United States Senate elections, 1788 and 1789
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
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."
As these elections were prior to the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, senators were chosen by State legislatures.
Resulting Senate composition
Note: There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.[1]
Beginning of the 1st Congress
| V1 | |||||||||
| A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 | A5 | A6 | A7 | P13 | P12 | P11 |
| Majority → | |||||||||
| P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 | P7 | P8 | P9 | P10 |
| V2 | |||||||||
| Key: |
|
|---|
Race summaries
Races leading to the 1st Congress
In these general elections, the winner was seated March 4, 1789; ordered by state.
| State | Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut (Class 1) |
Winner elected in 1788. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Oliver Ellsworth (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Connecticut (Class 3) |
Winner elected in 1788. Pro-Administration win. |
√ William S. Johnson (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Delaware (Class 2) |
Winner elected in 1788. Anti-Administration win. |
√ Richard Bassett (Anti-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Delaware (Class 1) |
Winner elected in 1788. Pro-Administration win. |
√ George Read (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Georgia (Class 2) |
Winner elected in 1789. Anti-Administration win. |
√ William Few (Anti-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Georgia (Class 3) |
Winner elected in 1789. Anti-Administration win. |
√ James Gunn (Anti-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Maryland (Class 1) |
Winner elected in 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Charles Carroll (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Maryland (Class 3) |
Winner elected in 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ John Henry (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Massachusetts (Class 1) |
Winner elected in 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Tristram Dalton (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Massachusetts (Class 2) |
Winner elected in 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Caleb Strong (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| New Hampshire (Class 3) |
Winner elected in 1788. Pro-Administration win. |
√ John Langdon (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| New Hampshire (Class 2) |
Winner elected in 1788. Anti-Administration win. |
√ Paine Wingate (Anti-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| New Jersey (Class 1) |
Winner elected in 1788. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Jonathan Elmer (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| New Jersey (Class 2) |
Winner elected in 1788. Pro-Administration win. |
√ William Paterson (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Pennsylvania (Class 1) |
Winner elected in 1788. Anti-Administration win. |
√ William Maclay (Anti-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Pennsylvania (Class 3) |
Winner elected in 1788. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Robert Morris (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| South Carolina (Class 2) |
Winner elected in 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Pierce Butler (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| South Carolina (Class 3) |
Winner elected in 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Ralph Izard (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Virginia (Class 1) |
Winner elected in 1788. Anti-Administration win. |
√ William Grayson (Anti-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| Virginia (Class 2) |
Winner elected in 1788. Anti-Administration win. |
√ Richard Henry Lee (Anti-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Elections during the 1st Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected in 1789 after March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|
| New York (Class 3) |
State legislature failed to pick Senator until after Congress began. Winner elected July 25, 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Rufus King (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| New York (Class 1) |
State legislature failed to pick Senator until after Congress began. Winner elected July 27, 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Philip Schuyler (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| North Carolina (Class 2) |
North Carolina ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789. Winner elected November 27, 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Samuel Johnston (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
| North Carolina (Class 3) |
North Carolina ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789. Winner elected November 27, 1789. Pro-Administration win. |
√ Benjamin Hawkins (Pro-Administration) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!] |
Complete list of races
New York
The election was held in July 1789. It was the first such election, and before the actual election the New York State Legislature had to establish the proceedings how to elect the senators.
On July 16, State Senator Philip Schuyler and Assemblyman Rufus King, two Federalists, were appointed to the U.S. Senate by a joint resolution of both houses of the State Legislature. King took his seat on July 25, and drew the lot for Class 3, his term expiring on March 3, 1795. Schuyler took his seat on July 27, and drew the lot for Class 1, his term expiring on March 3, 1791. The 1st United States Congress convened at New York City, as did the regular session of the New York State Legislature in January 1790. Schuyler retained his seat in the State Senate while serving concurrently in the U.S. Senate.[2] Schuyler was also elected on January 15 a member of the State's Council of Appointments which consisted of the Governor of New York, and four State Senators elected annually by the State Assembly. On January 27, the New York State Legislature resolved that it was "incompatible with the U.S. Constitution for any person holding an office under the United States government at the same time to have a seat in the Legislature of this State", and that if a member of the State Legislature was elected or appointed to a federal office, the seat should be declared vacant upon acceptance. Thus U.S. Senator Schuyler, Federal Judge James Duane and Congressmen John Hathorn and John Laurance vacated their seats in the State Senate. On April 3, John Cantine, a member of the Council of Appointments, raised the question if Schuyler, after vacating his State Senate seat, was still a member of the Council. Philip Livingston, another member, held that once elected a member could not be expelled in any case. On April 5, Governor Clinton asked the State Assembly for a decision, but the latter refused to do so, arguing that it was a question of law, which could be pursued in the courts. Schuyler thus kept his seat in the Council of Appointments until the end of the term.[3]
Pennsylvania
The election was held on September 30, 1788. The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, elected Pennsylvania's first two United States Senators, William Maclay and Robert Morris.[4] Anti-Federalist William Maclay was elected to the two-year staggered term of the Class 1 seat, while Federalist and founding father Robert Morris was elected to the full six-year term of the Class 3 seat.
See also
References
- ↑ Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
- ↑ Congress was in session from January 4 to August 12, the State Legislature from January 13 to April 6, 1790.
- ↑ There was actually a precedent: In March 1781, Ephraim Paine, then a member of the Council of Appointments, was expelled from the State Senate, and soon after State Senator Arthur Parks was elected by the Assembly to serve the remainder of Paine's term in the Council. All members, Parks included, protested formally, but Parks remained in the Council until the end of the term. However, this precedent was not mentioned during the proceedings in 1790.
- ↑ "U.S. Senate Election - 30 September 1788" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
- The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 113 for State Senators 1788-89; pg. 114 for State Senators 1789-90; page 164 for Members of Assembly 1788-89; pg. 165 for Members of Assembly 1789-90)
- The Documentary History of the First Federal elections 1788-1790 Vol. 3, by Gordon DenBoer (pages 514ff)
- The First United States Congress
- History of Political Parties in the State of New-York by Jabez Delano Hammond (pages 43f)