1840 and 1841 United States House of Representatives elections

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 27th Congress were held at various dates in different states from July 1840 to November 1841.

1840 and 1841 United States House of Representatives elections

July 6, 1840 – November 2, 1841
All 242 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives 122 seats needed for a majority
Leader John White John Jones Party Whig Democratic Leader's seat Kentucky 9th Virginia 3rd Last election 116 seats 126 seats Seats won 142 98 Seat change 26 28 Popular vote 1,089,609 1,021,051 Percentage 51.04% 47.83% Swing 1.31% 2.18%   Party Independent Last election 0 seats Seats won 2 [lower-alpha 1] Seat change 2 Popular vote 18,063 Percentage 0.85% Swing 0.44%
Speaker before election Robert M. T. Hunter Whig Elected Speaker John White Whig

In a Whig wave, voters gave the Whig Party a House majority for the first time. Most Americans experienced the Panic of 1837 as a severe economic downturn. Its perceived mishandling by Democratic President Martin Van Buren fueled new support for alternative economic policies favored by Whigs of which voters had previously been skeptical. Collapse of the Anti-Masonic Party in the late 1830s also drove some third-party incumbents into the Whig Party. Newly elected members included Robert M. T. Hunter, Independent of Virginia,[1][2][3] and Zadok Casey, Independent Democrat of Illinois.[4][5]

Election summaries

↓

98	2	142
Democratic	[lower-alpha 2]	Whig

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Democratic		Whig
				Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Louisiana	Districts	July 6–8, 1840	3	1	1	2	1
Missouri	At-large	August 3, 1840	2	2		0
Illinois	Districts	August 7, 1840	3	2[lower-alpha 3]		1
Vermont	Districts	September 4, 1840	5	0	2	5	2
Maine	Districts	September 14, 1840	8	4	2	4	2
Arkansas	At-large	October 5, 1840	1	1		0
Georgia	At-large	October 6, 1840	9	0		9
South Carolina	Districts	October 12–13, 1840	9	8		1
Ohio	Districts	October 13, 1840	19	7	4	12	4
Pennsylvania	District (25[lower-alpha 4])	October 13, 1840	28	15	2	13	8
New York	District (33[lower-alpha 5])	November 2–4, 1840	40	21	2	19	2
Connecticut	Districts	November 3, 1840	6	0		6
Michigan	At-large	November 3, 1840	1	0	1	1	1
New Jersey	At-large	November 3, 1840	6	0	5	6	5
Massachusetts	Districts	November 9, 1840	12	1	1	11	1
Delaware	At-large	November 10, 1840	1	0	1	1	1
1841 elections
New Hampshire	At-large	March 9, 1841	5	5		0
Rhode Island	At-large	April 21, 1841	2	0		2
Virginia[lower-alpha 6]	Districts	April 23, 1841	21[lower-alpha 6]	10	2	10	3
Kentucky	Districts	April 26, 1841	13	2		11
Indiana	Districts	May 3, 1841	7	1	4	6	4
Tennessee	Districts	May 6, 1841	13	5	1	8	1
North Carolina	Districts	May 13, 1841	13	5	3	8	3
Maryland	District (7[lower-alpha 7])	May 17, 1841	8	2	3	6	3
Alabama	At-large[lower-alpha 8]	May 20, 1841	5	5	2	0	2
Mississippi	At-large	November 1–2, 1841	2	2		0
Total			242	99[lower-alpha 3] 40.9%	26	142 59.5%	33

Popular vote Whig   51.04% Democratic   47.83% Others   1.13%

House seats Whig   58.68% Democratic   40.50% Independent   0.83%

The previous election had two minor parties, the Anti-Masonic Party with 6 seats and the Conservative Party (of Virginia) with 2 seats, both of which disappeared in this election.

The 1st session of the 27th Congress began May 31, 1841, before Mississippi had elected Representatives, leaving that State unrepresented until the 2nd session.

Special elections

26th Congress

• Connecticut's 2nd congressional district: 1840
• Georgia's at-large congressional district: January 1841 (one of the at-large seat)
• Indiana's 7th congressional district: 1840
• Massachusetts's 6th congressional district: 1840
• Ohio's 4th congressional district: 1840
• Pennsylvania's 22nd congressional district: 1840
• Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district: 1840

27th Congress

• Maine's 4th congressional district: 1841
• Massachusetts's 5th congressional district: 1841
• Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district: 1841
• Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district: 1841
• Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district: 1841
• Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district (again): 1841
• Pennsylvania's 20th congressional district: 1841

