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11 of the 34 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 18 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The United States Senate elections of 1804 and 1805 were elections that expanded the Democratic-Republican Party's overwhelming control over the United States Senate. The Federalists went into the elections with such a small share of Senate seats (9 out of 34, or 27%) that even if they had won every election, they would have still remained a minority caucus.
The Democratic-Republican Party was an American political party formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison around 1792 to oppose the centralizing policies of the new Federalist Party run by Alexander Hamilton, who was Secretary of the Treasury and chief architect of George Washington's administration. From 1801 to 1825, the new party controlled the presidency and Congress as well as most states during the First Party System. It began in 1791 as one faction in Congress and included many politicians who had been opposed to the new constitution. They called themselves Republicans after their political philosophy, republicanism. They distrusted the Federalist tendency to centralize and loosely interpret the Constitution, believing these policies were signs of monarchism and anti-republican values. The party splintered in 1824, with the faction loyal to Andrew Jackson coalescing into the Jacksonian movement, the faction led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay forming the National Republican Party and some other groups going on to form the Anti-Masonic Party. The National Republicans, Anti-Masons, and other opponents of Andrew Jackson later formed themselves into the Whig Party.
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.
As these elections were prior to the ratification of the seventeenth amendment, senators were chosen by state legislatures.
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 25 states, the legislature is simply called the Legislature, or the State Legislature, while in 19 states, the legislature is called the General Assembly. In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the legislature is called the General Court, while North Dakota and Oregon designate the legislature the Legislative Assembly.
Senate Party Division, 9th Congress (1805–1807)
The Federalist Party, referred to as the Pro-Administration party until the 3rd United States Congress as opposed to their opponents in the Anti-Administration party, was the first American political party. It existed from the early 1790s to the 1820s, with their last presidential candidate being fielded in 1816. They appealed to business and to conservatives who favored banks, national over state government, manufacturing, and preferred Britain and opposed the French Revolution.
DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | |||
DR8 | DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 |
Majority → | DR18 | ||||||||
F8 Unknown | F9 Unknown | DR25 Unknown | DR24 Retired | DR23 Ran | DR22 Ran | DR21 Ran | DR20 Ran | DR19 Ran | |
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F7 Ran | F6 Ran | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 |
DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | |||
DR8 | DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 |
Majority → | DR18 | ||||||||
DR27 Gain | DR26 Gain | DR25 Hold | DR24 Hold | DR23 Hold | DR22 Hold | DR21 Re-elected | DR20 Re-elected | DR19 Re-elected | |
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F7 Re-elected | F6 Re-elected | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 |
Key: |
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Except if/when noted, the number following candidates is the whole number vote(s), not a percentage.
In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1804 or before March 4, 1805; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
New York (Class 3) | John Armstrong Jr. | Democratic-Republican | 1800 (Special) 1801 1802 (Resigned) 1803 (Appointed) | Interim appointee resigned December 3, 1804 to become U.S. Senator from Class 1 seat. New senator elected February 23, 1804. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ John Smith (Democratic-Republican) 121 Unopposed [1] [2] |
New York (Class 1) | Theodorus Bailey | Democratic-Republican | 1803 | Resigned January 16, 1804 to become Postmaster of New York City. New senator elected February 25, 1804. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ John Armstrong Jr. (Democratic-Republican) 85 Jacob Radcliff (Federalist) 4 Egbert Benson (Federalist) 3 [3] [4] |
Rhode Island (Class 1) | Samuel J. Potter | Democratic-Republican | 1802 | Died October 14, 1804. New senator elected October 29, 1804. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Benjamin Howland (Democratic-Republican) Asher Robins "by a majority of 20" [5] |
Delaware (Class 2) | William H. Wells | Federalist | 1799 (Special) 1799 | Resigned November 6, 1804. New senator elected November 13, 1804. Winner also elected to the next term, see below. Federalist hold. | √ James A. Bayard (Federalist) 15 Unopposed [6] |
New York (Class 1) | John Armstrong Jr. | Democratic-Republican | 1804 (Special) | Resigned to become U.S. Minister to France. New senator elected November 23, 1804. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Samuel Latham Mitchill (Democratic-Republican) 83.3% Rufus King (Federalist) 15.6% David Thomas (Democratic-Republican) 1.1% [7] |
Virginia (Class 1) | Andrew Moore | Democratic-Republican | 1804 (Appointed) | Interim appointee resigned December 3, 1804 to become U.S. Senator from Class 1 seat. New senator elected December 4, 1804. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ William B. Giles (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Virginia (Class 2) | William B. Giles | Democratic-Republican | 1804 (Appointed) | Interim appointee resigned December 3, 1804 to become U.S. Senator from Class 2 seat. New senator elected December 4, 1804. Winner also elected to the next term, see below. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Andrew Moore (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
