1790–91 United States House of Representatives elections

April 27, 1790 – October 11, 1791[lower-alpha 1]

All 67 seats in the United States House of Representatives[lower-alpha 2]
34 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Jonathan Trumbull Jr. Frederick Muhlenberg[lower-alpha 3]
Party Pro-Administration Anti-Administration
Leader's seat Connecticut at-large Pennsylvania 2nd
Last election 37 seats 28 seats
Seats won 40 27
Seat change Increase 3 Decrease 1

Results:
     Pro-Administration hold      Pro-Administration gain
     Anti-Administration hold      Anti-Administration gain
     Undistricted      Chesapeak Party (MD) gain

Speaker before election

Frederick Muhlenberg
Pro-Administration

Elected Speaker

Jonathan Trumbull Jr.
Pro-Administration

The 1790–91 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 27, 1790, and October 11, 1791. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 2nd United States Congress convened on October 24, 1791. This was the first midterm election cycle, which took place in the middle of President George Washington's first term. The size of the House increased to 67 seats after the new state of Vermont elected its first representatives.

While formal political parties still did not exist, coalitions of pro-Washington (pro-Administration) representatives and anti-Administration representatives each gained two seats as a result of the addition of new states to the union.

Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg, who had led the Pro-Administrationists in 1789, switched loyalties to the Anti-Administrationists during the tenure of the 1st Congress. He failed to win election to the Speakership as their leader as a result of these elections, and was succeeded by Jonathan Trumbull Jr., who became the 2nd Speaker of the House.

Retirements

Either five or six incumbents did not seek re-election.

Anti-Administration

  1. Maryland 4: William Smith retired.
  2. Virginia 6: Isaac Coles retired.

Aedanus Burke, a U.S. representative from South Carolina's 2nd congressional district, either retired or lost re-election but it is not known

Pro-Administration

  1. Pennsylvania at-large: George Clymer retired.
  2. Pennsylvania at-large: Henry Wynkoop retired.
  3. Pennsylvania at-large: Thomas Scott retired.

Election summaries

In this period, each state fixed its own date for congressional general elections, as early as April 27, 1790 (in New York) and as late as October 11, 1791 (in Pennsylvania). Elections to a Congress took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when the Congress convened. In some states, the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd-numbered year). The first session of this Congress was convened in Philadelphia on October 24, 1791.

Kentucky and Vermont became states during the 2nd Congress, adding two seats each.[1] The legislation admitted Vermont was passed at the end of the 1st Congress taking effect on March 4, 1791, the first day of the 2nd Congress, so that Vermont was represented from the start of the Congress, while Kentucky was unrepresented until the 2nd session.

State Type Date Total
seats
Pro-
Administration
Anti-
Administration
Seats Change Seats Change
New York Districts April 27–29, 1790 6 5 Increase2 1 Decrease2
New Hampshire At-large August 30, 1790 3 3 Increase1 0 Decrease1
Virginia Districts September 1, 1790 10 2 Decrease1 8 Increase1
Connecticut At-large September 20, 1790 5 5 Steady 0 Steady
Maryland Mixed[lower-alpha 4] October 4, 1790 6 3 Increase1 3 Decrease1
Massachusetts Districts October 4, 1790[lower-alpha 5] 8 7 Increase1 1 Decrease1
South Carolina Districts October 12, 1790 5 3 Increase1 2 Decrease1
Rhode Island At-large October 19, 1790 1 1 Steady 0 Steady
Delaware At-large November 8, 1790 1 1 Steady 0 Steady
Georgia District January 3, 1791 3 0 Steady 3 Steady
New Jersey At-large January 26, 1791 4 4 Steady 0 Steady
North Carolina Districts January 28, 1791 5 2 Steady 3 Steady
Late elections (after the March 4, 1791, beginning of the term)
Vermont Districts July 13, 1791[lower-alpha 6] 2 0 Steady 2 Increase2
Pennsylvania Districts October 11, 1791 8 4 Decrease2 4 Increase2
Total 67 40
59.7%
Increase 3 27
40.3%
Decrease 1
House seats
Pro-Admin
59.70%
Anti-Admin
40.30%

Change in composition

End of the last Congress

A A
A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A V P P P
Majority → P
P P P P P P P P P P
P P P P P P P P P P
P P P P P P P P P P
P P

Beginning of the next Congress

A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A V P P P P
Majority → P
P P P P P P P P P P
P P P P P P P P P P
P P P P P P P P P P
P P P P
Key:
A Anti-Administration
P Pro-Administration
V Vacant

Special elections

There were special elections in 1790 and 1791 during the 1st United States Congress and 2nd United States Congress. New states and newly ratified states are not included as special elections.

