United States House of Representatives elections, 1854

August 4, 1854 - November 6, 1855

All 234 seats to the United States House of Representatives 118 seats were needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	William Alexander Richardson	Henry M. Fuller	Nathaniel P. Banks
Party	Democratic	Whig	American
Leader's seat	Illinois-5th	Pennsylvania-12th	Massachusetts-7th
Last election	158 seats	71 seats	0 seats
Seats won	83^[1]^[2]	54^{[Note 1]}	51^[1]^[2]^{[Note 2]}
Seat change	75	17	51

	Fourth party	Fifth party

Leader	Lewis D. Campbell	Schuyler Colfax
Party	Anti-Nebraska	People's
Leader's seat	Ohio-3rd	Indiana-9th
Last election	4 seats	0 seats
Seats won	37^{[Note 1]}^{[Note 3]}	9^[3]^{[Note 1]}
Seat change	33^{[Note 4]}	9

Speaker before election

Linn Boyd
Democratic

Elected Speaker

Nathaniel P. Banks
American

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 34th Congress were held at various dates in each State, the earliest being in the middle of President Franklin Pierce's term on August 4, 1854 (in Arkansas) and the latest on November 6, 1855 (in Louisiana and Maryland).

The American Party (commonly called the Know Nothings) and the Opposition Party formed a coalition government which elected Nathaniel P. Banks as House Speaker even though the Democratic Party was the single party with the largest plurality of seats. The Opposition Party included members of the Whig Party (which would soon collapse), the People's Party of Indiana, Anti-Nebraska candidates, and members of the nascent Republican Party.

The major issue of the election was the Kansas-Nebraska Act which had been passed on May 30, 1854. The Act infuriated much of the North, as it repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and opened the Federal territories to slavery. Because the Pierce Administration and Democrats in Congress had been the primary supporters of the Act, the party lost many seats in the Northern states; this included 16 in New York, 12 in Ohio and 9 in Pennsylvania. The new Anti-Nebraska movement (a loose group of independent, Free Soil, and early Republican politicians) gained a combined 37 seats in the North. The American Party gained seats in both the North and South. It ignored the slavery issue and focused on pushing for reduced immigration, especially from Catholic areas of Ireland and Germany.

The fragmentation of the Democratic and Whig parties led to a drawn out election for Speaker of the House. The Democratic Party supported William Alexander Richardson of Illinois as their candidate. Whigs, Republicans, Americans, and Free Soil members of the House supported various candidates, and no candidate received a majority vote. In the end, the House agreed to elect a Speaker by plurality vote, as the elections were taking up time for legislative matters. Non-Democratic members of Congress then elected Nathaniel P. Banks of Massachusetts as their Speaker.^[4]

Election summaries

↓
100	51	83
Opposition	American	Democratic

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Opposition	Democratic	American
State	Type	Date	Total seats	Seats	Change^{[Note 5]}	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Illinois	District	November 7, 1854 (Election Day)^{[Note 6]}	9	4		5		0
Michigan	District		4	3	2	1	3	0
New Jersey	District		5	4	3	1	3	0
New York	District		33	25	13	5	16	3	3
Wisconsin	District		3	2	2	1	2	0
Arkansas	District	August 4, 1854	2	0		2		0
California	At-large	September 6, 1854	2	0		2		0
Delaware	At-large	November 14, 1854	1	0		0	1	1	1
Florida	At-large	October 2, 1854	1	0		1		0
Indiana	District	October 10, 1854	11	9	8	2	8	0
Iowa	District	August 7, 1854	2	1		1		0
Maine	District	September 11, 1854	6	5	2	1	2	0
Massachusetts	District	November 12, 1854	11	0	10	0	1	11	11
Missouri	District	August 7, 1854	7	6	2	1	2	0
Ohio	District	October 10, 1854	21	21	12	0	12	0
Pennsylvania	District	October 10, 1854	25	17	8	7	9	1	1
South Carolina	District	October 9–10, 1854	6	0		6		0
Vermont	District	September 5, 1854	3	3		0		0
1855 elections
Alabama	District	August 6, 1855	7	0	1	5	1	2	2
Connecticut	District	April 2, 1855	4	0		0	4	4	4
Georgia	District	October 1, 1855	8	0	2	6		2	2
Kentucky	District	August 6, 1855	10	0	5	4	1	6	6
Louisiana	District	November 5, 1855	4	0	1	3		1	1
Maryland	District	November 6, 1855	6	0	2	2	2	4	4
Mississippi	District^{[Note 7]}	November 5–6, 1855	5	0		4	1	1	1
New Hampshire	District	March 13, 1855	3	0		0	3	3	3
North Carolina	District	August 2, 1855	8	0	3	5		3	3
Rhode Island	District	April 4, 1855	2	0		0	2	2	2
Tennessee	District	August 2, 1855	10	0	5	5		5	5
Texas	District	August 6, 1855	2	0		1	1	1	1
Virginia	District	May 24, 1855	13	0		12	1	1	1
Total			234	100^[1]^[2] 42.7%	29^{[Note 8]}	83^[1]^[2] 35.0%	75	51^[1]^[2] 21.8%	51

