United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 1856

Last updated April 01, 2019

The 1856 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on January 14, 1856. William Bigler was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[1]

William Bigler was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as the 12th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1852 to 1855, and later a U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania from 1856 until 1861.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly and was unicameral. Since the Constitution of 1776, the legislature has been known as the General Assembly. The General Assembly became a bicameral legislature in 1791.

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.

Background

The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on February 13, 1855, for the regularly scheduled Senate election for the term beginning on March 4, 1855. Two ballots were recorded on February 13, followed by three on February 27, 1855. On the fifth and final ballot during this convention, former Senator Simon Cameron had led with 55 votes to future Senator Charles R. Buckalew's 23. No candidate was elected, however, and the hung election convention adjourned by a vote of 66 to 65. Upon the expiration of incumbent James Cooper's term on March 4, 1855, the seat was vacated and would remain vacant until William Bigler's election in January 1856.^[2]

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts.

The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the seats are contested at each election. Even numbered seats and odd numbered seats are contested in separate election years. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate becomes the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania in the event of the sitting Lieutenant Governor's removal, resignation or death. In this case the President Pro Tempore and Lieutenant Governor would be the same person. The Pennsylvania Senate has been meeting since 1791.

Simon Cameron was an influential American businessman and politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War.

Results

On January 14, 1856, the election convention of the General Assembly re-convened and elected Democratic former Governor of Pennsylvania William Bigler on the first ballot to serve the remainder of the term that began on March 4, 1855 and would expire on March 4, 1861. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Bigler	82	61.65
	Republican	Edward Joy Morris	43	32.33
	Unknown	John C. Flenniken	1	0.75
	N/A	Not voting	7	5.26
Totals			133	100.00%

Related Research Articles

Although the 17th Amendment was not passed until 1913, some states elected their Senators directly before its passage. Oregon pioneered direct election and experimented with different measures over several years until it succeeded in 1907. Soon after, Nebraska followed suit and laid the foundation for other states to adopt measures reflecting the people's will. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected senators either as nominees of their party's primary or in conjunction with a general election.

The United States Senate elections of 1856 and 1857 were elections which had the young Republican Party assume its position as one of the United States's two main political parties. The Whigs and Free Soilers were gone by the time the next Congress began.

The United States Senate elections of 1900 and 1901 were elections in which the Democratic Party gained two seats in the United States Senate, and which corresponded with President William McKinley's landslide re-election. By the beginning of the next Congress, however, the Republicans gained five additional seats, giving them a ten-seat majority.

The United States Senate elections of 1844 and 1845 were elections which, coinciding with James K. Polk's election, had the Democratic Party retake control of the United States Senate, gaining a net total of eleven seats from the Whigs.

The United States Senate elections of 1880 and 1881 were elections that coincided with the presidential election of 1880, and had the Democratic Party lose five seats in the United States Senate. The newly elected Readjuster senator caucused with the Republicans, and the Republican Vice President's tie-breaking vote gave the Republicans the slightest majority. All of that changed September 19, 1881 when the Vice President ascended to the Presidency and the Senate became evenly-divided.

The United States Senate elections of 1840 and 1841 were elections which, corresponding with their Party's success in the 1840 presidential election, had the Whig Party take control of the United States Senate.

The United States Senate elections of 1832 and 1833 were elections that had the Anti-Jackson coalition assume control of the United States Senate from the Jacksonian coalition, despite Andrew Jackson's victory in the presidential election.

The United States Senate elections of 1860 and 1861 were elections corresponding with Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency. The nascent Republican Party increased their Senate seats in the general elections, and after southern Democrats withdrew to join the Confederacy, Republicans gained control of the United States Senate. To establish a quorum with fewer members, a lower total seat number was taken into account.

The United States Senate elections of 1862 and 1863 were elections during the American Civil War in which Republicans increased their control of the U.S. Senate. The Republican Party gained three seats, bringing their majority to 66% of the body. Also caucusing with them were Unionists and Unconditional Unionists. As many Southern states seceded in 1860 and 1861, and members left the Senate to join the Confederacy, or were expelled for supporting the rebellion, seats were declared vacant. To establish a quorum with fewer members, a lower total seat number was taken into account.

The 1820-1821 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on three separate dates from December 1820 to December 1821. On December 10, 1821, William Findlay was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1826 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on December 12, 1826. Isaac D. Barnard was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1832-1833 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on eleven separate dates from December 1832 to December 1833. On December 7, 1833, Samuel McKean was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1901 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania was held on January 15, 1901, after the regularly scheduled legislative election in January—April 1899 failed to elect a Senator. Former Senator Matthew Quay, who had left the Senate for nearly two years because of the political stalemate, was again elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1795 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on February 26, 1795. William Bingham was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1801 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on February 19, 1801. Peter Muhlenberg was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1824–1825 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held between December 1824 and February 1825. William Marks was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1830 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on from December 14 to 16, 1830. William Wilkins was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1836 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on December 14, 1836. Future President of the United States James Buchanan was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1849 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on January 10, 1849. James Cooper was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

The 1861 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on January 8, 1861. Edgar Cowan was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

References

1 2 "U.S. Senate Election - 14 January 1856" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
↑ "U.S. Senate Election - February 1855" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved 22 December 2013.

External links

Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project

The Wilkes University Election Statistics Project is a free online resource documenting Pennsylvania political election results dating back to 1796.

Preceded by 1849	Pennsylvania U.S. Senate election (Class III) 1856	Succeeded by 1861

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[results-1] 1 2 "U.S. Senate Election - 14 January 1856" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved 22 December 2013.

[results2-2] "U.S. Senate Election - February 1855" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved 22 December 2013.