1874–75 United States House of Representatives elections
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All 292 seats in the United States House of Representatives[b] 147 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1874–75 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 1, 1874, and September 7, 1875. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 44th United States Congress convened on December 6, 1875. Elections were held for all 292 seats, representing 37 states.
These elections were held in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's second term with a deep economic depression underway. It was an important turning point, as the Republicans lost heavily and the Democrats gained control of the House. It signaled the imminent end of Reconstruction, which Democrats opposed. Historians emphasize the factors of economic depression and attacks on the Grant administration for corruption as key factors in the vote.[2]
With the election following the Panic of 1873, Grant's Republican Party was crushed in the elections, losing their majority and almost half their seats to the Democratic Party. This was the first period of Democratic control since the pre-war era. The economic crisis and the inability of Grant to find a solution led to his party's defeat. This was the second-largest swing in the history of the House (only behind the 1894 elections), and is the largest House loss in the history of the Republican Party.
In the south, the Democrats continued their systematic destruction of the Republican coalition. In the South, Scalawags moved into the Democratic Party. The Democratic landslide signaled the imminent end of Reconstruction, which Democrats opposed and a realignment of the Republican coalition that had dominated American politics since the late 1850s.[3]
While the ongoing end of Reconstruction in the South was one of the main reasons for the shift, turn-of-the-century historian James Ford Rhodes explored the multiple causes of the results in the North:[4]
In the fall elections of 1874 the issue was clearly defined: Did the Republican President Ulysses S. Grant and Congress deserve the confidence of the country? and the answer was unmistakably No ... The Democrats had won a signal victory, obtaining control of the next House of Representatives which would stand Democrats 168, Liberals and Independents 14, Republicans 108 as against the two-thirds Republican majority secured by the election of 1872. Since 1861 the Republicans had controlled the House and now with its loss came a decrease in their majority in the Senate ...
Rhodes continues:
The political revolution from 1872 to 1874 was due to the failure of the Southern policy of the Republican party, to the Credit Mobilier and Sanborn contract scandals, to corrupt and inefficient administration in many departments and to the persistent advocacy of Grant by some close friends and hangers-on for a third presidential term. Some among the opposition were influenced by the President's backsliding in the cause of civil service reform, and others by the failure of the Republican party to grapple successfully with the financial question. The depression, following the financial Panic of 1873, and the number of men consequently out of employment weighed in the scale against the party in power. In Ohio, the result was affected by the temperance crusade in the early part of the year. Bands of women of good social standing marched to saloons before which or in which they sang hymns and, kneeling down, prayed that the great evil of drink might be removed. Sympathizing men wrought with them in causing the strict law of the State against the sale of strong liquor to be rigidly enforced. Since Republicans were in the main the instigators of the movement, it alienated from their party a large portion of the German American vote.
Special elections
[edit]![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2019) |
- South Carolina 3: 1874
- Pennsylvania 23: 1874
- Massachusetts 1: 1875
- Oregon at-large: 1875
- Maine 4: 1875
Election summaries
[edit]182 | 8 | 103 |
Democratic | [f] | Republican |
State | Type | Total seats | Democratic | Republican | Independent | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seats | Change | Seats | Change | Seats | Change | |||
Alabama | District + 2 at-large | 8 | 6 | ![]() | 2 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Arkansas | District | 4 | 4 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
California[g] | District | 4 | 3 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Connecticut[g] | District | 4 | 3 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Delaware | At-large | 1 | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Florida | District | 2 | 1 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Georgia[h] | District | 9 | 9[e] | ![]() | 0 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Illinois | District | 19 | 11 | ![]() | 6 | ![]() | 2 | ![]() |
Indiana[h] | District | 13 | 8 | ![]() | 5 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Iowa[h] | District | 9 | 1 | ![]() | 8 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Kansas | District | 3 | 1 | ![]() | 2 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Kentucky | District | 10 | 9 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Louisiana | District | 6 | 4 | ![]() | 2 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Maine[h] | District | 5 | 0 | ![]() | 5 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Maryland | District | 6 | 6 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Massachusetts | District | 11 | 5 | ![]() | 4 | ![]() | 2 | ![]() |
Michigan | District | 9 | 3 | ![]() | 6 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Minnesota | District | 3 | 0 | ![]() | 3 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Mississippi | District | 6 | 4 | ![]() | 2[i] | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Missouri | District | 13 | 13 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Nebraska[h] | At-large | 1 | 0 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Nevada | At-large | 1 | 0 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
New Hampshire[g] | District | 3 | 2 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
New Jersey | District | 7 | 5 | ![]() | 2 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
New York | District | 33 | 17 | ![]() | 16[i] | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
North Carolina[h] | District | 8 | 7 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Ohio[h] | District | 20 | 13 | ![]() | 7 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Oregon[h] | At-large | 1 | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Pennsylvania | District | 27 | 17 | ![]() | 10 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Rhode Island | District | 2 | 0 | ![]() | 2 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
