United States Senate elections, 1848 and 1849

United States Senate elections, 1848 and 1849
19 of the 60 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections); 31 seats needed for a majority
Majority Party before election; Democratic;	Elected Majority Party; Democratic;

Last updated April 01, 2019

The United States Senate elections of 1848 and 1849 were elections which had the Democratic Party lose seats but maintain control of the United States Senate.

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political 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.

Results
Change in Senate composition
Before the elections
As a result of the elections
Beginning of the next Congress
Race summaries
Special elections during the 30th Congress
Races leading to the 31st Congress
Elections during the 31st Congress
Individual elections
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
See also
Notes
References

As this election was 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.

Results

Senate Party Division, 31st Congress (1849–1851)

Majority Party: Democratic (33–36)
Minority Party: Whig Party (25–24)
Other Parties: Free Soil (2)
Total Seats: 60–62

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀
D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅ Ran	D₂₆ Ran	D₂₇ Ran	D₂₈ Ran	D₂₉ Ran	D₃₀ Ran
Majority →									D₃₁ Ran
W₂₁ Unknown	ID₁	D₃₈ Retired	D₃₇ Retired	D₃₆ Retired	D₃₅ Retired	D₃₄ Unknown	D₃₃ Ran	D₃₂ Ran	D₃₁ Ran
W₂₀ Ran	W₁₉ Ran	W₁₈ Ran	W₁₇ Ran	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂	W₁₁
W₁	W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	W₁₀

As a result of the elections

D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀
D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅ Re-elected	D₂₆ Re-elected	D₂₇ Re-elected	D₂₈ Re-elected	D₂₉ Re-elected	D₃₀ Hold
Majority →									D₃₁ Hold
W₂₁ Gain	W₂₂ Gain	W₂₃ Gain	W₂₄ Gain	W₂₅ Gain	ID₁	FS₁ Gain	D₃₃ Gain	D₃₂ Hold	D₃₁ Hold
W₂₀ Hold	W₁₉ Re-elected	W₁₈ Re-elected	W₁₇ Re-elected	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂	W₁₁
W₁	W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	W₁₀

Note: "Re-elected" includes incumbent appointee elected to the next term.

Beginning of the next Congress

D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀
D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈	D₂₉	D₃₀
Majority →									D₃₁
W₂₁	W₂₂	W₂₃	W₂₄	W₂₅	FS₂	FS₁	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
W₂₀	W₁₉	W₁₈	W₁₇	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂	W₁₁
W₁	W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	W₁₀

Key:

D_#	Democratic
ID_#	Independent Democratic
FS_#	Free Soil
W_#	Whig
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 30th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1848 or in 1849 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Mississippi (Class 1)	Jefferson Davis	Democratic	1847 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 11, 1848.^[1]	√ Jefferson Davis (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Connecticut (Class 1)	Roger S. Baldwin	Whig	1847 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected May 1848.	√ Roger S. Baldwin (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Maine (Class 1)	Wyman B. S. Moor	Democratic	1848 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired when successor elected June 7, 1848. Democratic hold.	√ Hannibal Hamlin (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Wisconsin (Class 1)	New State			Wisconsin admitted to the Union May 29, 1848. First senators elected June 8, 1848. Democratic gain.	√ Henry Dodge (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Wisconsin (Class 3)	New State			Wisconsin admitted to the Union May 29, 1848. First senators elected June 8, 1848. Democratic gain.	√ Isaac P. Walker (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Alabama (Class 3)	Arthur P. Bagby	Democratic	1841 (Special) 1842	Incumbent resigned June 16, 1848 to become U.S. Minister to Russia. Successor elected July 1, 1848. Democratic hold.	√ William R. King (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Arkansas (Class 2)	William K. Sebastian	Democratic	1848 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 17, 1848.^[2]	√ William K. Sebastian (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Iowa (Class 2)	New State			Iowa was admitted to the Union December 28, 1846. Legislature had failed to elect due to a three-way split that prevented any candidate from earning the required number of 30 legislators' votes.^[3] First senators elected December 7, 1848. Democratic gain.	√ George Wallace Jones (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Iowa (Class 3)	New State			Iowa was admitted to the Union December 28, 1846. Legislature had failed to elect due to a three-way split that prevented any candidate from earning the required number of 30 legislators' votes.^[3] First senators elected December 7, 1848. Democratic gain.	√ Augustus C. Dodge (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Kentucky (Class 2)	Thomas Metcalfe	Democratic	1848 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 3, 1849.^[4]	√ Thomas Metcalfe (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Michigan (Class 1)	Thomas Fitzgerald	Democratic	1848 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. Successor elected January 20, 1849, but did not take his seat until March 4, 1849. Democratic hold.	√ Lewis Cass (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Delaware (Class 1)	John M. Clayton	Whig	1829 1835	Incumbent resigned February 23, 1849 to become U.S. Secretary of State. Successor elected February 23, 1849. Whig hold.	√ John Wales (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]

