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15 of the 46 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 24 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The United States Senate elections of 1820 and 1821 were elections for the United States Senate that, corresponding with James Monroe's landslide re-election, had the Democratic-Republican Party gain seven seats, assuming almost complete control of the Senate.
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.
James Monroe was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was the last president of the Virginia dynasty, and his presidency coincided with the Era of Good Feelings. He is perhaps best known for issuing the Monroe Doctrine, a policy of opposing European colonialism in the Americas. He also served as the governor of Virginia, a member of the United States Senate, the U.S. ambassador to France and Britain, the seventh Secretary of State, and the eighth Secretary of War.
As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by State legislatures.
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the popular election of United States Senators by the people of the states. The amendment supersedes Article I, §3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures. It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing for state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held.
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, 17th Congress (1821–1823)
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.
Composition after the June 13 & 14, 1820 elections in Maine.
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Bold states link to specific election articles.
In these special elections, the winner was elected during 1820 or before March 4, 1821; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
New York Class 3 | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect in 1818/1819. Previous incumbent was elected January 8, 1820. Federalist gain. | √ Rufus King (Federalist) Unanimous | ||
Massachusetts Class 1 | Prentiss Mellen | Federalist | 1820 (Special) | Incumbent resigned to become Chief Justice of Maine. Winner elected June 12, 1820. Winner was also elected to the next term. Federalist hold. | √ Elijah H. Mills (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Maine Class 1 | New state | Winner elected June 13, 1820. Winner was also elected to the next term. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ John Holmes (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing.] | ||
Maine Class 2 | New state | Winner elected June 14, 1820. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ John Chandler (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing.] | ||
Mississippi Class 1 | Walter Leake | Democratic- Republican | 1817 | Incumbent resigned May 15, 1820. Winner elected August 30, 1820. Winner was also elected to the next term. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ David Holmes (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Kentucky Class 3 | William Logan | Democratic- Republican | 1818 or 1819 | Incumbent resigned May 28, 1820 to run for Governor of Kentucky. Winner elected October 19, 1820. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Isham Talbot (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Rhode Island Class 2 | James Burrill, Jr. | Federalist | 1816 or 1817 | Incumbent died December 25, 1820. Winner elected January 9, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ Nehemiah R. Knight (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
In these general elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1821; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Connecticut | Samuel Dana | Federalist | 1810 (Special) 1814 | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected March 4, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ Elijah Boardman (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Delaware | Outerbridge Horsey | Federalist | 1810 (Special) 1815 | Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Federalist loss. A Democratic-Republican was later elected in 1822. | [Data unknown/missing.] |
Indiana | James Noble | Democratic- Republican | 1816 | Incumbent re-elected in 1821. | √ James Noble (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Maine | John Holmes | Democratic- Republican | 1820 | Incumbent re-elected in 1820. | √ John Holmes (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Maryland | William Pinkney | Democratic- Republican | 1819 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1820 or 1821. | √ William Pinkney (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Massachusetts | Elijah H. Mills | Federalist | 1820 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1820 or 1821. | √ Elijah H. Mills (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Mississippi | David Holmes | Democratic- Republican | 1820 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1820 or 1821. | √ David Holmes (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing.] |
New Jersey | James J. Wilson | Democratic- Republican | 1814 or 1815 | Incumbent lost re-election, then resigned January 8, 1821. New senator elected November 11, 1820. [1] Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Samuel L. Southard (Democratic-Republican) 30 [1] James J. Wilson (Democratic-Republican) 24 [1] |
New York | Nathan Sanford | Democratic- Republican | 1809 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 6, 1821. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Martin Van Buren (Democratic-Republican) Nathan Sanford (Democratic-Republican) |
Ohio | Benjamin Ruggles | Democratic- Republican | 1815 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1821. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Benjamin Ruggles (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Pennsylvania | Jonathan Roberts | Democratic- Republican | 1814 (Special) 1814 | Legislature failed to elect. Democratic-Republican loss. New senator would later be elected in 1821. | [Data unknown/missing.] |