South Carolina | District | 5 | 0 | ![]() | 5 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Tennessee | District | 10 | 9 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Texas | District | 6 | 6 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Vermont[h] | District | 3 | 0 | ![]() | 3[i] | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Virginia | District | 9 | 8 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
West Virginia[h] | District | 3 | 3 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Wisconsin | District | 8 | 3 | ![]() | 5 | ![]() | 0 | ![]() |
Total | 293[b] | 183[e] 62.5% | ![]() | 105[d] 36.2% | ![]() | 4 1.4% | ![]() |
Election dates
[edit]In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors.[5] This law did not affect election dates for Congress, which remained within the jurisdiction of State governments, but over time, the states moved their congressional elections to this date as well. In 1874–75, there were still 10 states with earlier election dates, and 3 states with later election dates:
- Early elections (1874):
- June 1 Oregon
- August 6 North Carolina
- September 1 Vermont
- September 14 Maine
- October 7 Georgia
- October 13 Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, West Virginia
- Late elections (1875):
- March 9, 1875 New Hampshire
- April 5, 1875 Connecticut
- September 7, 1875 California
Alabama
[edit]Arkansas
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
Arkansas 1 | Asa Hodges | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
|
Arkansas 2 | Oliver P. Snyder | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
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Arkansas 3 | William J. Hynes Redistricted from the at-large district | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
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Arkansas 4 | Thomas M. Gunter Redistricted from the 3rd district | Democratic | 1872[j] | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Arizona Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
California
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
California 1 | Charles Clayton | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
|
California 2 | Horace F. Page | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
California 3 | John K. Luttrell | Democratic | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
California 4 | Sherman O. Houghton | Republican | 1871 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
|
Colorado Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
Connecticut
[edit]Delaware
[edit]Florida
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
Florida 1 | William J. Purman Redistricted from the at-large district | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Florida 2 | Josiah T. Walls Redistricted from the at-large district | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent re-elected. The election was later successfully challenged. |
|
Georgia
[edit]Idaho Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
Illinois
[edit]Indiana
[edit]Iowa Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
Kansas
[edit]Kentucky
[edit]Louisiana
[edit]Maine
[edit]Maryland
[edit]Massachusetts
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
Massachusetts 1 | James Buffinton | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Massachusetts 2 | Benjamin W. Harris | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Massachusetts 3 | William Whiting II | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent retired. Republican hold. |
|
Massachusetts 4 | Samuel Hooper | Republican | 1861 (special) | Incumbent retired. New member elected after initial result overturned. Democratic gain. |
|
Massachusetts 5 | Daniel W. Gooch | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Independent gain. |
|
Massachusetts 6 | Benjamin Butler | Republican | 1866 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
|
Massachusetts 7 | Ebenezer R. Hoar | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
|
Massachusetts 8 | John M. S. Williams | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
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Massachusetts 9 | George F. Hoar | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Massachusetts 10 | Alvah Crocker | Republican | 1872 (special) | Incumbent retired. Independent gain. |
|
Massachusetts 11 | Henry L. Dawes | Republican | 1856 | Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senate. Democratic gain. |
|
Michigan
[edit]Minnesota
[edit]Mississippi
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
Mississippi 1 | Lucius Q. C. Lamar | Democratic | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Mississippi 2 | Albert R. Howe | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Independent Republican gain. |
|
Mississippi 3 | Henry W. Barry | Republican | 1869 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
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Mississippi 4 | Jason Niles | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
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Mississippi 5 | George C. McKee | Republican | 1869 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
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Mississippi 6 | John R. Lynch | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Missouri
[edit]Montana Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
Nebraska
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
Nebraska at-large | Lorenzo Crounse | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Nevada
[edit]New Hampshire
[edit]New Jersey
[edit]New Mexico Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
New York
[edit]North Carolina
[edit]Ohio
[edit]Oregon
[edit]Pennsylvania
[edit]Rhode Island
[edit]South Carolina
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
South Carolina 1 | Joseph Rainey | Republican | 1870 (special) | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
South Carolina 2 | Alonzo J. Ransier | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent retired. Independent Republican gain. Election was later successfully challenged, declared vacant, and a special election was then held. |
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South Carolina 3 | Robert B. Elliott | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent resigned November 1, 1874, to serve as sheriff. Republican hold |
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South Carolina 4 | Alexander S. Wallace | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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South Carolina 5 | Richard H. Cain Redistricted from the at-large seat | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent retired. Republican hold. |
|
Tennessee
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
Tennessee 1 | Roderick R. Butler | Republican | 1867 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
|
Tennessee 2 | Jacob M. Thornburgh | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Tennessee 3 | William Crutchfield | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
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Tennessee 4 | None (new district) | New district. Democratic gain. |
