Contents

1852–53 United States Senate elections

1852–53 United States Senate elections

← 1850 & 1851 Various dates 1854 & 1855 →
20 of the 62 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 32 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Whig Last election 33 seats 22 seats Seats before 37 22 Seats won 10 4 Seats after 35 18 Seat change 1 4 Seats up 10 9   Third party Fourth party   Party Free Soil Know Nothing Last election 2 seats Seats before 3 New party Seats won 2 1 Seats after 2 1 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 1
Results:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Whig gain      Whig hold      Know Nothing Gain      Legislature failed to elect
Majority party before election Democratic Elected Majority party Democratic

The 1852–53 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with the 1852 presidential election. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1852 and 1853, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.^[1] In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.

The Democratic Party gained two seats in the Senate. Only six of the twenty senators up for election were re-elected.

Results summary[edit]

Senate party division, 33rd Congress (1853–1855)

• Majority party: Democratic (35–38)
• Minority party: Whig Party (19–17)
• Other parties: Free Soiler (2–5); Know Nothing (1)
• Vacant: 5–1
• Total seats: 62

Change in composition[edit]

Before the elections[edit]

As a result of the elections[edit]

Race summaries[edit]

Special elections during the 32nd Congress[edit]

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1852 or in 1853 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
California (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had previously failed to elect in 1850–1851. New senator elected January 30, 1852 on the eighth ballot.[2] Democratic gain.	▌Y John B. Weller (Democratic) 71 votes ▌Pierson B. Reading (Whig) 17 votes[2]
Mississippi (Class 2)	Henry S. Foote	Democratic	1846 or 1847	Incumbent resigned January 8, 1852, to become Governor of Mississippi. New senator elected February 18, 1852. Whig gain. Successor then retired at the end of the term, see below.	▌Y Walker Brooke (Whig) [data missing]
Mississippi (Class 1)	John J. McRae	Democratic	1851 (Appointed)	Interim appointee replaced by an elected successor. New senator elected March 17, 1852. Democratic hold.	▌Y Stephen Adams (Democratic) [data missing]
Connecticut (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature failed to elect. New senator elected May 12, 1852. Democratic gain.	▌Y Isaac Toucey (Democratic) [data missing]
South Carolina (Class 2)	William F. De Saussure	Democratic	1852 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 29, 1852.[3] Successor was not elected to the next term, see below.	▌Y William F. De Saussure (Democratic) [data missing]
Indiana (Class 3)	Charles W. Cathcart	Democratic	1852 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired when elected successor qualified. New senator elected January 18, 1853. Democratic hold.	▌Y John Pettit (Democratic) [data missing]

Elections leading to the 33rd Congress[edit]