South Carolina (Class 3) | Pierce Butler | Democratic-Republican | 1802 (Special) | Resigned November 21, 1804. New senator elected December 6, 1804. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ John Gaillard (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
In these general elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1805; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Delaware | James A. Bayard | Federalist | 1804 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected January 24, 1805. | √ James A. Bayard (Federalist) 15 Caesar A. Rodney (Democratic-Republican) 9 James Sykes (Democratic-Republican) 1 [8] |
Georgia | Abraham Baldwin | Democratic- Republican | 1799 | Incumbent re-elected November 14, 1804. | √ Abraham Baldwin (Democratic-Republican) Unanimous [9] |
Kentucky | John Brown | Democratic- Republican | 1792 (new seat) 1792 1798 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1804 on the seventh ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Buckner Thruston (Democratic-Republican) 44 John Adair 43 John Brown (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated [10] |
Massachusetts | Timothy Pickering | Federalist | 1803 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected February 6, 1805 on the third ballot. | √ Timothy Pickering (Federalist) 102 William Eustis 99 [11] |
New Hampshire | Simeon Olcott | Federalist | 1801 (Special) | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected November 28, 1804. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ Nicholas Gilman (Democratic-Republican) 85 Timothy Farrar (Federalist) 70 [12] |
New Jersey | Jonathan Dayton | Federalist | 1798 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1804. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ Aaron Kitchell (Democratic-Republican) 36 Jonathan Dayton (Federalist) [13] |
North Carolina | Jesse Franklin | Democratic- Republican | 1798 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1804 on the fifth ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner would later reject his election and never take the seat. A new election was held the next year, see below. | √ Montfort Stokes (Democratic-Republican) Jesse Franklin (Democratic-Republican) Benjamin Smith Thomas Blount Eliminated Stephen Cabarrus Eliminated [14] |
Rhode Island | Christopher Ellery | Democratic- Republican | 1801 (Special) | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1804. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ James Fenner (Democratic-Republican) Christopher Ellery (Democratic-Republican) "by a majority of 16" [15] |
South Carolina | Thomas Sumter | Democratic- Republican | 1801 | Incumbent elected December 6, 1804. | √ Thomas Sumter (Democratic-Republican) 101 Henry Middleton 21 William Hill 4 Joseph Blyth 2 R. Anderson 1 Pierce Butler 1 Samuel Farrow 1 John Gaillard 1 "Horry" 1 John Ward 1 "Lost" 1 [16] |
Tennessee | William Cocke | Democratic- Republican | 1799 (Special) | Incumbent retired. New senator elected early September 23, 1803. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Daniel Smith (Democratic-Republican) 35 Jenkin Whiteside 1 [17] |
Virginia | William B. Giles | Democratic- Republican | 1804 (Appointed) 1804 (Resigned) 1804 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected December 7, 1804. | √ William B. Giles (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] [18] |
In this special election, the winner was seated in 1805 after March 4.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Kentucky (Class 3) | John Breckinridge | Democratic-Republican | 1800 | Resigned August 7, 1805 to become U.S. Attorney General. New senator elected November 8, 1805. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ John Adair (Democratic-Republican) 45 John Pope 35 [19] |
North Carolina (Class 2) | Vacant | Montfort Stokes (DR) had been elected in 1804, see above, but rejected the position. New senator elected December 22, 1805. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ James Turner (Democratic-Republican) 122 Thomas Davis (Federalist) 51 Stephen Cabarrus 1 Blank 1 [20] |
The Eighth 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, 1803, to March 4, 1805, during the last two years of the first presidency of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Second Census of the United States in 1800. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 15th Congress were held in the various states between April 1816 and August 14, 1817. The Congress first met on December 1, 1817.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 14th Congress were held at various dates in each state between April 1814 and August 10, 1815 during James Madison's second term. The Congress's first session began on December 4, 1815.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 12th Congress were held in the various states between April 1810 and August 1811 during James Madison's first term in office. Louisiana elected its first representative in September 1812. Congress assembled on November 4, 1811. The first session witnessed the unprecedented occurrence of a new member, Henry Clay, being elected Speaker of the House. This has happened only once since, in 1860 when William Pennington was elected to the post.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 10th Congress were held at various dates in each state between April 29, 1806 and August 4, 1807 during Thomas Jefferson's second term with the new Congress meeting on October 26, 1807.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 9th Congress were held at various dates in each state between April 24, 1804 and August 5, 1805. The Congress first met on December 2, 1805. The elections occurred at the same time as President Thomas Jefferson's re-election.
