United States Senate elections, 1840 and 1841

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United States Senate elections, 1840

← 1838 / 1839 Various dates 1842 →

? seats in the United States Senate
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Whig Democratic
Last election 23 seats 29 seats
Seats won 29 22
Seat change Increase 6 Decrease 7

Majority Party before election

Democratic Party

Elected Majority Party

Whig Party

The United States Senate elections of 1840 and 1841 were elections which, corresponding with their Party's success in the 1840 Presidential election, had the Whig Party take control of the United States Senate.

As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by State legislatures..

Results

27th Congress (1841–1843)

  • Majority Party: Whig (29)
  • Minority Party: Democratic (22)
  • Other Parties: (0)
  • Vacant: (1)
  • Total Seats: 52

Senate composition before and after elections

Senate composition at the
end of the 26th Congress
  D7 D17   D27 W16 W6
D8 D18 D28 W15 W5
D9 D19 D29 W14 W4
D10 D20 W23 W13 W3
D1 D11 D21 W22 W12 W2
D2 D12 D22 W21 W11 W1
D3 D13 D23 W20 W10  
D4 D14 D24 W19 W9
D5 D15 D25 W18 W8
D6 D16 D26 W17 W7
Senate composition at the
beginning of the 27th Congress
  D7 D17   W26 W16 W6
D8 D18 W25 W15 W5
D9 D19 W24 W14 W4
D10 D20 W23 W13 W3
D1 D11 D21 W22 W12 W2
D2 D12 D22 W21 W11 W1
D3 D13 V W20 W10  
D4 D14 W29 W19 W9
D5 D15 W28 W18 W8
D6 D16 W27 W17 W7
Key: D = Democratic [Bracketed] seat changed parties
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
V = Vacant
W = Whig

Complete list of races

Massachusetts

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Whig Isaac C. Bates was elected January 13, 1841 to finish the class 2 term of his Whig predecessor, John Davis, who had resigned to become Governor of Massachusetts. Bates was also elected, on the same day, to the next term. He would only serve, however, until he died March 16, 1845.

Whig Rufus Choate was elected February 23, 1841, to finish the class 1 term of his Whig predecessor, Daniel Webster, who had resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State.

New York

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Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been elected as a Jacksonian Democrat in 1833 to this seat, and his term expired March 3, 1839. An election was held February 5, 1839. Although Tallmadge received the most votes, no candidate received a majority and the seat was declared vacant due to the legislature's failure to elect.

At the State election in November 1839, 7 Whigs and 3 Democrats were elected to the State Senate, which gave the Whigs a majority, the first anti-Bucktails/Jacksonian/Democratic majority in 20 years. The 63rd New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 14, 1840, at Albany, New York. The strength of the parties in the Assembly, as shown by the vote for Speaker, was: 68 for Whig George Washington Patterson and 56 for Democrat Levi S. Chatfield.

On January 14, 1840, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge received a majority in both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

1840 United States Senator election result
Office Candidate Party Senate
(32 members)
Assembly
(128 members)
U.S. Senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge Whig 19
Samuel Beardsley Democrat 2
Levi Beardsley Democrat 1
William C. Bouck Democrat 1
Benjamin F. Butler Democrat 1
Churchill C. Cambreleng Democrat 1
Hiram Denio Democrat 1
John A. Dix Democrat 1
Azariah C. Flagg Democrat 1
John Savage Democrat 1
John Tracy Democrat 1

Tallmadge re-took his seat on January 27, 1840,[1] and remained in office until June 17, 1844, when he resigned to be appointed Governor of Wisconsin Territory. Daniel S. Dickinson was appointed to fill the vacancy temporarily, and subsequently elected by the State Legislature to succeed Tallmadge.

Pennsylvania

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The election was held on January 14, 1840, after the regularly scheduled election in December 1838 was postponed due to the Buckshot War. Daniel Sturgeon was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.[2][3]

Democrat Samuel McKean was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the 1832-1833 Senate election. Sen. McKean's term was to expire on March 4, 1839, and an election would have occurred during the winter of 1838-1839 elect a Senator for the successive term. The election did not occur, however, due to significant political unrest in Harrisburg, the state capital, over disputed election returns during the Buckshot War. McKean's seat was vacated when his term expired in March 1839 and remained vacant until the General Assembly elected a new Senator in 1840.[2]

The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on January 14, 1840, to elect a Senator to serve out the remainder of the term that began on March 4, 1839. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel Sturgeon 87 65.41
Whig Charles Ogle 26 19.55
Anti-Masonic Richard Biddle 17 12.78
N/A Not voting 3 2.26
Totals 133 100.00%

See also

References

  1. Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856: Dec. 16, 1839-March 3, 1841 (page 50)
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