1810–11 United States Senate elections
The 1810–11 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1810 and 1811, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.[1] In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.
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11 of the 34 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 18 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Results: Federalist hold Dem-Republican hold Legislature Failed To Elect | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Democratic-Republican Party maintained their Senate majority. The minority Federalists had gone into the elections with such a small share of Senate seats (8 out of 34, or 23.5%) that, had they won all of the elections, they would still not have reached a majority.
Change in composition
editSenate Composition in 1809
editDemocratic-Republicans: 28 seats Federalists: 6 seats
Senate Composition in 1811
editDemocratic-Republicans: 30 seats Federalists: 6 seats
Key Changes
editDemocratic-Republicans: The Democratic-Republicans gained 2 seats, increasing their majority from 28 to 30 seats. Federalists: The number of Federalist seats remained unchanged at 6.
Context
editThe Democratic-Republican Party continued to dominate the Senate, reflecting the broader political landscape of the era. The period was marked by the lead-up to the War of 1812, with growing tensions between the United States and Great Britain influencing political discourse and legislative priorities.[2]
DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | |||
DR8 | DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 |
Majority → | DR18 Ga. Ran | ||||||||
F8 Mass. Ran |
DR26 Va. Ran |
DR25 Tenn. Ran |
DR24 S.C. Retired |
DR23 R.I. Unknown |
DR22 N.C. Ran |
DR21 N.J. Ran |
DR20 N.H. Ran |
DR19 Ky. Retired | |
F7 Del. Ran |
F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 |
Result of the regular elections
editDR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | |||
DR8 | DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 |
Majority → | DR18 Ga. Re-elected | ||||||||
V1 Mass. F Loss |
DR26 Va. Re-elected |
DR25 Tenn. Re-elected |
DR24 S.C. Hold |
DR23 R.I. Hold |
DR22 N.C. Re-elected |
DR21 N.J. Re-elected |
DR20 N.H. Re-elected |
DR19 Ky. Hold | |
F7 Del. Re-elected |
F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 |
Key |
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Race summaries
editExcept if/when noted, number following candidates is whole number votes.
Special elections during the 11th Congress
editIn these special elections, the winners were seated during 1810 or before March 4, 1811; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Delaware (Class 1) |
Samuel White | Federalist | 1796 (special) 1801 (Appointed) 1803 1809 |
Incumbent died November 4, 1809. New senator elected January 12, 1810. Federalist hold. |
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New Hampshire (Class 3) |
Nahum Parker | Democratic-Republican | 1807 | Incumbent resigned June 1, 1810. New senator elected June 21, 1810. Federalist gain. |
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Connecticut (Class 1) |
James Hillhouse | Federalist | 1796 (special) 1797 1803 1809 |
Incumbent resigned June 10, 1810. New senator elected June 1810. Federalist hold. |
|
Ohio (Class 1) |
Return J. Meigs Jr. | Democratic-Republican | 1808 (special) 1808 |
Incumbent resigned December 8, 1810, to become Governor of Ohio. New senator elected December 15, 1810 on the sixth ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
South Carolina (Class 2) |
Thomas Sumter | Democratic-Republican | 1801 (special) 1809 |
Incumbent resigned December 16, 1810. New senator elected December 18, 1810 on the third ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to the next term, see below. |
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Races leading to the 12th Congress
editIn these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1811 (except where noted due to late election); ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Delaware | James A. Bayard | Federalist | 1804 (special) 1805 |
Incumbent re-elected January 8, 1811. |
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Georgia | William H. Crawford | Democratic-Republican | 1807 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1810 or 1811. |
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Kentucky | Henry Clay | Democratic-Republican | 1810 (Appointed) | Appointee retired to run for U.S. House of Representatives. New senator elected January 8, 1811. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Massachusetts | Timothy Pickering | Federalist | 1803 (special) 1805 |
Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect due to partisan deadlock in the Massachusetts Senate. Federalist loss. |
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New Hampshire | Nicholas Gilman | Democratic-Republican | 1804 | Incumbent re-elected June 21, 1810, on the fourth ballot. |
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New Jersey | John Condit | Democratic-Republican | 1803 (Appointed) 1803 (special) 1809 (Lost) 1809 (Appointed) 1809 (special) |
Incumbent re-elected November 5, 1810. |
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North Carolina | James Turner | Democratic-Republican | 1804 | Incumbent re-elected November 28, 1810, on the third vote. |
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Rhode Island | Elisha Mathewson | Democratic-Republican | 1807 (special) | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected November 2, 1810. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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South Carolina | Thomas Sumter | Democratic-Republican | 1801 (special) 1809 |
Incumbent resigned December 16, 1810. New senator elected December 18, 1810, on the third ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to finish the current term, see above. |
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Tennessee | Jenkin Whiteside | Democratic-Republican | 1809 (special) | Incumbent re-elected early October 28, 1809. |
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Virginia | William B. Giles | Democratic-Republican | 1804 (Appointed) 1804 (special) 1804 |
Incumbent re-elected January 2, 1811. |
