Contents

1790–91 United States House of Representatives elections

House elections for the 2nd U.S. Congress

1790–91 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1788 & 1789 April 27, 1790 – October 11, 1791[a] 1792 & 1793 →
All 67 seats in the United States House of Representatives[b] 34 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Jonathan Trumbull Jr. James Madison Party Pro-Administration Anti-Administration Leader's seat Connecticut at-large Virginia 5th Last election 37 seats 28 seats Seats won 40 27 Seat change 3 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 was succeeded by Jonathan Trumbull Jr., who became the 2nd Speaker of the House.^[1]

Retirements[edit]

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

Anti-Administration[edit]

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[edit]

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

Election summaries[edit]

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.^[2] 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	2	1	2
New Hampshire	At-large	August 30, 1790	3	3	1	0	1
Virginia	Districts	September 1, 1790	10	2	1	8	1
Connecticut	At-large	September 20, 1790	5	5		0
Maryland	Mixed[c]	October 4, 1790	6	3	1	3	1
Massachusetts	Districts	October 4, 1790[d]	8	7	1	1	1
South Carolina	Districts	October 12, 1790	5	3	1	2	1
Rhode Island	At-large	October 19, 1790	1	1		0
Delaware	At-large	November 8, 1790	1	1		0
Georgia	District	January 3, 1791	3	0		3
New Jersey	At-large	January 26, 1791	4	4		0
North Carolina	Districts	January 28, 1791	5	2		3
Late elections (after the March 4, 1791, beginning of the term)
Vermont	Districts	July 13, 1791[e]	2	0		2	2
Pennsylvania	Districts	October 11, 1791	8	4	2	4	2
Total			67	40 59.7%	3	27 40.3%	1

Change in composition[edit]

End of the last Congress[edit]

Beginning of the next Congress[edit]

Special elections[edit]

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[edit]

2nd Congress[edit]

Connecticut[edit]

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.	▌Y Roger Sherman (Pro-Administration) 2,969 votes ▌Y Pierpont Edwards (Pro-Administration) 2,239 votes ▌Y James Hillhouse (Pro-Administration) 2,035 votes ▌Y Jonathan Sturges (Pro-Administration) 1,730 votes ▌Y Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (Pro-Administration) 1,720 votes ▌Tapping Reeve 1,672 votes ▌Jeremiah Wadsworth (Pro-Administration) 1,658 votes ▌Amasa Learned (Pro-Administration) 1,463 votes ▌Stephen M. Mitchell (Pro-Administration) 1,435 votes ▌Benjamin Huntington 1,372 votes ▌John Chester 881 votes ▌James Davenport (Pro-Administration) 786 votes[3]
	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[edit]

Georgia[edit]

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.

Kentucky[edit]

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

Maryland[edit]

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."

Massachusetts[edit]

