1854–55 United States Senate elections
The 1854–55 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1854 and 1855, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.[1] In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 3.
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21 of the 62 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 32 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results: Democratic gain Democratic hold Whig hold Free Soil Gain Know Nothing Gain Republican Gain Legislature failed to elect | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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These elections saw the final decline of the Whig Party and the maintained majority of the Democrats. Those Whigs in the South who were opposed to secession ran on the "Opposition Party" ticket, and were elected to a minority. Along with the Whigs, the Senate roster also included Free Soilers, Know Nothings, and a new party: the Republicans. Only five of the twenty-one senators up for election were re-elected.
Results summary
Senate party division, 34th Congress (1855–1857)
- Majority party: Democratic (35)
- Minority party: Opposition (20) (Whigs, Republicans, Know Nothings, Free Soilers)
- Vacant: 7
- Total seats: 62
Change in Senate composition
Before the elections
After the October 14, 1854 special election in Vermont.
| D1 | |||||||||
| D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 |
| D21 | D20 | D19 | D18 | D17 | D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 |
| D22 | D23 | D24 | D25 | D26 Ran | D27 Ran | D28 Ran | D29 Ran | D30 Ran | D31 Ran |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Majority → | D32 Ran | ||||||||
| FS4 Retired | KN1 | V1 | V2 | V3 | D36 Retired | D35 Unknown | D34 Unknown | D33 Ran | |
| FS3 Retired | FS2 Retired | FS1 | W18 Retired | W17 Retired | W16 Retired | W15 Unknown | W14 Unknown | W13 Ran | W12 Ran |
| W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 |
| W1 | |||||||||
As a result of the elections
| D1 | |||||||||
| D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 |
| D21 | D20 | D19 | D18 | D17 | D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 |
| D22 | D23 | D24 | D25 | D26 Re-elected | D27 Re-elected | D28 Re-elected | D29 Hold | D30 Gain | D31 Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Majority → | D32 Gain | ||||||||
| V2 | V3 | V4 | V5 D Loss | V6 D Loss | V7 D Loss | V8 D Loss | V9 D Loss | D33 Gain | |
| V1 W Loss | KN1 | FS2 Gain | FS1 | R3 Gain | R2 Gain | R1 Gain | W14 Hold | W13 Re-elected | W12 Re-elected |
| W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 |
| W1 | |||||||||
Beginning of the next Congress
| D1 | |||||||||
| D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 |
| D21 | D20 | D19 | D18 | D17 | D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 |
| D22 | D23 | D24 | D25 | D26 | D27 | D28 | D29 | D30 | D31 |
| Majority → | D32 | ||||||||
| V2 | V3 | V4 | V5 | V6 | V7 | D35 Gain | D34 Gain | D33 | |
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| V1 | KN2 Changed | KN1 | FS2 | FS1 | R7 Gain | R6 Changed | R5 Changed | R4 Changed | R3 |
| W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | R1 | R2 |
| W1 | |||||||||
Beginning of the first session, December 3, 1855
| D1 | |||||||||
| D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 |
| D21 | D20 | D19 | D18 | D17 | D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 |
| D22 | D23 | D24 | D25 | D26 | D27 | D28 | D29 | D30 | D31 |
| Majority → | D32 | ||||||||
| KN2 | V1 | V2 | V3 | V4 | D36 Gain | D35 | D34 | D33 | |
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| KN1 | FS2 | FS1 | R9 Gain | R8 Gain | R7 | R6 | R5 | R4 | R3 |
| W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | R1 | R2 |
| W1 | |||||||||
| Key: |
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Race summaries
Special elections during the 33rd Congress
In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1854 or in 1855 before March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Mississippi (Class 2) | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect in 1853. Successor elected January 7, 1854. Democratic gain. |
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| Connecticut (Class 3) | Truman Smith | Whig | 1848 or 1849 | Incumbent resigned May 24, 1854. Successor elected May 24, 1854. Free Soil gain. Successor did not run for the next term, see below. |
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| Vermont (Class 3) | Samuel S. Phelps | Whig | 1853 (Appointed) | Incumbent lost entitlement to sit on March 16, 1854.[2] Successor elected October 14, 1854. Free Soil gain. Successor did not run for the next term, see below. |
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| Arkansas (Class 3) | Robert W. Johnson | Democratic | 1853 (Appointed) | Interim appointee elected November 10, 1854.[3] Successor would also later be elected to the next term, see below. |
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| North Carolina (Class 2) | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect in 1853. Successor elected December 6, 1854. Democratic gain. |
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| Massachusetts (Class 2) | Julius Rockwell | Whig | 1854 (Appointed) | Interim appointee lost election. Successor elected January 31, 1855. Know Nothing gain. |
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Elections leading to the 34th Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1855; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Alabama | Benjamin Fitzpatrick | Democratic | 1848 (Appointed) 1849 (Successor elected) 1853 (Appointed) 1853 (special) | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until November 26, 1855, see below. | [data missing] |
| Arkansas | Robert W. Johnson | Democratic | 1853 (Appointed) 1854 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1855. |
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| California | William M. Gwin | Democratic | 1850 | Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1857. | ▌William M. Gwin (Democratic) |
| Connecticut | Francis Gillette | Free Soil | 1854 (special) | Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1854. Republican gain. |
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| Florida | Jackson Morton | Whig | 1848 | Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1854. Democratic gain. |
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| Georgia | William Crosby Dawson | Whig | 1847[4] | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Successor elected in 1854 or 1855. Democratic gain. |
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| Illinois | James Shields | Democratic | 1849 | Incumbent lost re-election. Successor elected February 8, 1855.[5] Democratic hold. |
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| Indiana | John Pettit | Democratic | 1853 (special) | Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant util 1857. | ▌John Pettit (Democratic) [data missing] |
| Iowa | Augustus C. Dodge | Democratic | 1848 1849 | Incumbent lost re-election. Incumbent then resigned February 22, 1855 to become U.S. Minister to Spain. Successor elected in 1855. Free Soil gain. |
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| Kentucky | Archibald Dixon | Whig | 1851 (special) | Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1854. Whig hold. |
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| Louisiana | John Slidell | Democratic | 1853 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1854 or 1855. |
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| Maryland | James Pearce | Whig | 1843 1849 | Incumbent re-elected in 1855. |
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| Missouri | David Rice Atchison | Democratic | 1843 (Appointed) 1843 (special) 1849 | Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1857. |
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| New Hampshire | John S. Wells | Democratic | 1855 (Appointed) | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until July 30, 1855, see below. | [data missing] |
| New York | William H. Seward | Whig | 1849 | Incumbent re-elected February 6, 1855. Successor became a Republican shortly thereafter. |
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| North Carolina | George Badger | Whig | 1846 (special) 1849 | Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1855. Democratic gain. |
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| Ohio | Salmon P. Chase | Free Soil | 1849 | Incumbent retired. Successor elected March 4, 1854.[7] Democratic gain. |
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| Pennsylvania | James Cooper | Whig | 1849 | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Whig loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1856. |
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| South Carolina | Andrew Butler | Democratic | 1852 (Appointed) ? (special) 1848 | Incumbent re-elected in 1854. |
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| Vermont | Lawrence Brainerd | Free Soil | 1854 | Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1855. Republican gain. |
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| Wisconsin | Isaac P. Walker | Democratic | 1848 1849 | Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1854. Republican gain. |
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Elections during the 34th Congress
In these elections, the winners were elected in 1855 after March 4.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| New Hampshire (Class 2) | Vacant | Democrat Charles G. Atherton had died November 15, 1853. Democrat Jared W. Williams was appointed to continue Atherton's term. Williams's appointment expired July 15, 1854 when the legislature then failed to elect a successor. Winner was elected July 30, 1855. Republican gain. |
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| New Hampshire (Class 3) | Vacant | Democrat John S. Wells's term had expired March 3, 1855. Legislature had failed to elect. Winner was elected late July 30, 1855. Republican gain. |
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| Alabama (Class 3) | Vacant | Democrat Benjamin Fitzpatrick's term had expired March 3, 1855. Legislature had failed to elect. Incumbent was then elected late November 26, 1855. Democratic gain. |
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Kentucky
On January 10, 1854, the Kentucky legislature elected Whig U.S. Attorney General (and former-senator and former-Governor of Kentucky) John J. Crittenden to succeed Dixon, beating the then-incumbent Governor of Kentucky, Lazarus W. Powell.