Elections are sorted by date then district.

1st Congress

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Virginia 9 Theodorick Bland Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent died June 1, 1790.
New member elected July 1790.
Anti-Administration hold.
Winner was later elected to the next term, see below.
Connecticut at-large Pierpont Edwards Pro-Administration 1790 Predecessor declined election.
New member elected December 16, 1790.
Pro-Administration hold.
Winner had already been elected to the next term, see below.

2nd Congress

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
New York 1 Vacant Representative-elect James Townsend (Pro-Administration) died May 24, 1790.
New member elected April 26–28, 1791.
Anti-Administration gain.
Connecticut at-large Roger Sherman Pro-Administration 1790 Incumbent-and-Representative-elect resigned March 31, 1791, to become U.S. Senator.
New member elected September 19, 1791.
Pro-Administration hold.
Maryland 3 William Pinkney Pro-Administration 1790 Incumbent resigned.
New member elected October 26–29, 1791.
Anti-Administration gain.
Winner seated February 5, 1792.

Connecticut

Connecticut elected all five of its representatives at-large on a general ticket on September 20, 1790.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Connecticut at-large
5 seats
Roger Sherman Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
Winner declined to serve and a new member would later be elected in a special election.
Benjamin Huntington Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.
Jonathan Sturges Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
Jonathan Trumbull Jr. Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
Jeremiah Wadsworth Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.
Winner declined to serve and the incumbent was re-elected in a special election.

There were two subsequent special elections. The first was held to fill the vacancy left by Pierpont Edwards (Pro-Administration) declining to serve and was won by Jeremiah Wadsworth (Pro-Administration). The second was held September 19, 1791, to fill the vacancy left by Roger Sherman (Pro-Administration)'s election to the Senate and was won by Amasa Learned (Pro-Administration).

Delaware

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[lower-alpha 7]
Delaware at-large John M. Vining Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.

Georgia

Georgia switched to a conventional district system for the Second Congress. At the time, the districts were not numbered, but are retroactively renumbered as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively here.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Georgia 1
"Southern (or Eastern) District"
James Jackson Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Anti-Administration hold.
Election was subsequently challenged, the House determined that electoral fraud had occurred, and the seat was declared void.
Georgia 2
"Middle District"
Abraham Baldwin Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Georgia 3
"Northern (or Western) District"
George Mathews Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Anti-Administration hold.

Kentucky

Kentucky was admitted during the 2nd Congress and elected its first representatives in 1792.

Maryland

Under Maryland law for the election for the 1st and 2nd Congresses "candidates were elected at-large but had to be residents of a specific district with the statewide vote determining winners from each district."

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Maryland 1 Michael J. Stone Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
Maryland 2 Joshua Seney Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Joshua Seney (Anti-Administration) 57.1%
  • James Tilghman 42.9%
Maryland 3 Benjamin Contee Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
Winner later resigned due to questions of ineligibility due to his residence[3] and was replaced in a special election by John Francis Mercer (Anti-Administration).
Maryland 4 William Smith Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Anti-Administration hold.
Maryland 5 George Gale Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.
Maryland 6 Daniel Carroll Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Anti-Administration gain.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts law required a majority for election. This condition was met in four of the eight districts, the remaining four required between 2 and 9 ballots for election.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Massachusetts 1 Fisher Ames Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
Massachusetts 2 Benjamin Goodhue Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Massachusetts 3 Elbridge Gerry Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Massachusetts 4 Theodore Sedgwick Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Massachusetts 5 George Partridge Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent resigned August 14, 1790.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.
First ballot (October 4, 1790):
  • Shearjashub Bourne (Pro-Administration) 41.8%
    Thomas Davis 37.3%
    Joshua Thomas 20.9%

Second ballot (November 26, 1790):
  • Green tickY Shearjashub Bourne (Pro-Administration) 65.3%
  • Joshua Thomas 27.2%
  • Thomas Davis 7.5%
Massachusetts 6 George Leonard
Redistricted from the 7th district
Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected. First ballot (October 4, 1790):
Massachusetts 7 Jonathan Grout
Redistricted from the 8th district
Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
First ballot (October 4, 1790):