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Special elections during the 12th Congress
editIn these special elections, the winners were seated in 1811 after March 4; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Massachusetts (Class 2) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect, see above. New senator elected late June 6, 1811 on the second ballot. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Tennessee (Class 2) |
Jenkin Whiteside | Democratic-Republican | 1809 (special) | Incumbent resigned October 8, 1811. New senator elected October 1, 1811. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Rhode Island (Class 1) |
Christopher G. Champlin | Federalist | 1809 (special) | Incumbent resigned October 12, 1811. New senator elected October 28, 1811. Federalist hold. |
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Connecticut (special)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Delaware
editDelaware (regular)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Delaware (special)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Georgia
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Kentucky
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Massachusetts
editMassachusetts (regular)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Massachusetts (special)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
New Hampshire
editNew Hampshire (regular)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
New Hampshire (special)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
New Jersey
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
North Carolina
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Ohio (special)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Rhode Island
editRhode Island (regular)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Rhode Island (special)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
South Carolina
editSouth Carolina (regular)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
South Carolina (special)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Tennessee
editTennessee (regular)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Tennessee (special)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
Virginia
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019) |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Charles Cutts (NH) has conflicting accounts of whether he was a Democratic-Republican or a Federalist.
References
edit- ^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: Party Division". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ "Delaware 1810 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 25, 2018., citing Journal of the Delaware House of Representatives, 1810. 26.
- ^ "New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2018., citing Concord Gazette (Concord, NH). June 26, 1810.
- ^ "Connecticut 1810 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 26, 2018., citing Connecticut Mirror (Hartford, CT). June 4, 1810.
- ^ "Connecticut". The enquirer. Richmond, Va. June 12, 1810. p. 3. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ Taylor, William A. (1900). Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901 with Notes nad Sketches of Senators and Representatives and Other Historical Data and Incidents. Columbus, Ohio: The XX. Century Publishing Co. – via Google Books.
- ^ "Ohio 1810 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 6". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 26, 2018., citing Muskingum Messenger (Zanesville, OH). December 8, 1810. Liberty Hall (Cincinnati, OH). December 24, 1810. The Western Spy (Cincinnati, OH). December 29, 1810, Taylor, William A. (1899). Ohio Statesmen and Annals of Progress: From the year 1788 to the year 1900. Columbus, Ohio: Press of the Westbote. p. 68.
- ^ a b "South Carolina 1810 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six (Washington, DC). January 1, 1811.
- ^ "Delaware 1811 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 25, 2018., citing American Watchman; and Delaware Republican (Wilmington, DE). January 12, 1811.
- ^ "Kentucky 1811 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing The Reporter (Lexington, KY). January 12, 1811.
- ^ "Massachusetts 1810 U.S. Senate, House of Representatives Vote". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Columbian Centinel. Massachusetts Federalist (Boston, MA). June 9, 1810.
- ^ "Massachusetts 1810 U.S. Senate, State Senate Vote, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Columbian Centinel. Massachusetts Federalist (Boston, MA). June 16, 1810.
- ^ "New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 25, 2018., citing Concord Gazette (Concord, NH). June 26, 1810. Farmer's Museum (Walpole, NH). July 2, 1810.
- ^ "New Jersey 1810 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 22, 2018., citing The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 9, 1810.
- ^ "North Carolina 1810 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Archived from the original on March 15, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2018., citing The True Republican, and Newbern Weekly Advertiser (New Bern, NC). December 5, 1810.
- ^ "Rhode Island 1810 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 19, 2018., citing The Columbian Phenix (Providence, RI). November 3, 1810.
- ^ "Tennessee 1809 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Journal of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1809. 115.
- ^ "Virginia 1811 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 22, 2018., citing Independent American (Georgetown, DC). January 8, 1811.
- ^ "Massachusetts 1811 U.S. Senate, State Senate Vote, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing American Watchman; and Delaware Republican (Wilmington, DE). June 15, 1811. Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk, VA). June 17, 1811. Republican Star or Eastern Shore General Advertiser (Easton, MD). June 18, 1811.
- ^ "Tennessee 1811 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Wilson's Knoxville Gazette (Knoxville, TN). October 7, 1811.
- ^ "Rhode Island 1811 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 19, 2018., citing The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 8, 1811.
External links
edit- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov