The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories of the United States.
The 34th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1855, to March 4, 1857, during the last two years of Franklin Pierce's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1850 United States census. The Whig Party, one of the two major parties of the era, had largely collapsed, although many former Whigs ran as Republicans or as members of the "Opposition Party." The Senate had a Democratic majority, and the House was controlled by a coalition of Representatives led by Nathaniel P. Banks, a member of the American Party.
Chauncey Langdon Knapp was an American newspaperman and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1855 to 1859.
Ambrose Spencer Murray was an American businessman and politician from New York. He is best known for his service as a U.S. Representative from New York.
The 1857 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 3, 1857 by the New York State Legislature. Incumbent Whig Senator Hamilton Fish did not stand for re-election. The seat was won by Preston King, a former U.S. Representative and member of the newly-formed Republican Party. King was the first Republican elected to represent New York, although William H. Seward had joined the party after being elected as a Whig in 1855.
The 1852–53 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with the 1852 presidential election. 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 1852 and 1853, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.
The 1850–51 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 1850 and 1851, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 1.
The 1856–57 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 1856 and 1857, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 1.
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. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 3.
The 1860–61 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 1860 and 1861, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 3.
The 1851 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held during January 1851. Free Soil Party candidate Charles Sumner was elected by a coalition of Free-Soil and Democratic legislators over Whig incumbent Robert C. Winthrop, who had been appointed to finish the term of retiring Senator Daniel Webster.
The 1863 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on January 9, 1863. Incumbent Charles Sumner was re-elected to a third term in office.
The 1869 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on January 19, 1869. Incumbent Charles Sumner was re-elected to a fourth term in office.
The 1859 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held during January 1859. Incumbent Senator Henry Wilson, who had been elected in 1855 to fill the unexpired term of Edward Everett, was re-elected easily to a full term as a member of the Republican Party.
The 1865 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held during January 1865. Incumbent Republican Senator Henry Wilson was re-elected easily to a second term as a member of the Republican Party.
The 1871 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on January 17, 1871. Incumbent Republican Senator Henry Wilson was re-elected easily to a third term as a member of the Republican Party. Wilson would not finish the term, since he was elected Vice President of the United States in 1872.
The caning of Charles Sumner, or the Brooks–Sumner Affair, occurred on May 22, 1856, in the United States Senate chamber, when Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts. The attack was in retaliation for an invective-laden speech given by Sumner two days earlier in which he fiercely criticized slaveholders, including pro-slavery South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, a relative of Brooks. The beating nearly killed Sumner and contributed significantly to the country's polarization over the issue of slavery. It has been considered symbolic of the "breakdown of reasoned discourse" and willingness to resort to violence that eventually led to the Civil War.
The 1851–52 Massachusetts gubernatorial election consisted of an initial popular vote held on November 10, 1851, followed by a legislative vote conducted on January 12, 1852. Incumbent Democrat Governor George S. Boutwell was reelected to a second term in office. The ultimate task of electing the governor had been placed before the Massachusetts General Court because no candidate received the majority of the vote required for a candidate to be elected through the popular election.
The 1850–51 Massachusetts gubernatorial election consisted of an initial popular held on November 11, 1850 that was followed by a legislative vote that was conducted on January 11, 1851. It saw the election of Democratic Party nominee George S. Boutwell. The ultimate task of electing the governor had been placed before the Massachusetts General Court because no candidate received the majority of the vote required for a candidate to be elected through the popular election.
In the 1856 Iowa State Senate elections, Iowa voters elected state senators to serve in the sixth Iowa General Assembly. Following the expansion of the Iowa Senate from 31 to 36 seats in 1856, elections were held for 21 of the state senate's 36 seats. State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate.
