The 1856–57 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1856 and 1857, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.[1] In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 1.
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21 of the 62 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 32 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the elections: Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold Know Nothing Gain Legislature failed to elect | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The young Republican Party assumed its position as one of the United States's two main political parties. The Whigs and Free Soilers were gone by the time the next Congress began.
Results summary
Senate party division, 35th Congress (1857–1859)
- Majority party: Democratic (37–42)
- Minority party: Republican (20)
- Other party: American (4)
- Vacant: 1–0
- Total seats: 62–66
Change in composition
Before the elections
After the January 14, 1856 special election in Pennsylvania.
| D1 | |||||||||
| D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 |
| D21 | D20 | D19 | D18 | D17 | D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 |
| D22 | D23 | D24 | D25 | D26 Ran |
D27 Ran |
D28 Ran |
D29 Ran |
D30 Ran |
D31 Ran |
| Majority → | D32 Ran | ||||||||
| KN1 | V1 | V2 | V3 | D37 Retired |
D36 Retired |
D35 Unknown |
D34 Unknown |
D33 Unknown | |
| FS2 Ran |
FS1 | R11 Unknown |
R10 Ran |
R9 Ran |
R8 | R7 | R6 | R5 | R4 |
| W2 | W3 | W4 Unknown |
W5 Retired |
W6 Retired |
W7 Retired |
W8 Retired |
R1 | R2 | R3 |
| W1 | |||||||||
As a result of the elections
| D1 | |||||||||
| D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 |
| D21 | D20 | D19 | D18 | D17 | D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 |
| D22 | D23 | D24 | D25 | D26 Re-elected |
D27 Re-elected |
D28 Re-elected |
D29 Re-elected |
D30 Re-elected |
D31 Re-elected |
| Majority → | D32 Hold | ||||||||
| FS1 | KN1 | KN2 Gain |
V1 W Loss |
V2 | V3 | V4 | D34 Gain |
D33 Hold | |
| R18 Gain |
R17 Re-elected Diff. party |
R16 Hold |
R15 Re-elected |
R14 Re-elected |
R13 | R12 | R11 | R10 | R9 |
| W2 | W3 | R1 Gain |
R2 Gain |
R3 Gain |
R4 Gain |
R5 Gain |
R6 | R7 | R8 |
| W1 | |||||||||
Beginning of the next Congress
| D1 | |||||||||
| D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 |
| D21 | D20 | D19 | D18 | D17 | D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 |
| D22 | D23 | D24 | D25 | D26 | D27 | D28 | D29 | D30 | D31 |
| Majority → | D32 | ||||||||
| KN2 | KN3 Changed |
KN4 Changed |
V1 | D37 Gain |
D36 Gain |
D35 Gain |
D34 Changed |
D33 Changed | |
| KN1 | R20 | R19 | R18 | R17 | R16 | R15 | R14 | R13 | R12 |
| R2 Changed |
R3 Changed |
R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 |
| R1 Changed |
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| Key: |
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Race summaries
Elections during the 34th Congress
In these elections, the winners were seated during 1856 or in 1857 before March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Pennsylvania (Class 3) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected January 14, 1856. Democratic gain. |
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| Missouri (Class 3) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected January 12, 1857. Democratic gain. |
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| California (Class 3) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. Incumbent was then elected January 13, 1857. Democratic gain. |
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| Delaware (Class 2) |
Joseph P. Comegys | Whig | 1856 (appointed) | Interim appointee retired. New senator elected January 14, 1857. Democratic gain. |
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| Maine (Class 1) |
Hannibal Hamlin | Democratic | 1856 (appointed) | Incumbent resigned to become Governor of Maine. New senator elected January 16, 1857. Republican gain. Winner was not elected to the next term, see below. |
|
| Iowa (Class 3) |
James Harlan | Free Soil | 1855 | Election invalidated January 5, 1857. Incumbent re-elected January 29, 1857 as a Republican. Republican gain. |
|
| Indiana (Class 3) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected February 4, 1857. Democratic gain. |
| ||
Races leading to the 35th Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1857; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| California | John B. Weller | Democratic | 1852 (special) | Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1856. Democratic hold. |
|
