1874 and 1875 United States House of Representatives elections

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1874 and 1875 for Representatives to the 44th Congress, occurring 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]

1874 and 1875 United States House of Representatives elections

November 3, 1874[lower-alpha 1]
All 293 seats in the United States House of Representatives[lower-alpha 2] 147 seats needed for a majority
Leader Michael Kerr James G. Blaine Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat Indiana 3rd Maine 3rd Last election 88 seats 195 seats Seats won 180[1] 103[1] Seat change 92 92 Popular vote 3,061,888 2,766,257 Percentage 49.12% 44.38% Swing 7.12% 8.47%   Party Anti-Monopoly Reform Last election 0 seats 0 seats Seats won 1 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 79,816 9,546 Percentage 1.28% 0.15% Swing New New   Party Independent Last election 1 seat[lower-alpha 3] Seats won 4[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] Seat change 3 Popular vote 276,554 Percentage 4.44% Swing 2.19%
Map of U.S. House elections results from 1874 elections for 44th Congress
Speaker before election James G. Blaine Republican Elected Speaker Michael Kerr Democratic

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 and Conservatives 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

• Oregon at-large: 1875
• Pennsylvania 23: 1874
• Massachusetts 1: 1875

Election summaries

↓

182	8	103
Democratic	[lower-alpha 6]	Republican

State	Type	Total seats	Democratic		Republican		Independent
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District + 2 at-large	8	6	4	2	4	0
Arkansas	District	4	4	4	0	4	0
California[lower-alpha 7]	District	4	3	2	1	2	0
Connecticut[lower-alpha 7]	District	4	3	2	1	2	0
Delaware	At-large	1	1	1	0	1	0
Florida	District	2	1	1	1	1	0
Georgia[lower-alpha 8]	District	9	9[lower-alpha 5]	2	0	2	0
Illinois	District	19	11	6	6	8	2	2
Indiana[lower-alpha 8]	District	13	8	5	5	5	0
Iowa[lower-alpha 8]	District	9	1	1	8	1	0
Kansas	District	3	1	1	2	1	0
Kentucky	District	10	9	1	1	1	0
Louisiana	District	6	4	3	2	2	0
Maine[lower-alpha 8]	District	5	0		5		0
Maryland	District	6	6	2	0	2	0
Massachusetts	District	11	5	5	4	7	2	2
Michigan	District	9	3	3	6	3	0
Minnesota	District	3	0		3		0
Mississippi	District	6	4	3	2[lower-alpha 9]	3	0
Missouri	District	13	13	4	0	4	0
Nebraska[lower-alpha 8]	At-large	1	0		1		0
Nevada	At-large	1	0	1	1	1	0
New Hampshire[lower-alpha 7]	District	3	2	1	1	1	0
New Jersey	District	7	5	4	2	4	0
New York	District	33	17	8	16[lower-alpha 9]	8	0
North Carolina[lower-alpha 8]	District	8	7	2	1	2	0
Ohio[lower-alpha 8]	District	20	13	7	7	7	0
Oregon[lower-alpha 8]	At-large	1	1	1	0	1	0
Pennsylvania	District	27	17	12	10	12	0
Rhode Island	District	2	0		2		0
South Carolina	District	5	0		5		0
Tennessee	District	10	9	6	1	6	0
Texas	District	6	6		0		0
Vermont[lower-alpha 8]	District	3	0		3[lower-alpha 9]		0
Virginia	District	9	8	4	1	4	0
West Virginia[lower-alpha 8]	District	3	3	1	0	1	0
Wisconsin	District	8	3	1	5	1	0
Total		293[lower-alpha 2]	183[lower-alpha 5] 62.5%	94	106[lower-alpha 4] 36.2%	93	4 1.4%	4

Popular vote Democratic   49.12% Republican   44.38% Anti-Monopoly   1.28% Reform   0.15% Independent   4.44% Others   0.63%

House seats Democratic   61.43% Republican   35.15% Anti-Monopoly   0.34% Reform   0.34% Independent   2.74%

[[File:44 us house membership.png|thumb|350px| House seats by party holding plurality in state   80+% Democratic   80+% Republican   60+% to 80% Democratic   60+% to 80% Republican   Up to 60% Democratic   Up to 60% Republican ]]

[[File:44 us house changes.png|thumb|350px| Net gain in party representation   6+ Democratic gain   6+ Republican gain   3-5 Democratic gain   3-5 Republican gain   1-2 Democratic gain   1-2 Republican gain   no net change ]]

