United States House of Representatives elections, 1840

United States House of Representatives elections, 1840
United States
July 6, 1840 - November 2, 1841

All 242 seats to the United States House of Representatives
122 seats were needed for majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader John White John Jones
Party Whig Democratic
Leader's seat Kentucky-9th Virginia-3rd
Last election 109 seats 125 seats
Seats won 142 99[Note 1]
Seat change Increase 33 Decrease 26

Speaker before election

Robert M. T. Hunter
Whig

Elected Speaker

John White
Whig

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 27th Congress were held on different dates in each state, from July 6, 1840 (Louisiana) to November 2, 1841 (Mississippi).

The 1840–41 U.S. House elections gave the Whig Party control of the House of Representatives for the first time. The Panic of 1837 had created an economic depression and the perceived mishandling of this crisis by President Martin Van Buren, gave the Whigs the presidency (William Henry Harrison was elected) and a majority in the House. The Whigs campaigned for neo-mercantilist reform based on modernization and economic nationalism, ideas which had previously been unpopular outside of urban regions, but gained footholds because of the depression. The collapse of the Anti-Masonic Party in the late 1830s also gave the Whigs the advantage of having several incumbents turn from rivals to party members. In addition, Robert M. T. Hunter was elected as an Independent to Virginia's 9th District,[1] and Zadoc Casey was elected as an Independent Democrat to Illinois's 2nd District.[2]

Election summaries

142 1 1 98
Whig I ID Democratic
State Type Date Total
seats
Whig Democratic
Seats Change Seats Change
Arkansas At-large October 5, 1840 1 0 Steady 1 Steady
Connecticut District (6) November 3, 1840 6 6 Steady 0 Steady
Delaware At-large November 10, 1840 1 1 Increase1 0 Decrease1
Georgia At-large October 6, 1840 9 9 Steady 0 Steady
Illinois District (3) August 7, 1840 3 1 Steady 2[Note 1] Steady
Louisiana District (3) July 6–8, 1840 3 2 Decrease1 1 Increase1
Maine District (8) September 14, 1840 8 4 Increase2 4 Decrease2
Massachusetts District (12) November 9, 1840 12 11 Increase1 1 Decrease1
Michigan At-large November 3, 1840 1 1 Increase1 0 Decrease1
Missouri At-large August 3, 1840 2 0 Steady 2 Steady
New Jersey At-large November 3, 1840 6 6 Increase5 0 Decrease5
New York District (33[Note 2]) November 2–4, 1840 40 19 Decrease2 21 Increase2
Ohio District (19) October 13, 1840 19 12 Increase4 7 Decrease4
Pennsylvania District (25[Note 3]) October 13, 1840 28 13 Increase8 15 Decrease2
South Carolina District (9) October 12–13, 1840 9 1 Steady 8 Steady
Vermont District (5) September 4, 1840 5 5 Increase2 0 Decrease2
1841 elections
Alabama At-large[Note 4] May 20, 1841 5 0 Decrease2 5 Increase2
Indiana District (7) May 3, 1841 7 6 Increase4 1 Decrease4
Kentucky District (13) April 26, 1841 13 11 Steady 2 Steady
Maryland District (7[Note 5]) May 17, 1841 8 6 Increase3 2 Decrease3
Mississippi At-large November 1–2, 1841 2 0 Steady 2 Steady
New Hampshire At-large March 9, 1841 5 0 Steady 5 Steady
North Carolina District (13) May 13, 1841 13 8 Increase3 5 Decrease3
Rhode Island At-large April 21, 1841 2 2 Steady 0 Steady
Tennessee District (13) May 6, 1841 13 8 Increase1 5 Decrease1
Virginia[Note 6] District (21) April 23, 1841 21[Note 6] 10 Increase4 10 Decrease3
Total 242 142
59.5%
Increase36 99[Note 1]
40.9%
Decrease28
House seats
Whig
 
58.68%
Independent
 
0.41%
Independent Democrat
 
0.41%
Democratic
 
40.50%

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.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Including one Independent Democrat elected to IL-02.
  2. Includes 5 plural districts
  3. Includes 3 plural districts
  4. Changed from district
  5. Includes 1 plural district
  6. 1 2 Robert M. T. Hunter was elected as an Independent to VA-09, and so is not included in the figures here. Hunter had previously run in earlier elections as a Whig.

References

  1. Dubin, p. 129; Martis, p. 98; Moore, p. 974.
  2. Dubin, p. 128; Martis, p. 96.

Bibliography

External links

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