House seats

Opposition			42.74%
Democratic			35.47%
American			21.79%

Complete returns

Arkansas

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Arkansas 1	Alfred B. Greenwood	Democratic	1853	Re-elected	Alfred B. Greenwood (D) 97.99% W.C. Myrtle (I) 2.01%
Arkansas 2	Albert Rust	Democratic	1854	Retired Democratic Hold	Albert Rust (D) 65.95% E.G. Walker (W) 34.05%

California

Note: From statehood to 1864, California's representatives were elected at-large, with the top two vote-getters winning election from 1849 to 1858; in 1860 when California gained a seat in the House the top three vote-getters were elected.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
California at-large 2 seats on a general ticket	Milton S. Latham	Democratic	1852	Withdrew Democratic hold	James W. Denver (D) 22.41% Philemon T. Herbert (D) 22.24% George W. Bowie (W) 21.14% Calhoun Benham (W) 20.94% James Churchman (Broderick Democrat) 6.09% James A. McDougall (Broderick Democrat) 6.07% Milton S. Latham (Broderick Democrat) 1.12%
California at-large 2 seats on a general ticket	James A. McDougall	Democratic	1852	Lost re-election Democratic hold

Florida

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Florida at-large	Augustus Maxwell	Democratic	1852	Re-elected	Augustus Maxwell (D) 55.26% Thomas Brown (W) 44.74%

Iowa

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Iowa 1	Bernhart Henn	Democrat	1850	Retired Democratic Hold	Augustus Hall (R) 50.27% R.L. Clark (W) 49.50% J.L. Ashbaugh (I) 0.23%
Iowa 2	William Vandever	Whig	1852	Retired Whig Hold	James Thorington (W) 53.33% Stephen P. Hempstead (D) 46.09% Augustus Hall (I) 0.57%

Maine

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Maine 1	Moses Macdonald	Democrat	1850	Retired Republican Gain	John M. Wood (R) 59.36% Samuel Wells (D) 39.91% Lorenzo D. Wilkinson (I) 0.74%
Maine 2	Samuel Mayall	Democrat	1852	Retired Republican Gain	John J. Perry (R) 56.88% William K. Kimball (D) 42.46% Charles J. Gilman (I) 0.66%
Maine 3	E. Wilder Farley	Whig	1852	Lost re-election Republican Gain	Ebenezer Knowlton (R) 43.94% Jonathan G. Dickerson (D) 30.78% E. Wilder Farley (W) 25.28%
Maine 4	Samuel P. Benson	Whig	1852	Re-elected Republican Gain	Samuel P. Benson (R) 77.05% George Rogers (D) 22.95%
Maine 5	Israel Washburn, Jr.	Whig	1850	Re-elected Republican Gain	Israel Washburn, Jr. (R) 63.09% Samuel H. Blake (D) 36.91%
Maine 6	Thomas J. D. Fuller	Democrat	1848	Re-elected	Thomas J. D. Fuller (D) 42.39% James A. Milliken (R) 38.74% Noah Smith (W) 18.88%

Missouri

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Missouri 1	Thomas Hart Benton	Benton Democrat	1852	Lost re-election Whig Gain	Luther M. Kennett (W) 54.16% Thomas Hart Benton (Benton Democrat) 45.84%
Missouri 2	Alfred W. Lamb	Democrat	1852	Retired Whig Gain	Gilchrist Porter (W) 54.14% Tully Cornick (Benton Democrat) 45.86%
Missouri 3	James J. Lindley	Whig	1853	Re-elected	James J. Lindley (W) 52.46% Augustus W. Fournoy (D) 47.54%
Missouri 4	Mordecai Oliver	Whig	1852	Re-elected	Mordecai Oliver (W) 41.95% S.L. Leonard (D) 34.21% Shelton J. Howe (Benton Democrat) 19.08% J.F. Pitt (Ind. Whig) 4.76%
Missouri 5	John G. Miller	Whig	1850	Re-elected	John G. Miller (W) 46.12% Thomas L. Price (Benton Democrat) 35.50% Warwick Hough (D) 18.38%
Missouri 6	John S. Phelps	Democratic	1844	Re-elected	John S. Phelps (D) 51.10% Waldo P. Johnson (Benton Democrat) 48.90%
Missouri 7	Samuel Caruthers	Whig	1853	Re-elected	Samuel Caruthers (W) 58.85% Charles Jones (D) 41.15%