Second ballot (November 26, 1790):
Massachusetts 8 George Thatcher
Redistricted from the 6th district
Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected. First ballot (October 4, 1790):

Second ballot (November 26, 1790):

Third ballot (January 25, 1791):

Fourth ballot (April 4, 1791):

New Hampshire

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
New Hampshire at-large
3 seats on a general ticket
Abiel Foster Pro-Administration 1789 (Special) Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.
Samuel Livermore Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected as Pro-Administration.
Nicholas Gilman Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.

New Jersey

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[lower-alpha 7]
New Jersey at-large
4 seats on a general ticket
Elias Boudinot Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Lambert Cadwalader Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.
James Schureman Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.
Thomas Sinnickson Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration hold.

New York

New York's districts were not numbered at the time, therefore the numbering here is retroactive.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
New York 1 William Floyd Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
Winner died May 24, 1790, before the start of the 2nd Congress. A special election was then held, see above.
New York 2 John Laurance Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
New York 3 Egbert Benson Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
New York 4 John Hathorn Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Anti-Administration hold.
New York 5 Peter Silvester Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Peter Silvester (Pro-Administration) 58.4%
  • John Livingston (Anti-Administration) 41.6%
New York 6 Jeremiah Van Rensselaer Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.

North Carolina

North Carolina ratified the Constitution November 21, 1789, and elected its representatives after admission.

1st Congress

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
North Carolina 1
"Roanoke division"
State ratified the U.S. Constitution November 21, 1789. First member elected March 24, 1790.
Anti-Administration win.
Winner was later elected to the next term, see below.
North Carolina 2
"Edenton and New Bern division"
State ratified the U.S. Constitution November 21, 1789. First member elected March 24, 1790.
Anti-Administration win.
Winner was later elected to the next term, see below.
North Carolina 3
"Cape Fear division"
State ratified the U.S. Constitution November 21, 1789. First member elected March 24, 1790.
Anti-Administration win.
Winner later lost re-election to the next term, see below.
North Carolina 4
"Yadkin division"
State ratified the U.S. Constitution November 21, 1789. First member elected March 24, 1790.
Pro-Administration win.
Winner was later elected to the next term, see below.
North Carolina 5
"Western division"
State ratified the U.S. Constitution November 21, 1789. First member elected March 24, 1790.
Pro-Administration win.
District covered areas beyond the Appalachian Mountains that were ceded to in May 1790 to form the Southwest Territory, but member retained seat for the remainder of term.

2nd Congress

Due to the cession of North Carolina's trans-Appalachian territory to form the Southwest Territory, the territory of the old 5th district was lost. North Carolina retained the same number of Representatives, and so it redistricted for the Second Congress.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
North Carolina 1
"Yadkin Division"
John Steele
Redistricted from the 4th district
Pro-Administration 1790 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY John Steele (Pro-Administration) 87.3%
  • Joseph MacDowell (Anti-Administration) 12.7%
North Carolina 2
"Centre Division"
None (District created) New seat
Anti-Administration gain.
North Carolina 3 John Baptista Ashe
Redistricted from the 1st district
Anti-Administration 1790 Incumbent re-elected.
North Carolina 4
"Albemarle Division"
Hugh Williamson
Redistricted from the 2nd district
Anti-Administration 1790 Incumbent re-elected.
North Carolina 5
"Cape Fear Division"
Timothy Bloodworth
Redistricted from the 3rd district
Anti-Administration 1790 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania had elected its Representatives at-large in the 1st Congress, but switched to using districts in the 2nd Congress. Five incumbents ran for re-election, four of whom won, while three others retired leaving three open seats. Two districts had no incumbents residing in them, while one (the 8th district) had a single representative who declined to run for re-election and one (the 2nd district) had three incumbents, only one of whom ran for re-election.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[4]
Pennsylvania 1 Thomas Fitzsimons
Redistricted from the at-large district
Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania 2 Frederick Muhlenberg
Redistricted from the at-large district
Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected as Anti-Administration.
George Clymer
Redistricted from the at-large district
Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent retired.
Pro-Administration loss.
Henry Wynkoop
Redistricted from the at-large district
Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent retired.
Pro-Administration loss.
Pennsylvania 3 Peter Muhlenberg
Redistricted from the at-large district
Anti-Administration 1788 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
Pennsylvania 4 Daniel Hiester
Redistricted from the at-large district
Anti-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania 5 None (District created) New seat.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
Pennsylvania 6 None (District created) New seat.
New member elected.
Anti-Administration gain.
  • Green tickY Andrew Gregg (Anti-Administration) 51.2%
  • John Allison (Pro-Administration) 18.3%
  • James McLean (Anti-Administration) 10.9%
  • Thomas Johnston (Pro-Administration) 10.3%
  • William Montgomery (Anti-Administration) 9.3%
Pennsylvania 7 Thomas Hartley
Redistricted from the at-large district
Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania 8 Thomas Scott
Redistricted from the at-large district
Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Anti-Administration gain.