Races leading to the 31st Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1849; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	William R. King	Democratic	1848 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1848 or 1849.	√ William R. King (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Arkansas	Solon Borland	Democratic	1848 (Appointed)	Incumbent appointee elected to a full term in November 1848.^[5]	√ Solon Borland (Democratic) Ambrose Sevier (Democratic)^[5] [Data unknown/missing.]
Connecticut	John M. Niles	Democratic	1842	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1848 or 1849. Whig gain.	√ Truman Smith (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Florida	James Westcott	Democratic	1845	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1848. Whig gain.	√ Jackson Morton (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Georgia	Herschel Vespasian Johnson	Democratic	1848 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1847.^[6] Whig gain.	√ William Crosby Dawson (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Illinois	Sidney Breese	Democratic	1843	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected January 13, 1849. Democratic hold.	√ James Shields (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Indiana	Edward A. Hannegan	Democratic	1842	Incumbent lost renomination. Winner elected in 1848. Democratic hold.	√ James Whitcomb (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Kentucky	Thomas Metcalfe	Whig	1848 (Appointed) ? (Special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1849. Whig hold.	√ Henry Clay (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Louisiana	Henry Johnson	Whig	1844 (Special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1848. Democratic gain.	√ Pierre Soulé (Democratic) Henry Johnson (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Maryland	James Pearce	Whig	1843	Incumbent re-elected in 1849.	√ James Pearce (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Missouri	David Rice Atchison	Democratic	1843 (Appointed) 1843 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1849.	√ David Rice Atchison (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
New Hampshire	Charles G. Atherton	Democratic	1843 (Special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1848 or 1849. Democratic hold.	√ Moses Norris, Jr. (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
New York	John Adams Dix	Democratic	1845 (Special)	Incumbent lost re-election as a Free Soiler. Winner elected February 6, 1849. Whig gain.	√ William H. Seward (Whig) John Adams Dix (Free Soil) Reuben H. Walworth (Democratic) Daniel D. Barnard (Whig)
North Carolina	George Badger	Whig	1846 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1849.	√ George Badger (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Ohio	William Allen	Democratic	1837 1842	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1849. Free Soil gain.	√ Salmon P. Chase (Free Soil) Thomas Ewing William Allen (Democratic) Joshua Reed Giddings Reuben Hitchcock Emery D. Potter David T. Disney John C. Vaughn
Pennsylvania	Simon Cameron	Democratic	1845 (Special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected January 10, 1849. Whig gain.	√ James Cooper (Whig) 49.62% Richard Brodhead (Democratic) 46.62% Thaddeus Stevens (Free Soil) 2.26%
South Carolina	Andrew Butler	Democratic	1846 (Appointed) ? (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1848.	√ Andrew Butler (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Vermont	William Upham	Whig	1843	Incumbent re-elected in 1848.	√ William Upham (Whig) [Data unknown/missing.]
Wisconsin	Isaac P. Walker	Democratic	1848	Incumbent re-elected in 1849.	√ Isaac P. Walker (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]

Elections during the 31st Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1849 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Illinois (Class 3)	James Shields	Democratic	1848 or 1849	Senate voided election March 15, 1849 as incumbent was not to a U.S. citizen long enough as required by the U.S. Constitution. Incumbent was re-elected October 27, 1849, having by then qualified. Democratic hold.	√ James Shields (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
Alabama (Class 2)	Benjamin Fitzpatrick	Democratic	1848 (Appointed)	Unknown if interim appointee retired when successor elected or lost election to finish the term. Winner elected November 30, 1849. Democratic hold.	√ Jeremiah Clemens (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
California (Class 1)	New state			California admitted as a new state on September 9, 1850. New senator elected December 20, 1849 and later seated upon statehood. Democratic gain.	√ John C. Frémont (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]
California (Class 3)	New state			California admitted as a new state on September 9, 1850. New senator elected December 20, 1849 and later seated upon statehood. Democratic gain.	√ William M. Gwin (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing.]

