United States House of Representatives elections, 1872
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All 292 seats to the United States House of Representatives 147 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1872 and 1873 for representatives to the 43rd Congress, coinciding with the re-election of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Grant's Republican Party increased its majority greatly at the expense of the opposition Democratic Party. The pro-industry outlook of the Republicans appealed to many Northern voters, especially as the post-war economy exploded, and this allowed the party to flourish as the Industrial Revolution grew more widespread. The Republicans also benefited from a continuing association with Civil War victory as well as disarray amongst Democratic leadership.
Election summaries
Following the 1870 Census, the House was reapportioned, initially adding 40 seats,[1] followed by a subsequent amendment to the apportionment act adding another seat to 9 States,[2] resulting in a total increase of 49 seats. No States lost seats, 10 States had no change, 13 States gained 1 seat each, 9 States gained 2 seats, 3 States gained 3 seats, 1 State gained 4 seats, and 1 State gained 5 Seats. Prior to the supplemental act, two States (New Hampshire and Vermont) had each lost 1 seat. This was the first reapportionment after the repeal of the three-fifths compromise by the 14th Amendment
203 | 89 |
Republican | Democratic |
State | Type | Total seats |
Republican | Democratic | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seats | Change | Seats | Change | Seats | Change | ||
Alabama | District + 2 at-large |
8 | 2 | 6[Note 4] | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Arkansas | District + at-large |
4 | 1 | 4[Note 4] | 2 | 0 | 1 |
California | District | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
Connecticut[Note 5] | District | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||
Delaware | At-large | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Florida | At-large | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Georgia | District | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
Illinois | District | 19 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
Indiana[Note 6] | District + 3 at-large |
13 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Iowa | District | 9 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | |
Kansas | At-large | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
Kentucky | District | 10 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |
Louisiana | District + 1 at-large |
6 | 1 | 6[Note 4] | 1 | 0 | |
Maine[Note 6] | District | 5 | 5 | 0 | |||
Maryland | District | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Massachusetts | District | 11 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | |
Michigan | District | 9 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
Minnesota | District | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
Mississippi | District | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
Missouri | District | 13 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
Nebraska[Note 6] | At-large | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
Nevada | At-large | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
New Hampshire[Note 5] | District | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
New Jersey | District | 7 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
New York | District + 1 at-large |
33 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
North Carolina[Note 6] | District | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
Ohio[Note 6] | District | 20 | 1 | 14[Note 4] | 6 | 1 | |
Oregon[Note 6] | At-large | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Pennsylvania[Note 6] | District + 3 at-large |
27 | 3 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
Rhode Island | District | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
South Carolina | District + 1 at-large |
5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
Tennessee | District + 1 at-large |
10 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
Texas | District + 2 at-large |
6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
Vermont[Note 6] | District | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||
Virginia | District | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
West Virginia[Note 6] | District | 3 | 1 | 2[Note 3] | |||
Wisconsin | District | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | |
Total | 292 | 49 | 203[Note 7] 69.5% |
62 30.5% |
89[Note 3] 30.5% |
13 |
Election dates
In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors.[3] 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 1872–73, there were still 9 states with earlier election dates, and 2 states with later election dates:
- Early elections (1872):
- June 4 Oregon
- August 1 North Carolina
- August 27 West Virginia
- September 3 Vermont
- September 9 Maine
- October 8 Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania
- Late elections (1873):
- March 11, 1873 New Hampshire
- April 7, 1873 Connecticut
Complete returns
California
A new seat was added, following the 1870 U.S. Census, bringing the delegation up from three to four Representatives.
District | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
California 1 | None (Incumbent redistricted to 4th district) | New seat Republican gain |
Charles Clayton (R) 52.3% William A. Piper (D) 47.7% | ||
California 2 | Aaron Augustus Sargent | Republican | 1868 | Retired Republican hold |
Horace F. Page (R) 51.8% Paschal Coggins (D) 48.2% |
California 3 | John M. Coghlan | Republican | 1871 | Lost re-election Democratic gain |
John K. Luttrell (D) 51.7% John M. Coghlan (R) 48.3% |
California 4 | Sherman O. Houghton (Redistricted from the 1st district) |
Republican | 1871 | Re-elected | Sherman O. Houghton (R) 53.6% E. J. C. Kewen (D) 46.4% |
Florida
Florida gained a second seat after the 1870 census, but delayed districting until 1874, electing both Representatives at-large for this election.
District | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida at-large 2 seats on a general ticket |
Josiah T. Walls | Republican | 1870 | Re-elected | William J. Purman (R) 26.3% Josiah T. Walls (R) 26.2% Silas L. Niblack (D) 23.8% Charles W. Jones (D) 23.7% |
None (seat created) | New seat Republican gain |
Ohio
District | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates[4] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ohio 1 | Ozro J. Dodds | Democratic | 1872 (s) | Retired Democratic hold |
|
Ohio 2 | Job E. Stevenson | Republican | 1868 | Retired Liberal Republican gain |
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Ohio 3 | Lewis D. Campbell | Democratic | 1870 | Retired Republican gain |
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Ohio 4 | John F. McKinney | Democratic | 1870 | Retired Republican gain |
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Ohio 5 | Charles N. Lamison | Democratic | 1870 | Re-elected |
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Ohio 6 | John Armstrong Smith | Republican | 1868 | Retired Republican hold |
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Ohio 7 | Samuel Shellabarger | Republican | 1870 | Retired Democratic gain |
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Ohio 8 | John Beatty | Republican | 1868 (s) | Retired Republican hold |
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Ohio 9 | Charles Foster | Republican | 1870 | Re-districted Republican hold |
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Ohio 10 | Erasmus D. Peck | Republican | 1870 (s) | Retired Republican hold |
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Ohio 11 | John Thomas Wilson | Republican | 1866 | Re-districted Republican hold |
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Ohio 12 | Philadelph Van Trump | Democratic | 1866 | Retired Democratic hold |
|
Ohio 13 | George W. Morgan | Democratic | 1868 | Re-districted Democratic hold |
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Ohio 14 | James Monroe | Republican | 1870 | Re-districted Democratic gain |
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Ohio 15 | William P. Sprague | Republican | 1870 | Re-elected |
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Ohio 16 | John Bingham | Republican | 1864 | Lost Re-nomination Republican hold |
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Ohio 17 | Jacob A. Ambler | Republican | 1868 | Retired Republican hold |
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Ohio 18 | William H. Upson | Republican | 1868 | Retired Republican hold |
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Ohio 19 | James A. Garfield | Republican | 1862 | Re-elected |
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Ohio 20 | None (district recreated) | Republican gain |
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See also
Notes
- ↑ In the majority of states; 11 states held elections on different dates between June 4, 1872 and April 7, 1873.
- ↑ Includes 4 Liberal Republicans.
- 1 2 3 Includes 1 Independent Democrat, John J. Davis, elected to WV-01.
- 1 2 3 4 Includes 1 Liberal Republican.
- 1 2 Elections held late.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Elections held early.
- ↑ Includes 4 Liberal Republicans.
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)