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
New York 26	Francis Granger	Whig	1838	Incumbent resigned March 5, 1841 to become U.S. Postmaster General. New member elected May 13, 1841. Whig hold. Successor seated May 21, 1841.	John Greig (Whig) 53.36% Bowen Whiting (Democratic) 43.30% Hiram Pitts (Liberty) 3.34%[6]
New York 26	John Greig	Whig	1841 (Special)	Incumbent resigned September 25, 1841. New member elected November 3, 1841. Whig hold. Successor seated November 27, 1841.	Francis Granger (Whig) 53.36% Bowen Whiting (Democratic) 45.14% Hiram Pitts (Liberty) 3.96%[7]
Georgia at-large (Three of the at-large seats)	William C. Dawson	Whig	1836 (Special)	Incumbent resigned November 13, 1841 to run for Governor of Georgia. New member elected December 21, 1841. Democratic gain.	Elected on a general ticket: Mark A. Cooper (Democratic) 17.26% Walter T. Colquitt (Democratic) 17.14% Edward J. Black (Democratic) 16.96% Charles Dougherty (Whig) 16.32% George R. Gilmer (Whig) 16.18% Augustus R. Wright (Whig) 16.14%[8]
	Eugenius A. Nisbet	Whig	1838	Incumbent resigned October 12, 1841. New member elected December 21, 1841. Democratic gain.
	Julius Caesar Alford	Whig	1838	Incumbent resigned October 1, 1841. New member elected December 21, 1841. Democratic gain.

Florida Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Iowa Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Maine

Maine elected its members September 14, 1840.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Maine 1
Maine 2
Maine 3
Maine 4
Maine 5
Maine 6
Maine 7
Maine 8	Thomas Davee	Democratic	1836	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Whig gain.	Elisha Hunt Allen (Whig) 51.90% Hannibal Hamlin (Democratic) 46.62%[9]

Massachusetts

Massachusetts held its elections November 9, 1840, but one district went to a second ballot on January 4, 1841.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Massachusetts 1
Massachusetts 2
Massachusetts 3
Massachusetts 4	William Parmenter	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected.	William Parmenter (Democratic) 50.34% Nathan Brooks (Whig) 48.35% David Goodale (Unknown) 1.31%[10]
Massachusetts 5
Massachusetts 6
Massachusetts 7
Massachusetts 8
Massachusetts 9
Massachusetts 10	Henry Williams	Democratic	1838	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected on the second ballot. Whig gain.	First ballot (November 9, 1840): Henry Williams (Democratic) 49.75% Nathaniel B. Borden (Whig) 49.60% Otis Thompson (Unknown) 0.65%[11] Second ballot (January 4, 1841): Nathaniel B. Borden (Whig) 52.41% Henry Williams (Democratic) 45.26% George W. Johnson (Unknown) 2.33%[12]
Massachusetts 11
Massachusetts 12	John Quincy Adams	Whig	1830	Incumbent re-elected.	John Quincy Adams (Whig) 54.60% William M. Jackson (Democratic) 45.40%[13]

Wisconsin Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates

26th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Iowa Territory at-large	William W. Chapman	Democratic	1838	Incumbent's term expired by law. New delegate elected in 1840. Democratic hold.	Augustus C. Dodge (Democratic) Alfred Rich (Whig) (615-vote margin)[14]

27th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Florida Territory at-large	Charles Downing	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected on an unknown date.	Charles Downing (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Iowa Territory at-large	Augustus C. Dodge	Democratic	1840	Incumbent re-elected August 6, 1841.	Augustus C. Dodge (Democratic) 4838 votes Alfred Rich (Whig) 4315 votes[15]
Wisconsin Territory at-large	James D. Doty	Democratic	1838	Incumbent re-elected on an unknown date.	James D. Doty (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]

See also

• 1840 United States elections
  • 1824–54 List of United States House of Representatives elections
  • 1840 United States presidential election
  • 1840 and 1841 United States Senate elections
• 26th United States Congress
• 27th United States Congress

Notes

1. Includes one Independent from Virginia, and one Independent Democrat from Illinois.
2. There was 1 Independent and 1 Independent Democrat.
3. Including one Independent Democrat elected to Illinois's 2nd congressional district.
4. Includes 3 plural districts
5. Includes 5 plural districts
6. Robert M. T. Hunter was elected as an Independent in Virginia's 9th congressional district, and so is not included in the figures here. Hunter had previously run in earlier elections as a Whig.
7. Includes 1 plural district
8. Changed from district

References

1. Dubin 1998, p. 129.
2. Martis 1989, p. 98.
3. CQGuide, p. 974.
4. Dubin 1998, p. 128.
5. Martis 1989, p. 96.
6. "Our Campaigns - NY District 26 - Special Election Race - May 11, 1841". OurCampaigns.com.
7. "Our Campaigns - NY District 26 - Special Election Race - Nov 01, 1841". OurCampaigns.com.
8. "Our Campaigns - GA At-Large - Special Election Race - Dec 21, 1841". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
9. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=718376
10. "Our Campaigns - MA District 4 Race - Nov 09, 1840". www.ourcampaigns.com.
11. "Our Campaigns - MA District 10 - 1st Trial Race - Nov 09, 1840". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
12. "Our Campaigns - MA District 10 - 2nd Trial Race - Jan 04, 1841". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
13. "Our Campaigns - MA District 12 Race - Nov 09, 1840". www.ourcampaigns.com.
14. Pelzer, Louis (1908). Shambaugh, Benjamin F. (ed.). "The Early Democratic Party of Iowa". Iowa Journal of History and Politics. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa. p. 15. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
15. Pelzer, Louis (1908). Shambaugh, Benjamin F. (ed.). "The Early Democratic Party of Iowa". Iowa Journal of History and Politics. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa. p. 16. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

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)