to 5 members. Elections were held at-large on a general ticket August 1, 1842.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire lost 1 seat, going from 5 to 4 members. Elections were held at-large on a general ticket March 3, 1843.
New Jersey
New Jersey lost 1 seats, going from 6 to 5 members. Elections were held from districts October 8, 1842, having previously elected them at-large.
New York
New York lost 6 seats, going from 40 to 34 members, but remaining the largest delegation. Its thirty-four members were elected November 8, 1842.
North Carolina
North Carolina lost 4 seats, going from 13 to 9 members. Elections were held August 3, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Ohio
Ohio gained 2 seats, going from 19 to 21 members. Its twenty-one members were elected October 10, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania lost 4 seats, going from 28 to 24 members. Its twenty-four members were elected October 10, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island stayed at 2 seats, but elected its members from districts, having previously elected them at-large. Elections were held August 29, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
South Carolina
South Carolina lost 2 seats, going from 9 to 7 members. Elections were held February 20–21, 1843.
Tennessee
Tennessee lost 2 seats, going from 13 to 11 members. Elections were held August 3, 1842.
Vermont
Vermont lost 1 seat, going from 5 to 4 members. Elections were held September 5, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Virginia
Virginia lost 6 seats, going from 21 to 15 members. Elections were held April 27, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.
Wisconsin Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Non-voting delegates
See also
- 1842 United States elections
- 1842–43 United States Senate elections
- 27th United States Congress
- 28th United States Congress
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). United States Congressional Elections, 1788–1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses. McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0786402830.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (January 1, 1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789–1989. Macmillan Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0029201701.
- Moore, John L., ed. (1994). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections (Third ed.). Congressional Quarterly Inc. ISBN 978-0871879967.
- "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
External links
- Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)
