1838–39 United States House of Representatives elections

1838–39 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1836 & 1837 July 2, 1838 – November 5, 1839 1840 & 1841 →
All 242 seats in the United States House of Representatives 122 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John Jones Robert M. T. Hunter Party Democratic Whig Leader's seat Virginia 3rd Virginia 9th Last election 128 seats 100 seats Seats won 126 116 Seat change 2 16 Popular vote 995,133 989,712 Percentage 50.01% 49.73% Swing 0.94% 3.23%   Third party   Party Independent Last election 1 seat Seats won 0 Seat change 1 Popular vote 8,205 Percentage 0.41% Swing 0.58%
Speaker before election James K. Polk Democratic Elected Speaker Robert M. T. Hunter Whig

The 1838–39 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between July 2, 1838, and November 5, 1839. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 26th United States Congress convened on December 2, 1839. They occurred during President Martin Van Buren's term. Elections were held for all 242 seats, representing 26 states.

The Panic of 1837 and consequent economic downturn drove Whig Party gains. Van Buren's Democratic Party had lost popularity and Whig policies of economic nationalism appealed to a larger number of voters. Democrats were able, however, to contain the political fallout by blaming banks for the crisis. The Anti-Masonic Party, influential in New York, Pennsylvania, and other Northern states, lost seats, while the Southern Nullifier Party disappeared. Two Virginia representatives were elected on that state's Conservative Party ticket.

Early business of the new House reflected the close partisan division. When Congress first Convened on December 3, 1839, two contingents of New Jersey representatives-elect, one composed of Democrats and the other of Whigs, arrived and both requested to be seated as members. Charging the Whigs with election fraud and facing loss of control of the House, the Democratic Party majority (119 to 118 Whigs from outside New Jersey) refused to seat all but one Whig.^[1] Massachusetts Representative John Quincy Adams presided as "chairman" of the House after the clerk lost control. Two weeks later, when voting for speaker of the House finally commenced, 11 ballots were needed before Robert M. T. Hunter, a compromise Whig candidate, was elected, receiving 119 votes (out of 232 cast).^[2] This congress also enacted the first Independent Treasury bill.

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Democratic		Whig		Others
				Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Louisiana	Districts	July 2–4, 1838	3	0	1	3	1	0
Illinois	Districts	August 6, 1838	3	2	1	1	1	0
Missouri	At-large	August 6, 1838	2	2		0		0
Vermont	Districts	September 1, 1838	5	2	1	3	1	0
Maine	Districts	September 10, 1838	8	6		2		0
Arkansas	At-large	October 1, 1838	1	1		0		0
Georgia	At-large	October 1, 1838	9	0	8	9	8	0
New Jersey	At-large	October 8, 1838	6	5	5	1	5	0
South Carolina	Districts	October 8–9, 1838	9	8	6	1		0	6[b]
Ohio	Districts	October 9, 1838	19	11	3	8	3	0
Pennsylvania	Districts[c]	October 9, 1838	28	17		5	1	6[d]	1
Michigan	At-large	November 6, 1838	1	1		0		0
New York	Districts[e]	November 5–7, 1838	40	19	11	21	11	0
Massachusetts	Districts	November 12, 1838	12	2		10		0
Delaware	At-large	November 13, 1838	1	1	1	0	1	0
New Hampshire	At-large	March 12, 1839	5	5		0		0
Connecticut	Districts	April 1, 1839	6	0	6	6	6	0
Virginia	Districts	May 23, 1839	21	12	3	7	1	2[f]	2
Kentucky	Districts	August 1, 1839	13	2	1	11		0	1[g]
Tennessee	Districts	August 1, 1839	13	6	3	7	3	0
Alabama	Districts	August 5, 1839	5	3		2		0
Indiana	Districts	August 5, 1839	7	5	4	2	4	0
North Carolina	Districts	August 8, 1839	13	8	3	5	3	0
Rhode Island	At-large	August 27, 1839	2	0		2		0
Maryland	Districts[h]	October 3, 1839	8	5	1	3	1	0
Mississippi	At-large	November 4–5, 1839	2	2	2	0	2	0
Total			242	125 51.7%	3	109 45.0%	9	8 3.3%	6

There were special elections in 1838 and 1839 to the 25th United States Congress and 26th United States Congress.

Special elections are listed by date then district.

Connecticut elected its six members April 1, 1839, flipping all six seats from Democratic to Whig.

See Non-voting delegates, below.

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Elections were held November 12, 1838, but one district's election went to a fourth ballot in 1839, after the March 4, 1839 start of the term but before the House convened in December 1839.

A special election was held in Mississippi on July 17–18, 1837. Its winners were Democrats John F. H. Claiborne and Samuel J. Gholson. The first session of the 25th Congress was a special session beginning on September 4, 1837, extending to October 16. In November, Mississippi held the regular election. Seargent Smith Prentiss, a Vicksburg lawyer and Whig, unexpectedly launched a vigorous, partisan campaign. He and fellow Whig Thomas J. Word won in an upset. Claiborne and Gholson then argued that the July result entitled them to serve full terms. With the Whig Party newly organizing, the closely divided House, in which Anti-Masons, Nullifiers, and the Independent tended to align more with Whigs and to oppose Democrats, agreed to hear Prentiss. He spoke for nine hours over three days, packing the gallery, drawing Senators, and earning a national reputation for oratory and public admiration from leading Whigs including Senators Clay and Webster. The Elections Committee then required a third election. Scheduled for April 1838, it confirmed the November result. Both Whigs were seated in May late in the second session, also serving for the third session.

In the 3rd district, Charles Naylor's election was unsuccessfully contested by Charles J. Ingersoll.^[32]

There were three special elections in Pennsylvania during the 26th Congress.^[33] The first was in the 14th district caused by the death of William W. Potter (Democratic) on October 28, 1839. This vacancy was filled by George McCulloch (Democratic). The second was in the 22nd district caused by the resignation of Richard Biddle. This vacancy was filled by Henry M. Brackenridge (Whig). The third was in the 13th district caused by the death of William S. Ramsey (Democratic) on October 17, 1840. Ramsey had also been re-elected to the 27th Congress and so an additional special election was held the following May to fill the vacancy in the 27th Congress.

Elections held late, on August 1, 1839.

See Non-voting delegates, below.

• 1838 United States elections
  • List of United States House of Representatives elections (1824–1854)
  • 1838–39 United States Senate elections
• 25th United States Congress
• 26th United States Congress

• Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). 1788 United States Congressional Elections-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses. McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0786402830.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (January 1, 1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989. Macmillan Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0029201701.
• Moore, John L., ed. (1994). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections (Third ed.). Congressional Quarterly Inc. ISBN 978-0871879967.
• "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.

• Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)