| Connecticut | Isaac Toucey | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1856. Republican gain. |
|
| Delaware | James A. Bayard Jr. | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected in 1857. |
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| Florida | Stephen Mallory | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected in 1857. |
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| Indiana | Jesse D. Bright | Democratic | 1844 1850 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1856. |
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| Maine | Amos Nourse | Republican | 1857 (special) | Incumbent lost re-election or retired. New senator elected in 1857. Republican hold. |
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| Maryland | Thomas Pratt | Whig | 1850 (special) 1851 |
Incumbent lost re-election or retired. New senator elected in 1856 or 1857. Know Nothing gain. |
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| Massachusetts | Charles Sumner | Free Soil | 1851 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1857 as a Republican. Republican gain. |
|
| Michigan | Lewis Cass | Democratic | 1844 or 1845 1848 (resigned) 1849 (special) |
Incumbent lost re-election or retired. New senator elected in January 1857. Republican gain. |
|
| Mississippi | Stephen Adams | Democratic | 1852 (special) | Incumbent lost re-election or retired. New senator elected in 1856 or 1857. Democratic hold. |
|
| Missouri | Henry S. Geyer | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1857. Democratic gain. |
|
| New Jersey | John Renshaw Thomson | Democratic | 1853 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1857. |
|
| New York | Hamilton Fish | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected February 3, 1857. Republican gain. |
|
| Ohio | Benjamin Wade | Republican | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected in 1856. |
|
| Pennsylvania | Richard Brodhead | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent lost re-election or retired. New senator elected January 13, 1857. Republican gain. |
|
| Rhode Island | Charles T. James | Democratic | 1850 or 1851 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1856. Republican gain. |
|
| Tennessee | James C. Jones | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Whig loss. Seat would remain vacant until October 8, 1857; see below. |
[data missing] |
| Texas | Thomas J. Rusk | Democratic | 1846 1851 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1857. |
|
| Vermont | Solomon Foot | Republican | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected in 1856. |
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| Virginia | James M. Mason | Democratic | 1847 (special) 1850 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1856. |
|
| Wisconsin | Henry Dodge | Democratic | 1848 1851 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1857. Republican gain. |
|
Elections during the 35th Congress
In these elections, the winners were elected in 1857 after March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| New Hampshire (Class 3) |
James Bell | Republican | 1855 | Incumbent died May 25, 1857. New senator elected June 27, 1857. Republican hold. |
|
| Tennessee (Class 1) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected October 8, 1857. Democratic gain. |
| ||
| South Carolina (Class 3) |
Andrew Butler | Democratic | 1846 (appointed) ? (special) 1848 1854 |
Incumbent died May 25, 1857. New senator elected December 7, 1857. Democratic hold. |
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Complete list of states
Maryland
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2022) |
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80 members of the Maryland General Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
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Anthony Kennedy won election by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.[2]
New York
The New York election was held February 3, 1857, by the New York State Legislature. Whig Hamilton Fish had been elected in 1851 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1857.
In 1855, the Whig Party and the Anti-Nebraska Party merged in New York to form the Republican Party.
At the State election in November 1855, 16 Republicans, 11 Americans, 4 Democrats and 1 Temperance man were elected for a two-year term (1856–1857) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1856, 81 Republicans, 31 Democrats and 8 Americans were elected to the Assembly for the session of 1857. The 80th New York State Legislature met from January 6 to April 18, 1857, at Albany, New York.