Rhode Island | William Hunter | Federalist | 1811 (Special) 1814 | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1820 or 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ James DeWolf (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Tennessee | John H. Eaton | Democratic- Republican | 1818 (Appointed) 1819 (Special) | Legislature failed to elect Democratic-Republican loss. New senator would later be elected September 27, 1821, see below. [2] | [Data unknown/missing.] |
Vermont | Isaac Tichenor | Federalist | 1796 1796 1797 (Resigned) 1814 or 1815 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ Horatio Seymour (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Virginia | James Barbour | Democratic- Republican | 1815 (Special) 1814 | Incumbent re-elected in 1821. | √ James Barbour (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
In this special election, the winner was elected in 1821 after March 4; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Missouri Class 1 | New state | Winner elected August 10, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ Thomas H. Benton (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] | ||
Missouri Class 3 | New state | Winner elected August 10, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ David Barton (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] | ||
Tennessee Class 1 | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. Winner re-elected late September 27, 1821. [2] Democratic-Republican gain. | √ John H. Eaton (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] | ||
Georgia Class 1 | Freeman Walker | Democratic- Republican | 1819 (Special) | Incumbent resigned August 6, 1821. Winner elected November 10, 1821. Democratic-Republican hold. | √ Nicholas Ware (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
Pennsylvania Class 1 | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. Winner elected December 10, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. | √ William Findlay (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing.] |
The Sixteenth 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, 1819, to March 4, 1821, during the third and fourth years of James Monroe's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Third Census of the United States in 1810. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 18th Congress were held at different dates in each state between July 1, 1822 and August 14, 1823 during James Monroe's second term in office. This was the first election based on the results of the 1820 Census, which added a total of 26 seats to the House. Four states lost one seat each, while nine states gained anywhere between one and eight seats.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 17th Congress took place in the various states between July 3, 1820 (Louisiana) and August 10, 1821 (Tennessee). In four states the election coincided with the taking of the 4th Census. Future enumerations would henceforth be held at a different time of year.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 11th Congress were held in the various states between April 1808 and May 1809. The Congress first met on May 22, 1809.
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 7th Congress in 1800 and 1801, at the same time as the 1800 presidential election, in which Vice President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic Republican, defeated incumbent President John Adams, a Federalist.
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 1852 and 1853 were elections which had the Democratic Party gain two seats in the United States Senate, and which coincided with the 1852 presidential election. Only six of the twenty Senators up for election were re-elected.
The United States Senate elections of 1858 and 1859 were elections which had the Republican Party gain five additional seats in the United States Senate, but the Democrats retained their majority. That majority would erode in 1860 with the secession of the southern states leading up to the Civil War. In Illinois, incumbent Stephen A. Douglas (D) and challenger Abraham Lincoln (R) held a series of seven debates, known as the "Lincoln–Douglas debates."
In the United States Senate elections of 1870 and 1871, the Republican Party lost five seats in the United States Senate, though it still retained an overwhelming majority. In advance of these elections, the last four seceded states were readmitted to the Senate.
The United States Senate elections of 1872 and 1873 were elections which had the Republican Party, while still retaining a commanding majority, lose two seats in the United States Senate. By the beginning of the Congress, however, they'd lost three more: two as defections to the Liberal Republican Party, and one a resignation of Henry Wilson to become U.S. Vice President. These elections also coincided with President Ulysses S. Grant's easy re-election.
The United States Senate elections of 1876 and 1877 had the Democratic Party gain five seats in the United States Senate, and coincided with Rutherford B. Hayes's narrow election as President. Republicans remained in the majority, however.
The United States Senate elections of 1886 and 1887 were elections that had the Republican Party lose two seats in the United States Senate. At the beginning of the 50th Congress, therefore, Republicans had the slimmest possible majority due to a vacant Democratic seat: 38 out of 75 seats. Once that vacancy was filled, Republicans maintained control as the single Readjuster Senator caucused with them.
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 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 1864 and 1865 were elections corresponding with Abraham Lincoln's re-election, with the Republican Party gaining two seats in the United States Senate. As these elections occurred during the Civil War, most of the Southern States were absent.
The United States Senate elections of 1822 and 1823 were elections for the United States Senate that had the Democratic-Republican Party continue almost complete control of the Senate.
The 1820 United States elections elected the members of the 17th United States Congress. The election took place during Era of Good Feelings and the First Party System. Despite the Panic of 1819, the Democratic-Republican Party maintained control of the presidency and both houses of Congress, while the Federalist Party provided only limited opposition. Missouri joined the union during the 17th Congress.