1870 United States elections

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1870 United States elections
1868          1869         1870         1871          1872
Midterm elections
Election dayNovember 8
Incumbent president Ulysses S. Grant (Republican)
Next Congress 42nd
Senate elections
Overall controlRepublican hold
Seats contested25 of 70 seats [1]
Net seat changeDemocratic +3 [2]
1870senatemap.svg
Results:
     Democratic gain     Democratic hold
     Republican hold     Legislature failed to elect
House elections
Overall controlRepublican hold
Seats contestedAll 243 voting seats
Net seat changeDemocratic +33 [2]
1870 United States House Elections.svg
Results:
     Democratic hold     Democratic gain
     Republican hold     Republican gain
     Conservative gain

Elections occurred in the middle of Republican President Ulysses S. Grant's first term, during the Third Party System. Members of the 42nd United States Congress were chosen in this election. The election took place during the Reconstruction Era, and many Southerners were barred from voting. It was also the first election after the passage of the 15th Amendment, which prohibits state and federal governments from denying the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, although disenfranchisement would persist. The Republican Party maintained a majority in both houses of Congress, although Democrats picked up several seats in both chambers.

In the House, Democrats won major gains, but Republicans retained a solid majority. [3]

In the Senate, Democrats won moderate gains, but Republicans retained a commanding majority. [4]

See also

References

  1. Not counting special elections.
  2. 1 2 Congressional seat gain figures only reflect the results of the regularly-scheduled elections, and do not take special elections into account.
  3. "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  4. "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate. Retrieved June 25, 2014.