Preston King was nominated by a caucus of Republican State legislators. King had been a Democratic congressman from 1843 to 1847, a Free Soil congressman from 1849 to 1853, and had joined the Republican Party upon its foundation at the State convention in September 1855. The convention nominated King for Secretary of State, but he was defeated by Joel T. Headley in a four-way race. Secretary of State Joel T. Headley was the candidate of the American Party. State Senator Daniel E. Sickles was the candidate of the Democratic Party.
In the Assembly the vote confirmed the party caucus selections. When State Senator Sickles received votes, the same objection to his eligibility was raised as was in 1833 regarding Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. This time, Speaker DeWitt C. Littlejohn ruled that the objection was "partially tenable and partially not so." However, the Speaker held that any member could vote for anybody, and only if the candidate received sufficient votes to win the election, a decision would be required. Otherwise, like in this case, the eligibility of an also-ran was irrelevant.
In the State Senate, only 24 votes were given. Zenas Clark (Rep.) and John B. Halsted (Rep.) were sick at home. Eaton J. Richardson (Rep.) paired with Sidney Sweet (Am.). Joseph H. Petty (Am.) was absent. William Kelly (Dem.), Mark Spencer (Dem.), and the Democratic candidate Sickles himself, declined to vote.
State Senator Justin A. Smith (Am.) raised the question if the vote for Sickles could be counted. A new State Constitution had been adopted in 1846, which had clarified the question of eligibility of State legislators. Smith quoted from the State Constitution: "No member of the Legislature shall receive any civil appointment within this State, or to the Senate of the United States, from the Governor, the Governor and Senate, or from the Legislature, during the term for which he shall have been elected; and all votes given for any such member, for any such office or appointment, shall be void." Lt. Gov. Henry R. Selden (later a judge of the New York Court of Appeals) decided to count the vote, holding that the United States Constitution described the eligibility for the office and devolved on the State legislatures only the power to prescribe the "times, places and manners of holding the elections for that office", thus not implying a right for the State governments to exclude any person who would be eligible under the U.S. Constitution.[3]
Preston King was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.
| House | Republican | Democrat | American | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate (32 members) | Preston King | 14 | Daniel E. Sickles | 1 | Joel T. Headley | 9 |
| State Assembly (128 members) | Preston King | 77 | Daniel E. Sickles | 33 | Joel T. Headley | 6 |
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (special)
The Class 3 election was held on January 14, 1856. William Bigler was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.[4]
The Pennsylvania General Assembly had previously convened on February 13, 1855, for the regularly scheduled Senate election for the term beginning on March 4, 1855. Two ballots were recorded on February 13, followed by three on February 27, 1855. On the fifth and final ballot during this convention, former Senator Simon Cameron had led with 55 votes to future Senator Charles R. Buckalew's 23. No candidate was elected, however, and the hung election convention adjourned by a vote of 66 to 65. Upon the expiration of incumbent James Cooper's term on March 4, 1855, the seat was vacated and would remain vacant until William Bigler's election in January 1856.[5]
On January 14, 1856, the election convention of the General Assembly re-convened and elected Democratic former Governor of Pennsylvania William Bigler on the first ballot to serve the remainder of the term that began on March 4, 1855, and would expire on March 4, 1861. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William Bigler | 82 | 61.65 | |
| Republican | Edward Joy Morris | 43 | 32.33 | |
| Unknown | John C. Flenniken | 1 | 0.75 | |
| N/A | Not voting | 7 | 5.26 | |
| Totals | 133 | 100.00% | ||
Pennsylvania (regular)
The Class 1 election in Pennsylvania was held on January 13, 1857. Simon Cameron was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.[6]
The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on January 13, 1857, to elect a Senator to serve the term beginning on March 4, 1857. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Simon Cameron | 67 | 50.38 | |
| Democratic | John W. Forney | 58 | 43.61 | |
| Democratic | Henry D. Foster | 7 | 5.26 | |
| Democratic | William Wilkins | 1 | 0.75 | |
| Totals | 133 | 100.00% | ||
See also
References
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