1816 United States elections

Elections for the 15th United States Congress were held in 1816 and 1817. Mississippi and Illinois were admitted as states during the 15th Congress. The election took place during the First Party System. The Democratic-Republican Party controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress, while the Federalist Party provided only limited opposition. The election marked the start of the Era of Good Feelings, as the Federalist Party became nearly irrelevant in national politics after the War of 1812 and the Hartford Convention.

1816 United States elections

← 1814          1815          1816          1817          1818 → Presidential election year
Incumbent president	James Madison (Democratic-Republican)
Next Congress	15th
Presidential election
Partisan control	Democratic-Republican hold
Electoral vote
James Monroe (DR)	183
Rufus King (F)	34
1816 presidential election results. Green denotes states won by Monroe, burnt orange denotes states won by King. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
Senate elections
Overall control	Democratic-Republican hold
Seats contested	12 of 36 seats[1]
Net seat change	Democratic-Republican +2[2]
House elections
Overall control	Democratic-Republican hold
Seats contested	All 184 voting members
Net seat change	Democratic-Republican +25[2]

In the presidential election, Democratic-Republican Secretary of State James Monroe easily defeated Federalist Senator Rufus King of New York.^[3] Monroe faced a more difficult challenge in securing his party's nomination, but was able to defeat Secretary of War William H. Crawford in the Democratic-Republican congressional nominating caucus.^[4] The Federalists never again fielded a presidential candidate.

In the House, Democratic-Republicans won major gains, and continued to dominate the chamber.^[5]

In the Senate, Democratic-Republicans picked up a moderate number of seats, increasing their already-dominant majority.^[6]

See also

• 1816 United States presidential election
• 1816–17 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1816–17 United States Senate elections

References

1. Not counting special elections.
2. Congressional seat gain figures only reflect the results of the regularly-scheduled elections, and do not take special elections into account.
3. "1816 Presidential Election". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
4. "Presidential elections". History.com. History Channel. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
5. "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
6. "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate. Retrieved June 25, 2014.