The United States Senate elections of 1806 and 1807 were elections that had the Democratic-Republican Party increase its overwhelming control of the Senate by one additional Senator. The Federalists went into the elections with such a small share of Senate seats that even if they had won every election, they would have still remained a minority caucus. As it was, however, they lost one of the two seats they were defending and picked up no gains from their opponents.
The United States Senate elections of 1808 and 1809 were elections that had the Federalist Party gain one seat in the United States Senate, and which coincided with the 1808 presidential election. The Federalists had gone into the elections with such a small share of Senate seats that even if they had won every election, they would have still remained a minority caucus.
The United States Senate elections of 1810 and 1811 were elections that had the Democratic-Republican Party maintain their majority the United States Senate. The minority Federalists had gone into the elections with such a small share of Senate seats that they had won all of the elections, they would still not have controlled a majority.
The United States Senate elections of 1812 and 1813 were elections that, coinciding with President James Madison's re-election, had the Democratic-Republican Party lose two seats but still retain an overwhelming majority in the United States Senate. As in recent elections, the minority Federalists had gone into the elections with such a small share of Senate seats that if they had won every one of the elections, they would still not have controlled a majority.
The United States Senate elections of 1814 and 1815 were elections that had the Democratic-Republican Party lose a seat but still retain an overwhelming majority in the United States Senate. Unlike in recent elections, the minority Federalists had gone into the elections with a chance of regaining their long-lost majority had they swept almost all the seats. However, only one seat switched parties. Two seats held by Democratic-Republicans were left unfilled until long after the next Congress began.
The United States Senate elections of 1816 and 1817 were elections for the United States Senate that had the Democratic-Republican Party gain a net of two seats from the admission of a new state, and which coincided with the presidential election.
The United States Senate elections of 1818 and 1819 were elections for the United States Senate that had the Democratic-Republican Party gain two seats. The Federalists had only three seats being contested, of which they lost two and the third was left vacant due to a failure to elect.
The United States Senate elections of 1802 and 1803 were elections for the United States Senate which had the Democratic-Republican Party assume an overwhelming control thereof.
The United States Senate elections of 1800 and 1801 were elections for the United States Senate that, coinciding with their takeover of the White House, led to the Democratic-Republican Party taking control of the United States Senate. Although the Federalists began the next (7th) Congress with a slim majority, they lost their majority shortly thereafter due to mid-year special elections.
The United States Senate elections of 1798 and 1799 were held at the middle of President John Adams's administration and had no net change in political control of the Senate.
The United States Senate elections of 1796 and 1797 were elections for the United States Senate which, coinciding with John Adams's election as President, had the ruling Federalist Party gain one seat.
The United States Senate elections of 1794 and 1795 were elections that had the formation of organized political parties in the United States, with the Federalist Party emerging from the Pro Administration coalition, and the Democratic-Republican Party emerging from the Anti-Administration coalition.
The United States Senate elections of 1788 and 1789 were the first elections for the United States Senate, which coincided with the election of President George Washington. As of this election, formal organized political parties had yet to form in the United States, but two political factions were present: The coalition of senators who supported George Washington's administration were known as "Pro-Administration," and the senators against him as "Anti-Administration."