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.	▌Y Fisher Ames (Pro-Administration) 75.1% ▌Benjamin Austin 16.1% ▌Thomas Dawes 8.8%
Massachusetts 2	Benjamin Goodhue	Pro-Administration	1789	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Benjamin Goodhue (Pro-Administration) 88.8% ▌Samuel Holten 11.2%
Massachusetts 3	Elbridge Gerry	Anti-Administration	1789	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Elbridge Gerry (Anti-Administration) 60.4% ▌Nathaniel Gorham 39.6%
Massachusetts 4	Theodore Sedgwick	Pro-Administration	1789	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Theodore Sedgwick (Pro-Administration) 75.0% ▌Samuel Lyman (Pro-Administration) 16.3% ▌Scattering 8.7%
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): ▌Y 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): ▌Walter Spooner 25.5% ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 22.6% ▌George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 22.3% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 16.7% ▌David Cobb 12.9% Second ballot (November 26, 1790): ▌Walter Spooner 24.8% ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 28.4% ▌George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 12.5% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 25.7% ▌David Cobb 8.6% Third ballot (January 25, 1791): ▌Walter Spooner 28.3% ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 33.9% ▌George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 8.5% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 24.0% ▌David Cobb 5.3% Fourth ballot (April 4, 1791): ▌Walter Spooner 38.8% ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 38.8% ▌George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 5.3% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 15.7% ▌David Cobb 1.5% Fifth ballot (July 18, 1791): ▌Walter Spooner 6.6% ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 42.3% ▌George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 29.3% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 21.8% Sixth ballot (September 8, 1791): ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 42.2% ▌George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 41.6% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 16.2% Seventh ballot (November 11, 1791): ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 32.0% ▌George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 45.6% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 22.5% Eighth ballot (December 26, 1791): ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 31.6% ▌George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 45.0% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 22.2% Ninth ballot (April 2, 1792): ▌Y George Leonard (Pro-Administration) 55.6% ▌Phanuel Bishop (Anti-Administration) 27.7% ▌Peleg Coffin Jr. (Pro-Administration) 16.7%
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): ▌Jonathan Grout (Anti-Administration) 39.1% ▌Artemas Ward (Pro-Administration) 39.0% ▌John Sprague 14.5% ▌Nathan Tyler 7.4% Second ballot (November 26, 1790): ▌Y Artemas Ward (Pro-Administration) 56.6% ▌Jonathan Grout (Anti-Administration) 43.4%
Massachusetts 8	George Thatcher Redistricted from the 6th district	Pro-Administration	1788	Incumbent re-elected.	First ballot (October 4, 1790): ▌George Thatcher (Pro-Administration) 37.2% ▌William Lithgow 22.3% ▌Nathaniel Wells 16.1% ▌Josiah Thatcher 9.2% ▌William Martin 4.9% ▌Arthur Noble 3.6% ▌Daniel Davis 1.8% ▌Peleg Wadsworth (Pro-Administration) 1.5% Second ballot (November 26, 1790): ▌George Thatcher (Pro-Administration) 49.8% ▌Nathaniel Wells 31.0% ▌William Lithgow 14.8% ▌Scattering 4.4% Third ballot (January 25, 1791): ▌George Thatcher (Pro-Administration) 49.1% ▌William Lithgow 39.7% ▌Nathaniel Wells 11.2% Fourth ballot (April 4, 1791): ▌Y George Thatcher (Pro-Administration) 52.3% ▌William Lithgow 41.1% ▌Nathaniel Wells 6.6%

New Hampshire[edit]

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.	▌Y Samuel Livermore (Pro-Administration) 25.1% ▌Y Jeremiah Smith (Pro-Administration) 13.1% ▌Y Nicholas Gilman (Pro-Administration) 11.8% ▌John Samuel Sherburne (Anti-Administration) 11.1% ▌Abiel Foster (Pro-Administration) 8.5% ▌James Sheafe (Pro-Administration?) 7.8% ▌Nathaniel Peabody 7.0% ▌Others 15.5%
	Samuel Livermore	Anti-Administration	1789	Incumbent re-elected as Pro-Administration.
	Nicholas Gilman	Pro-Administration	1789	Incumbent re-elected.

New Jersey[edit]

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates[f]
New Jersey at-large 4 seats on a general ticket	Elias Boudinot	Pro-Administration	1789	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Abraham Clark (Pro-Administration) 19.9% ▌Y Jonathan Dayton (Pro-Administration) 13.8% ▌Y Elias Boudinot (Pro-Administration) 13.7% ▌Y Aaron Kitchell (Pro-Administration) 8.8% ▌Lambert Cadwalader (Pro-Administration) 7.0% ▌James Linn 5.5% ▌Thomas Sinnickson (Pro-Administration) 5.1% ▌Robert Hoops 4.9% ▌Thomas Henderson 3.7% ▌John Witherspoon 2.7% ▌John Beatty (Pro-Administration) 2.3% ▌John Sheppard 1.9% ▌Joseph Ellis 1.7% ▌Robert Ogden 1.5% ▌James Schureman (Pro-Administration) 1.5% ▌John Harring 1.1% ▌John Hugg 1.1%
	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[edit]

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

North Carolina[edit]

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

1st Congress[edit]

2nd Congress[edit]

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.

Pennsylvania[edit]

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.

Rhode Island[edit]

1st Congress[edit]

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

2nd Congress[edit]

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.

South Carolina[edit]

Vermont[edit]

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.

Virginia[edit]

See also[edit]

• 1790 United States elections
  • List of United States House of Representatives elections (1789–1822)
  • 1790–91 United States Senate elections
• 1st United States Congress
• 2nd United States Congress

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• "A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825". Tufts Digital Library, Tufts University. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
• 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.
• "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.

External links[edit]

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