Individual elections

New York

The New York election was held February 6, 1849. Barnburner John Adams Dix had been elected in 1845 to this seat after the resignation of Silas Wright, and Dix's term would expire on March 3, 1849. In November 1848, Dix was the Barnburners/Free-Soilers candidate for Governor of New York, but was defeated by Whig Hamilton Fish.

John Adams Dix was Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of New York and Union major general during the Civil War. He was notable for arresting the pro-Southern Maryland legislature, preventing that divided border state from seceding, and for arranging a system for prisoner exchange via the Dix–Hill Cartel, concluded in partnership with Confederate Major General Daniel Harvey Hill.

Silas Wright Jr. was an American attorney and Democratic politician. A member of the Albany Regency, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, New York State Comptroller, United States Senator, and Governor of New York.

Hamilton Fish was an American politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States Senator from New York from 1851 to 1857 and the 26th United States Secretary of State from 1869 to 1877. Fish is recognized as the "pillar" of the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant and considered one of the best U.S. Secretaries of State by scholars, known for his judiciousness and efforts towards reform and diplomatic moderation. Fish settled the controversial Alabama Claims with Great Britain through his development of the concept of international arbitration. Fish kept the United States out of war with Spain over Cuban independence by coolly handling the volatile Virginius Incident. In 1875, Fish initiated the process that would ultimately lead to Hawaiian statehood, by having negotiated a reciprocal trade treaty for the island nation's sugar production. He also organized a peace conference and treaty in Washington D.C. between South American countries and Spain. Fish worked with James Milton Turner, America's first African American consul, to settle the Liberian-Grebo war. President Grant said he trusted Fish the most for political advice.

At this time New York Democratic Party was split in two fiercely opposing factions: the Barnburners" and the "Hunkers". The Barnburners organized the Free Soil Party in 1848 and nominated Martin Van Buren for U.S. President. Due to the split, the Whig Party won most of the elective offices by pluralities.

The Barnburners and Hunkers were the names of two opposing factions of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid-19th century. The main issue dividing the two factions was that of slavery, with the Barnburners being the anti-slavery faction. While this division occurred within the context of New York politics, it reflected the national divisions in the United States in the years preceding the American Civil War.

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections as well as in some state elections. A single-issue party, its main purpose was to oppose the expansion of slavery into the Western territories, arguing that free men on free soil constituted a morally and economically superior system to slavery. It also sometimes worked to remove existing laws that discriminated against freed African Americans in states such as Ohio.

Martin Van Buren was an American statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. He was the first president born after the independence of the United States from the British Empire. A founder of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the ninth governor of New York, the tenth United States secretary of state, and the eighth vice president of the United States. He won the 1836 presidential election with the endorsement of popular outgoing President Andrew Jackson and the organizational strength of the Democratic Party. He lost his 1840 reelection bid to Whig Party nominee William Henry Harrison, due in part to the poor economic conditions of the Panic of 1837. Later in his life, Van Buren emerged as an elder statesman and important anti-slavery leader, who led the Free Soil Party ticket in the 1848 presidential election.

At the State election in November 1847, 24 Whigs and 8 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1848-1849) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1848, 106 Whigs, 15 Free Soilers and 7 Hunkers were elected to the Assembly for the session of 1849. The 72nd New York State Legislature met from January 2 to April 11, 1849, at Albany, New York.

The 72nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 11, 1849, during the first year of Hamilton Fish's governorship, in Albany.