Election dates

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

Arizona Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

California

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
California 1	Charles Clayton	Republican	1872	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	William Adam Piper (Democratic) 49.1% Ira P. Rankin (Republican) 26.8% John F. Swift (Independent) 24.1%
California 2	Horace F. Page	Republican	1872	Incumbent re-elected.	Horace F. Page (Republican) 43.4% Henry Larkin (Democratic) 38.7% Charles A. Tuttle (Independent) 17.8%
California 3	John K. Luttrell	Democratic	1872	Incumbent re-elected.	John K. Luttrell (Democratic) 46.7% C. B. Denio (Republican) 36.1% Charles F. Reed (Independent) 17.1%
California 4	Sherman O. Houghton	Republican	1871	Lost re-election Democratic gain	Peter D. Wigginton (Democratic) 48.8% Sherman O. Houghton (Republican) 34.6% J. S. Thompson (Independent) 16.7%

Colorado Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Florida

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.	William J. Purman (Republican) 53.0% John Henderson (Democratic) 47.0%
Florida 2	Josiah T. Walls Redistricted from the at-large district	Republican	1870	Incumbent re-elected. The election was later successfully challenged.	Josiah T. Walls (Republican) 51.1% Jesse J. Finley (Democratic) 48.9%

Idaho Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Iowa Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Montana Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

New Mexico Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

South Carolina

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
South Carolina 1	Joseph Rainey	Republican	1870 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Joseph Rainey (Republican) 51.4% Samuel Lee (Independent Republican) 48.6%
South Carolina 2	Alonzo J. Ransier	Republican	1872	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Independent Republican gain. Election was later successfully challenged, declared vacant, and a special election was then held.	Edmund W. M. Mackey (Independent Republican) 54.1% Charles W. Buttz (Republican) 45.9%
South Carolina 3	Robert B. Elliott	Republican	1870	Incumbent resigned November 1, 1874 to serve as sheriff. new member elected. Republican hold	Solomon L. Hoge (Republican) 56.1% Samuel McGowan (Conservative) 43.9%
South Carolina 4	Alexander S. Wallace	Republican	1868	Incumbent re-elected.	Alexander S. Wallace (Republican) 53.2% Joseph B. Kershaw (Conservative) 46.8%
South Carolina 5	Richard H. Cain Redistricted from the at-large seat	Republican	1872	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	Robert Smalls (Republican) 79.4% J. P. M. Epping (Independent Republican) 19.9% Others 0.7%

Utah Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Washington Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Wisconsin

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Wisconsin 1	Charles G. Williams	Republican	1872	Incumbent re-elected.	Charles G. Williams (Republican) 56.9% Nicholas D. Fratt (Democratic) 43.1%
Wisconsin 2	Gerry Whiting Hazelton	Republican	1870	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	Lucien B. Caswell (Republican) 50.5% Amasa G. Cook (Democratic) 49.5%
Wisconsin 3	J. Allen Barber	Republican	1870	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	Henry S. Magoon (Republican) 52.7% Charles F. Thompson (Democratic) 47.3%
Wisconsin 4	Alexander Mitchell	Democratic	1870	Incumbent retired. new member elected. Democratic hold.	William Pitt Lynde (Democratic) 55.8% Harrison Ludington (Republican) 44.2%
Wisconsin 5	Charles A. Eldredge	Democratic	1862	Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Samuel D. Burchard (Democratic) 61.5% Hiram Barber (Republican) 38.5%
Wisconsin 6	Philetus Sawyer	Republican	1864	Incumbent retired. new member elected. Republican hold.	Alanson M. Kimball (Republican) 50.2% Gabriel Bouck (Democratic) 49.8%
Wisconsin 7	Jeremiah McLain Rusk	Republican	1870	Incumbent re-elected.	Jeremiah McLain Rusk (Republican) 57.4% David C. Fulton (Democratic) 42.6%
Wisconsin 8	Alexander S. McDill	Republican	1872	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	George W. Cate (Democratic) 50.0% Alexander S. McDill (Republican) 50.0%

Wyoming Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates

District	Incumbent			This race
	Delegate	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Arizona Territory at-large
Dakota Territory at-large
Colorado Territory at-large	Jerome B. Chaffee	Republican	1870	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Thomas M. Patterson (Democratic) 56.3% Henry P. H. Bromwell (Republican) 44.7%[6]
Idaho Territory at-large
Montana Territory at-large
New Mexico Territory at-large
Utah Territory at-large
Washington Territory at-large
Wyoming Territory at-large

See also

• 1874 United States elections
  • 1874 and 1875 United States Senate elections
• 43rd United States Congress
• 44th United States Congress

Notes

1. 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.
2. Includes late elections.
3. Included 1 Independent Democrat.
4. Includes 3 Independent Republicans.
5. Includes 1 Independent Democrat, William H. Felton, elected to Georgia's 7th congressional district.
6. There were 4 Independents, 3 Independent Republicans, and 1 Independent Democrat.
7. Elections held late.
8. Elections held early.
9. Includes 1 Independent Republican.

References

1. Martis, pp. 128–129.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Rhodes, James Ford (1920). History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850: 1872-1877. The Macmillan company. p. 67.
5. Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721.
6. "Our Campaigns - CO Territorial Delegate - Final Election Race - Nov 03, 1874". www.ourcampaigns.com.

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)