| ||
Tennessee 5 | John M. Bright Redistricted from the 4th district. | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Tennessee 6 | Horace Harrison Redistricted from the 5th district. | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
|
Tennessee 7 | Washington C. Whitthorne Redistricted from the 7th district. | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Tennessee 8 | John D. C. Atkins Redistricted from the 7th district. | Democratic | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Tennessee 9 | David A. Nunn Redistricted from the 8th district. | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
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Tennessee 10 | Barbour Lewis Redistricted from the 9th district. | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
|
Texas
[edit]Utah Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
Vermont
[edit]Virginia
[edit]Washington Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
West Virginia
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
West Virginia 1 | John J. Davis | Independent Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
|
West Virginia 2 | John Hagans | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election as an Independent. Democratic gain. |
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West Virginia 3 | Frank Hereford | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Wisconsin
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
Wisconsin 1 | Charles G. Williams | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Wisconsin 2 | Gerry Whiting Hazelton | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent retired. Republican hold. |
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Wisconsin 3 | J. Allen Barber | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent retired. Republican hold. |
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Wisconsin 4 | Alexander Mitchell | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent retired. Democratic hold. |
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Wisconsin 5 | Charles A. Eldredge | Democratic | 1862 | Incumbent lost renomination. Democratic hold. |
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Wisconsin 6 | Philetus Sawyer | Republican | 1864 | Incumbent retired. Republican hold. |
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Wisconsin 7 | Jeremiah M. Rusk | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Wisconsin 8 | Alexander S. McDill | Republican | 1872 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
|
Wyoming Territory
[edit]See Non-voting delegates, below.
Non-voting delegates
[edit]District | Incumbent | This race | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Delegate | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates | |
Arizona Territory at-large | |||||
Dakota Territory at-large | Moses K. Armstrong | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain. |
|
Colorado Territory at-large | Jerome B. Chaffee | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent retired. Democratic gain. |
|
Idaho Territory at-large | John Hailey | Democratic | 1872 | Incumbent retired. Independent gain. Result successfully contested. Democratic hold. |
|
Montana Territory at-large | Martin Maginnis | Democratic | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
New Mexico Territory at-large | |||||
Utah Territory at-large | |||||
Washington Territory at-large | |||||
Wyoming Territory at-large | William R. Steele | Democratic | 1872 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ The majority of states held their elections on this date. 13 other states held regular elections on different dates between June 1, 1874, and September 7, 1875.
- ^ a b Includes late elections.
- ^ Included 1 Independent Democrat.
- ^ a b Includes 3 Independent Republicans.
- ^ a b c Includes 1 Independent Democrat, William H. Felton, elected to Georgia's 7th congressional district.
- ^ There were 4 Independents, 3 Independent Republicans, and 1 Independent Democrat.
- ^ a b c Elections held late.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Elections held early.
- ^ a b c Includes 1 Independent Republican.
- ^ Thomas M. Gunter lost election in 1872 to William W. Wilshire, contested the election and was seated June 1874.
- ^ Died before term began.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Martis, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Barreyre, Nicolas (2011). "The Politics of Economic Crises: The Panic of 1873, the End of Reconstruction, and the realignment of American Politics". Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. 10 (4): 403–423. doi:10.1017/S1537781411000260.
- ^ Campbell, James E. (Fall 2006). "Party Systems and Realignments in the United States, 1868-2004". Social Science History. 30 (3): 359–386. doi:10.1017/S014555320001350X. S2CID 15075840.
- ^ Rhodes, James Ford (1920). History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850: 1872-1877. The Macmillan company. p. 67.
- ^ Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721.
- ^ a b c d Guide to U.S. Elections. Vol. II (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. 2010. p. 1046. ISBN 9781604265361. LCCN 2009033938. OCLC 430736650.
- ^ "MS - District 01". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "MS - District 02". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "MS - District 03". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "MS - District 04". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "MS - District 05". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "MS - District 06". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - NE - District 01 Race - Oct 13, 1874". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 01". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 02". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 03". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 04". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 05". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 06". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 07". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 08". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 09". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "TN - District 10". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "WV District 01". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ "WV District 02". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ "WV District 03". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ "DK Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CO Territorial Delegate - Final Election Race - Nov 03, 1874". www.ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "ID Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "MT Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ "WY Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- 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
[edit]- Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)