Ex-Governor of New York William H. Seward was nominated by a caucus of Whig State legislators on February 1, 1849. The vote was 88 for Seward, 12 for John A. Collier, 18 scattering and 4 blanks. The incumbent U.S. Senator John Adams Dix ran for re-election supported by the Free Soilers. Ex-Chancellor Reuben H. Walworth was the candidate of the Hunkers. Walworth had been third place in the last gubernatorial election, behind Fish and Dix. Ex-Congressman Daniel D. Barnard (Whig) received 2 scattering votes in the Senate. William H. Seward was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

The Governor of New York is the chief executive of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces.

John Allen Collier was an American lawyer and politician.

The New York Court of Chancery was the highest court in the State of New York from 1701 to 1847.

House	Whig		Free Soil		Dem./Hunker		also ran
State Senate (32 members)	William H. Seward	19	John Adams Dix	6	Reuben H. Walworth	2	Daniel D. Barnard	2
State Assembly (128 members)	William H. Seward	102	John Adams Dix	15	Reuben H. Walworth	7

Ohio

The two houses of the Ohio General Assembly met in joint session February 22, 1849, with 72 representatives and 35 senators present to elect a Senator (Class 3) to succeed incumbent Wiliam Allen. On the fourth ballot, Salmon P. Chase was elected with a majority of the votes cast, as follows:^[7]

Ballot	William Allen	Thomas Ewing	Joshua Reed Giddings	Salmon P. Chase	Reuben Hitchcock	Emery D. Potter	David T. Disney	John C. Vaughn	blank ballots	total votes cast
1	27	41	9	14	1	2	1	0	11	106
2	1	41	8	52	0	0	0	0	4	108
3	0	39	9	53	0	0	0	2	2	105
4	0	39	11	55	0	0	0	1	0	106

The second ballot was declared a nullity by Speaker of the Senate Brewster Randall, because there were one more ballots cast than members present.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania election was held January 10, 1849. James Cooper was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.^[8]

Incumbent Democrat Simon Cameron, who was elected in 1845, was not a candidate for re-election to another term. The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on January 10, 1849, to elect a new Senator to fill the term beginning on March 4, 1849. Three ballots were recorded. The results of the third and final ballot of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	James Cooper	66	49.62
	Democratic	Richard Brodhead	62	46.62
	Free Soil	Thaddeus Stevens	3	2.26
	N/A	Not voting	2	1.50
Totals			133	100.00%

Notes

↑ Byrd, p. 129.
↑ Byrd, p. 164.
1 2 Clark, pp. 17–46, 72–79.
↑ Byrd, p. 112.
1 2 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1595
↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=p90RAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA427&dq=%22william+c.+dawson%22&lr=&as_brr=1&ei=CsTkR7TALI-kswO9g9ncBA#v=onepage&q=%22william%20c.%20dawson%22&f=false
↑ Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... State of Ohio. p. 232.
1 2 "U.S. Senate Election - 10 January 1849" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved 22 December 2013.

References

"Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". via Senate.gov.
Clark, Dan Elbert (1913). History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa.
Byrd, Robert C. (October 1, 1993). Wolff, Wendy, ed. The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992. United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 63 for U.S. Senators; pg. 136 for State Senators 1849; pg. 236ff for Members of Assembly 1849)
Members of the 31st United States Congress
Result State election, 1847: The Whig Almanac and United States Register for 1848
Result Whig caucus: The American Whig Review, Vol. 11 by George Hooker Colton & James Davenport Whelpley (page 638)
Result U.S. Senate election, State Senate: Journal of the Senate (72nd Session) (1849; pg. 167)
Result U.S. Senate election, State Assembly: Journal of the Assembly (72nd Session) (1849; pg. 355f)
Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project

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[FOOTNOTEByrd129-1] Byrd, p. 129.

[FOOTNOTEByrd164-2] Byrd, p. 164.

[FOOTNOTEClark17–46,_72–79-3] 1 2 Clark, pp. 17–46, 72–79.

[FOOTNOTEByrd112-4] Byrd, p. 112.

[Ark-5] 1 2 http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1595

[6] ttps://books.google.com/books?id=p90RAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA427&dq=%22william+c.+dawson%22&lr=&as_brr=1&ei=CsTkR7TALI-kswO9g9ncBA#v=onepage&q=%22william%20c.%20dawson%22&f=false

[7] Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... State of Ohio. p. 232.

[results-8] 1 2 "U.S. Senate Election - 10 January 1849" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved 22 December 2013.

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