United States Senate elections, 1816 and 1817
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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.
As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.
Results summary
Senate Party Division, 15th Congress (1817–1819)
- Majority Party: Democratic-Republican (25–28)
- Minority Party: Federalist (13–12)
- Total Seats: 38–42
Change in Senate composition
Before the elections
Composition after June 12, 1816 election in Massachusetts.
DR8 | DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | ||
DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 | DR18 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Majority → | DR19 | ||||||||
F9 | F10 | F11 | F12 | V1 | DR23 | DR22 | DR21 | DR20 | |
F8 | F7 | F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 |
Beginning of the next Congress
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Race summaries
Bold states link to specific election articles.
Special elections during the preceding Congress
In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1816 or before March 4, 1817; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Virginia (Class 2) |
Vacant | William B. Giles (DR) had resigned March 3, 1815. Winner elected January 3, 1816 despite being unqualified to serve due to young age. Democratic-Republican gain. |
√ Armistead Mason (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] | ||
Maryland (Class 1) |
Vacant | The Maryland General Assembly failed to elect in time for the March 4, 1815 beginning of the term. Winner elected January 29, 1816. Federalist gain. |
√ Robert Harper (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] | ||
Massachusetts (Class 1) |
Christopher Gore | Federalist | 1813 (Appointed) 1815 (Special) |
Incumbent resigned May 30, 1816, unhappy with the politics of Washington and suffering from poor health. Winner elected June 12, 1816. Federalist hold. |
√ Eli P. Ashmun (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Georgia (Class 2) |
William Wyatt Bibb | Democratic-Republican | 1813 (Special) | Incumbent resigned November 9, 1816. Winner elected November 13, 1816. Winner was also elected to the next term, see below. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ George M. Troup (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
North Carolina (Class 2) |
James Turner | Democratic-Republican | 1804 1810 |
Incumbent resigned November 21, 1816 due to ill health. Winner elected December 4, 1816. Winner was also elected to the next term, see below. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ Montfort Stokes (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
South Carolina (Class 2) |
John Taylor | Democratic-Republican | 1810 (Special) 1810 |
Incumbent resigned November 1816. Winner elected December 4, 1816. Winner was also elected to the next term, see below. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ William Smith (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Kentucky | Martin D. Hardin | Federalist | 1814 (Appointed) | Incumbent appointee elected December 5, 1816. | √ Martin D. Hardin (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Indiana (Class 1) |
New seat | Indiana was admitted to the Union December 11, 1816. Winner elected that day. Democratic-Republican gain. |
√ James Noble (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] | ||
Indiana (Class 3) |
New seat | Indiana was admitted to the Union December 11, 1816. Winner elected that day. Democratic-Republican gain. |
√ Waller Taylor (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] | ||
Maryland (Class 1) |
Robert Goodloe Harper | Federalist | 1816 (Special) | Incumbent resigned December 6, 1816. Winner elected December 20, 1816. Federalist hold. |
√ Alexander Hanson (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Races leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1817; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Delaware | William H. Wells | Federalist | 1799 (Special) 1799 1804 (Resigned) 1813 (Special) |
Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1817. Federalist hold. |
√ Nicholas Van Dyke [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Georgia | William Wyatt Bibb | Democratic-Republican | 1813 (Special) | Resigned November 9, 1816. Winner elected November 13, 1816. Winner was also elected to finish the previous term, see above. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ George M. Troup (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Kentucky | Martin D. Hardin | Federalist | November 13, 1816 (Appointed) 1816 (Special)[1] |
Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected in 1817. Democratic-Republican gain. |
√ John J. Crittenden (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Louisiana | James Brown | Democratic-Republican | 1813 (Special) | Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1816 or 1817. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ William C. C. Claiborne (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Massachusetts | Joseph Bradley Varnum | Democratic-Republican | 1811 | Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected in 1816 or 1817. Federalist gain. |
√ Harrison Gray Otis (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
New Hampshire | Thomas W. Thompson | Federalist | 1814 (Special) | Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected in 1816 or 1817. Democratic-Republican gain. |
√ David L. Morril (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
New Jersey | John Condit | Democratic-Republican | 1809 (Special) 1810 |
Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected in 1816 or 1817. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ Mahlon Dickerson (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
North Carolina | James Turner | Democratic-Republican | 1804 1810 |
Resigned November 21, 1816 due to ill health. Winner elected December 4, 1816. Winner was also elected to finish the previous term, see above. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ Montfort Stokes (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Rhode Island | Jeremiah Howell | Democratic-Republican | 1810 | Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1816 or 1817. Federalist gain. |
√ James Burrill, Jr. (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
South Carolina | John Taylor | Democratic-Republican | 1810 (Special) 1810 |
Incumbent resigned November 1816. Winner elected December 4, 1816. Winner was also elected to the previous term, see above. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ William Smith (Federalist) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Tennessee | John Williams | Democratic-Republican | 1815 (Special) | Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Incumbent was then appointed to start the term. Democratic-Republican loss. |
John Williams (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Virginia | Armistead T. Mason | Democratic-Republican | 1816 (Special) | Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election, but he was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Winner elected in 1816 or 1817. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ John W. Eppes[2] (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Special elections during the next Congress
In these special elections, the winners were elected in 1817 after March 4; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Tennessee (Class 2) |
John Williams | Democratic-Republican | 1815 (Special) | Legislature had failed to elect and the incumbent was then appointed to start the term. Incumbent was then re-elected October 2, 1817 to complete the term. |
√ John Williams (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
New Hampshire (Class 3) |
Jeremiah Mason | Federalist | 1813 (Special) | Incumbent resigned June 16, 1817. Winner elected June 27, 1817. Democratic-Republican gain. |
√ Clement Storer (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Vermont (Class 3) |
Dudley Chase | Democratic-Republican | 1813 | Resgined November 3, 1817. Winner elected November 4, 1817. Democratic-Republican hold. |
√ James Fisk (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Mississippi (Class 1) |
New state | Mississippi was admitted as a new state. Winner elected December 10, 1817. Democratic-Republican gain. |
√ Walter Leake (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] | ||
Mississippi (Class 2) |
New state | Mississippi was admitted as a new state. Winner elected December 10, 1817. Democratic-Republican gain. |
√ Thomas Williams (Democratic-Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
See also
References
- ↑ Byrd, page 110.
- ↑ "VA US Senate". Our Campaigns. January 11, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
- 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, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.