- John J. Crittenden (Whig) 78 votes
- Lazarus W. Powell (Democratic) 59 votes[6]
Maryland
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80 members of the Maryland General Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
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James Pearce won re-election by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.[8]
New York
The election was held on February 6, 1855. William H. Seward had been elected in 1849 to this seat and his term would expire on March 3, 1855. At the time the Democratic Party was split into two opposing factions: the "Hards" and the "Softs". After most of the "Barnburners" had left the party, joining the Whigs, the majority of "Hunkers" split over the question of reconciliation with the minority of Barnburners who had remained Democrats. The Hard faction (led by Daniel S. Dickinson) was against it, in true Hunker fashion claiming all patronage for themselves; the Soft faction (led by William L. Marcy, which included the former Barnburners, advocated party unity as a necessity to defeat the Whigs.
In 1854, the Republican Party was founded as a national party, but in New York the Whigs and the Anti-Nebraska Party ran concurrently at the State election. The unification of these occurred in New York only during the nomination convention for the State election in November 1855. Also running in the 1854 election were the American Party and nominees of the Temperance movement. In a general way, party lines were blurred until the re-alignment during the late 1850s after the disbanding of the American Party.
At the State election in November 1853, 23 Whigs, 7 Hards and 2 Softs were elected for a two-year term (1854–1855) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1854, Whig State Senator Myron H. Clark was elected Governor of New York, and 82 Whigs, 26 Softs, 16 Hards and 3 Temperance men were elected for the session of 1855 to the New York State Assembly. "Know Nothings are sprinkled miscellaneously among Whigs, Hards and Softs; and exactly how many there are of these gentry in the Assembly Nobody Knows."[9] The 78th New York State Legislature met from January 2 to April 14, 1855, at Albany, New York.
In the Assembly, Seward received 69 votes, given by 65 Whigs; 1 Democrat; 1 Temperance man; 1 Republican and 1 Whig-Republican. Dickinson received 14 votes, given by 13 Democrats and 1 American. Horatio Seymour received the votes of 12 Democrats. Dix received 7 votes, given by 5 Democrats; 1 Independent Democrat and 1 Temperance man. Fillmore received 4 votes, given by 2 Whigs; 1 Democrat and 1 Temperance-American. Horatio Seymour Jr., received the votes of 2 Americans. King, Butler, Lester, Wait and Bronson received 1 Democratic vote each. Campbell received 1 Temperance-American vote. Howell received 1 American vote. Hoffman and Haven received 1 Whig vote each.
In the State Senate, Seward received 18 Whig votes, Dickinson 5 Hard votes, and Allen 2 Whig votes. Preston and Church received 1 Soft vote each. Hoffman, Babcock, Ullmann and Fillmore received 1 American vote each.
Seward was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.
| Candidate | Party | Senate (32 members) | Assembly (128 members) |
|---|---|---|---|
| √ William H. Seward | Whig | √ 18 | √ 69 |
| Daniel S. Dickinson | Dem./Hard | 5 | 14 |
| Horatio Seymour | Dem./Soft | 12 | |
| Washington Hunt | Whig | 9 | |
| John Adams Dix | Dem./Soft | 7 | |
| Millard Fillmore | Whig | 1 | 4 |
| William F. Allen | Democratic | 2 | |
| Horatio Seymour Jr. | 2 | ||
| Preston King | 1 | 1 | |
| Ogden Hoffman | Whig | 1 | 1 |
| Daniel Ullmann | American | 1 | |
| Sanford E. Church | Democratic | 1 | |
| George R. Babcock | Whig | 1 | |
| William W. Campbell | American | 1 | |
| Benjamin F. Butler | Democratic | 1 | |
| Albert Lester | Democratic | 1 | |
| Greene C. Bronson | Democratic | 1 | |
| Solomon G. Haven | Opposition | 1 | |
| John D. Howell | 1 | ||
| L. or J. Wait | 1 |
See also
Notes
References
- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
- The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 63 for U.S. Senators; pg. 137 for State Senators 1855; pg. 248ff for Members of Assembly 1855)
- Members of the 34th United States Congress
- STATE AFFAIRS; Election of a U.S. Senator for Six Years in NYT on February 7, 1855
- Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900. State of Ohio.
- Result Senate: Journal of the Senate (78th Session) (1855; pg. 198)