1840–41 United States House of Representatives elections

1840–41 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1838 & 1839 July 6, 1840 – November 2, 1841 1842 & 1843 →
All 242 seats in the United States House of Representatives 122 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   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%   Third party   Party Independent Last election 0 seats Seats won 2 [a] Seat change 2 Popular vote 18,063 Percentage 0.85% Swing 0.44%
Results:      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Whig hold      Whig gain      Independent gain      Independent Democrat gain
Speaker before election Robert M. T. Hunter Whig Elected Speaker John White Whig

The 1840–41 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between July 6, 1840, and November 2, 1841. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives, before or after the first session of the 27th United States Congress convened on May 31, 1841. Elections were held for all 242 seats, representing 26 states.

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

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[c]		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[d])	October 13, 1840	28	15	2	13	8
New York	District (33[e])	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[f]	Districts	April 23, 1841	21[f]	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[g])	May 17, 1841	8	2	3	6	3
Alabama	At-large[h]	May 20, 1841	5	5	2	0	2
Mississippi	At-large	November 1–2, 1841	2	2		0
Total			242	99[c] 40.9%	26	142 59.5%	33

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

Alabama

Arkansas

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maine elected its members September 14, 1840.

Maryland

Massachusetts

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

Mississippi

Elections held late, from November 1 to 2, 1841.

Michigan

Missouri

New Hampshire

New Jersey

North Carolina

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Elections held late, on May 6, 1841.

Vermont

Virginia

Wisconsin Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates

26th Congress

27th Congress

See also

• 1840 United States elections
  • List of United States House of Representatives elections (1824–1854)
  • 1840 United States presidential election
  • 1840–41 United States Senate elections
• 26th United States Congress
• 27th United States Congress

Notes

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)