Rhode Island

1st Congress

Rhode Island ratified the Constitution May 29, 1790. It elected its representatives after admission.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Rhode Island at-large State ratified the U.S. Constitution May 29, 1790. First member elected August 31, 1790.
Pro-Administration win.
Winner was later elected to the next term, see below.

2nd Congress

Rhode Island held elections for the 2nd Congress on October 18, 1790, about six weeks after elections for the 1st Congress due to the state's late ratification of the Constitution.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Rhode Island at-large Benjamin Bourne Pro-Administration August 1790 Incumbent re-elected.

South Carolina

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
South Carolina 1
"Charleston Division"
William L. Smith Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 2
"Beaufort Division"
Aedanus Burke Anti-Administration 1788 Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election.
New member elected.
Pro-Administration gain.
South Carolina 3
"Georgetown Division"
Daniel Huger Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 4
"Camden Division"
Thomas Sumter Anti-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 5
"Ninety-Six Division"
Thomas Tudor Tucker Anti-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected.

Vermont

Vermont was admitted at the end of the First Congress, with the admission taking effect at the start of the Second Congress. Vermont was entitled to elect two representatives. Vermont law at the time required a majority to win an office. In the 1st district, no candidate won a majority, necessitating a run-off.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[lower-alpha 7]
Vermont 1
"Western Division"
New state admitted. First member elected.
Anti-Administration win.
First ballot (July 13, 1791):

Second ballot (September 6, 1791):
Vermont 2
"Eastern Division"
New state admitted. First member elected.
Anti-Administration win.

Virginia

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Virginia 1 Alexander White Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 2 John Brown Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 3 Andrew Moore Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 4 Richard Bland Lee Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 5 James Madison Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 6 Isaac Coles Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Anti-Administration hold.
Virginia 7 John Page Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 8 Josiah Parker Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Josiah Parker (Anti-Administration) 76.1%
  • Isaac Avery 23.9%
Virginia 9 William B. Giles Anti-Administration 1790 (Special) Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY William B. Giles (Anti-Administration) 59.3%
  • Thomas Edmonds 40.6%
  • John Mason 0.1%
Virginia 10 Samuel Griffin Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected as Anti-Administration.

See also

Notes

  1. Excluding states that joined during the Second Congress and a very late run-off election in Massachusetts's 6th congressional district.
  2. 2 more seats were added by the admission of new states after the start of this Congress
  3. Frederick Muhlenberg changed from Pro-Administration to Anti-Administration)
  4. Maryland had six representatives elected by the whole state electorate, who had to choose one candidate from each district.
  5. add Massachusetts required a majority for electionitional trials were required in 4 districts, held between November 26, 1790, and April 2, 1792.
  6. A majority was required for election, which was not met in one of the districts necessitating a second election on September 6, 1791
  7. 1 2 3 4 Only candidates with at least 1% of the vote listed
  8. Source does not give first name
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Source does not give numbers of votes or has incomplete data
  10. Changed from Pro-Administration to Anti-Administration between the 1st and 2nd Congresses
  11. Changed from Pro-Administration to Anti-Administration between the 1st and 2nd Congresses
  12. and Had been Pro-Administration previous electionwould switch back to Pro-Administration in the next election

References

  1. 1 Stat. 191
  2. "Connecticut 1790 U.S. House of Representatives". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved March 22, 2018., citing The Connecticut Gazette (New London, CT). October 22, 1790.
  3. "Second Congress (membership roster)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  4. Wilkes University Elections Statistics Project

Bibliography

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