Pennsylvania

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Pennsylvania 1	Thomas B. Florence	Democratic	1848	Re-elected	Thomas B. Florence (D) 51.77% Edward Joy Morris (W) 48.23%
Pennsylvania 2	Joseph R. Chandler	Whig	1848	Lost Reelection as Independent Whig Gain	Job R. Tyson (W) 54.63% John Hamilton (D) 33.82% Joseph R. Chandler (Independent Whig) 11.56%
Pennsylvania 3	John Robbins	Democrat	1848	Retired Whig Gain	William Millward (W) 51.59% James Landy (D) 48.41%
Pennsylvania 4	William Henry Witte	Democrat	1852	Retired American Gain	Jacob Broom (KN) 49.63% Henry Myer Phillips (D) 44.08% John Lambert (W) 6.29%
Pennsylvania 5	John McNair	Democrat	1850	Retired Democratic Hold	John Cadwalader (D) 50.03% Nathan A. Jones (W) 49.97%
Pennsylvania 6	William Everhart	Whig	1852	Retired Democratic Gain	John Hickman (D) 58.97% John M. Broomall (W) 41.03%
Pennsylvania 7	Samuel A. Bridges	Democratic	1852	Lost re-election Republican Gain	Samuel C. Bradshaw (R) 51.03% Samuel A. Bridges (D) 48.97%
Pennsylvania 8	J. Glancy Jones	Democratic	1854	Reelected	J. Glancy Jones (D) 59.77% John C. Myers (W) 40.23%
Pennsylvania 9	Isaac E. Hiester	Whig	1852	Lost re-election Independent Gain	Anthony E. Roberts (Independent Whig) 39.38% Isaac E. Hiester (W) 33.79% Joseph S. Lefevre (D) 26.84%
Pennsylvania 10	Ner Middleswarth	Whig	1852	Retired Whig Hold	John C. Kunkel (W) 55.99% Amos Boughter (D) 43.01% George A. Seiler (I) 1.00%
Pennsylvania 11	Christian M. Straub	Democrat	1852	Retired Whig gain	James H. Campbell (R) 38.87% William L. Dewart (D) 36.68% Joseph W. Cake (D) 21.90% Kimber Cleaver (KN) 2.56%
Pennsylvania 12	Hendrick B. Wright	Democrat	1852	Lost Reelection Whig gain	Henry Mills Fuller (W) 56.26% Hendrick B. Wright (D) 43.74%
Pennsylvania 13	Asa Packer	Democratic	1852	Reelected	Asa Packer (D) 58.67% Edward F. Stewart (W) 41.33%
Pennsylvania 14	Galusha A. Grow	Democrat	1850	Reelected	Galusha A. Grow (D) 95.22% Jim Grow (I) 4.56% Olin L. Hawley (I) 0.23%

Vermont

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Vermont 1	James Meacham	Whig	1849	Re-elected	James Meacham (W) 71.35% Solomon W. Jewett (D) 28.65%
Vermont 2	Andrew Tracy	Whig	1852	Retired Republican Gain	Justin S. Morrill (R) 50.26% J.W. Parker (D) 35.07% Oscar L. Shafter (Free Soil) 14.68%
Vermont 3	Alvah Sabin	Whig	1852	Re-elected	Alvah Sabin (W) 68.54% William Heywood (D) 31.46%

Wisconsin

Election results in Wisconsin for 1854:^[5]

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Wisconsin 1	Daniel Wells, Jr.	Democrat	1852	Re-elected	Daniel Wells, Jr. (D) 54.6% Wyman Spooner (R) 45.4%
Wisconsin 2	Ben C. Eastman	Whig	1850	Retired Republican Gain	Cadwallader C. Washburn (R) 59.5% Otis Hoyt (D) 39.8% David Taylor (None) 0.7%
Wisconsin 3	Alvah Sabin	Whig	1852	Lost Re-election Republican Gain	Charles Billinghurst (R) 55.9% John B. Macy (D) 36.0% Harvey G. Turner (I) 8.1%

Notes

1 2 3 Counted as part of the plurality winning "Opposition Party".
↑ While Martis, et al. count 51 American Party members, Dubin (p. 174) counts 52.
↑ According to Dubin (p. 174), this figure includes 13 Republicans, along with approximately 24 Anti-Nebraskans.
↑ Compared to Free Soilers elected in the previous election of 1852.
↑ Compared to Whigs, Free Soilers, and Independents elected in the previous election of 1852.
↑ In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform date for choosing presidential electors (see: Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721). Congressional elections were unaffected by this law, but the date was gradually adopted by the states for Congressional elections as well.
↑ At-large district abolished in redistricting.
↑ Compared to just Whig Party members elected in the previous election of 1852. If Whig Party and Free Soil Party members are counted together, the increase was only 25.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Martis, pp. 108–109.
1 2 3 4 5 "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
↑ Dubin, p. 174.
↑ Allan Nevins (1947). Ordeal of the Union, Volume II: A House Dividing 1852-1857. New York. pp. 413–415.
↑ "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Retrieved August 27, 2014.

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)

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