1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

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1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
← 1800 (special)February 5, 1803 1808  →
40 members of the Massachusetts Senate
396 members of the Massachusetts House
Majority vote of each house needed to win
  John Quincy Adams, by John Singleton Copley.jpg Thomson Joseph Skinner (Massachusetts Congressman).jpg
Nominee John Quincy Adams Thompson Skinner
Party Federalist Democratic-Republican
Senate8670
Percentage60.53%36.84%
Senator before election

Jonathan Mason
Federalist

Elected Senator

John Quincy Adams
Federalist

The 1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in February 1803.

Contents

Incumbent Senator Jonathan Mason, who had been elected to fill the unexpired term of Benjamin Goodhue, did not run for a full term in office. The Massachusetts General Court deliberated and elected State Senator and former diplomat John Quincy Adams, son of former President John Adams, on the fourth ballot. This is the first election in the history of the United States where the winner of the Senate in Massachusetts would eventually become president of the United States. This is also the first election to feature a candidate who would eventually become president of the United States.

Background

Benjamin Goodhue was elected Senator from Massachusetts in 1796. However, he resigned and retired from politics in 1800. In his place, the legislature elected State Senator Jonathan Mason. When Mason's term expired in 1803, he declined to stand for re-election.

Election

First ballot

First ballot [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic-Republican Thompson J. Skinner 7142.01%
Federalist Timothy Pickering 6739.64%
Federalist Nicholas Tillinghast 127.10%
Federalist John Quincy Adams 127.10%
Federalist Henry Knox 74.14%
Federalist Samuel Dexter 10.59%
Federalist William Ely 10.59%
Total votes169 100.00%

Second

First ballot [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Federalist Timothy Pickering 7946.47%
Democratic-Republican Thompson J. Skinner 7141.76%
Federalist Nicholas Tillinghast 95.29%
Federalist John Quincy Adams 63.53%
Federalist Henry Knox 52.94%
Total votes170 100.00%

Third

First ballot [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic-Republican Thompson J. Skinner 7141.52%
Federalist John Quincy Adams 5632.75%
Federalist Timothy Pickering 3319.30%
Federalist Nicholas Tillinghast 105.85%
Federalist Henry Knox 10.58%
Total votes171 100.00%

Fourth

First ballot [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Federalist John Quincy Adams 86 50.29%
Democratic-Republican Thompson J. Skinner 7040.94%
Federalist Nicholas Tillinghast 95.26%
Federalist Timothy Pickering 63.51%
Total votes171 100.00%

Senate ballot

The Senate ratified the choice of Adams on a single unanimous ballot.

Senate ballot [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Federalist John Quincy Adams 19 100.00%
Total votes19 100.00%

Aftermath

Adams served one term in the Senate, though he would resign months early after the Federalist legislature prematurely voted not to award him a second term. Adams quickly drifted away from the Federalist Party, partly over his differences with Pickering.

After joining the Democratic-Republicans, he would go on to serve as Secretary of State and later as President of the United States from 1825 to 1829.

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The 1808 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on June 2, 1808.

References

  1. ↑ "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
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