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1853; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	Jeremiah Clemens	Democratic	1849 (special)	Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until November 29, 1853, see below.	[data missing]
Arkansas	William K. Sebastian	Democratic	1848 (Appointed) 1848 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1853.	▌Y William K. Sebastian (Democratic) [data missing]
Delaware	Presley Spruance	Whig	1846 or 1847	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1853. Whig hold.	▌Y John M. Clayton (Whig) Unopposed[4]
Georgia	Robert M. Charlton	Democratic	1852 (Appointed)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1852. Democratic hold.	▌Y Robert Toombs (Democratic) [data missing]
Illinois	Stephen A. Douglas	Democratic	1846	Incumbent re-elected in 1852.	▌Y Stephen A. Douglas (Democratic) 75 votes ▌Joseph Gillespie (Whig) 19 votes ▌James H. Collins 1 vote[5]
Iowa	George W. Jones	Democratic	1848	Incumbent re-elected in 1852.	▌Y George W. Jones (Democratic) 59 votes ▌George G. Wright (Whig) 31 votes ▌John F. Kinney (Democratic) 1 vote
Kentucky	Joseph R. Underwood	Whig	1846 or 1847	Incumbent retired. New senator had already been elected early in 1851. Know Nothing gain.	▌Y John Burton Thompson (Know Nothing) 73 votes ▌Francis P. Stone 65 votes[6]
Louisiana	Solomon W. Downs	Democratic	1847	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1852. Whig gain.	▌Y Judah P. Benjamin (Whig) [data missing]
Maine	James W. Bradbury	Democratic	1846	Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1854.	[data missing]
Massachusetts	John Davis	Whig	1835 1841 (Resigned) 1845 (special) 1847	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1853. Whig hold.	▌Y Edward Everett (Whig) [data missing]
Michigan	Alpheus Felch	Democratic	1847	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1853. Democratic hold.	▌Y Charles E. Stuart (Democratic) 73.2%[b] ▌Zachariah Chandler (Whig) 26.1%[b]
Mississippi	Walker Brooke	Whig	1852 (special)	Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Whig loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1854.	[data missing]
New Hampshire	John P. Hale	Free Soil	1846	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1852. Democratic gain.	▌Y Charles G. Atherton (Democratic) 69.3%[b] ▌Others 30.7%
New Jersey	Jacob W. Miller	Whig	1841 1846	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1852 or 1853. Democratic gain.	▌Y William Wright (Democratic) 62.3% ▌Jacob W. Miller (Whig) 37.7%[7]
North Carolina	Willie Mangum	Whig	1830 1836 (Resigned) 1840 (special) 1841	Incumbent lost re-election. Leglislature failed to elect. Whig loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1854.	▌Willie Mangum (Whig) [data missing]
Rhode Island	John Hopkins Clarke	Whig	1846 or 1847	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Leglislature failed to elect. Whig loss. Seat would remain vacant until July 20, 1853, see below.	[data missing]
South Carolina	William F. De Saussure	Democratic	1852 (Appointed) 1852 (special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1852 or 1853. Democratic hold.	▌Y Josiah J. Evans (Democratic) [data missing]
Tennessee	John Bell	Whig	1847	Incumbent re-elected in 1853.	▌Y John Bell (Whig) 51 votes ▌Cave Johnson (Democratic) 23 votes ▌Thomas A. R. Nelson (Whig) 18 votes ▌Neill S. Brown (Whig) 4 votes ▌Aaron V. Brown (Democratic) 1 vote[8]
Texas	Sam Houston	Democratic	1846 1847	Incumbent re-elected in 1853.	▌Y Sam Houston (Democratic) 65 votes ▌John Hemphill (Democratic) 14 votes ▌George W. Smyth (Democratic) 1 vote[9]
Virginia	Robert M. T. Hunter	Democratic	1846	Incumbent re-elected in 1852.	▌Y Robert M. T. Hunter (Democratic) 126 votes ▌Scattering 63 votes[10]

Elections during the 33rd Congress[edit]

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1853 on or after March 4; ordered by date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
New Jersey (Class 1)	Robert F. Stockton	Democratic	1851	Incumbent resigned January 10, 1853, to become president of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company. New senator elected March 4, 1853. Democratic hold.	▌Y John Renshaw Thomson (Democratic) 64.4% ▌William L. Dayton (Whig) 35.6%[11]
Rhode Island (Class 2)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected July 20, 1853. Democratic gain.	▌Y Philip Allen (Democratic) [data missing]
Alabama (Class 2)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected November 29, 1853. Democratic gain.	▌Y Clement Claiborne Clay (Democratic) 85 votes ▌R. W. Walker (Unknown) 37 votes ▌Jeremiah Clemens (Democratic) 8 votes[12]
Louisiana (Class 3)	Pierre Soulé	Democratic	1847 (special) 1847 (Left office) 1848	Incumbent resigned to become U.S. Minister to Spain. New senator elected December 5, 1853. Democratic hold.	▌Y John Slidell (Democratic) 70 votes ▌T.G. Hunt (Unknown) 37 votes[13]
Alabama (Class 3)	Benjamin Fitzpatrick	Democratic	1848 (Appointed) 1849 (Elected successor qualified) 1853 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected December 12, 1853.[14]	▌Y Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democratic) 107 votes ▌William D. Dunn (Unknown) 14 votes ▌Jeremiah Clemens (Democratic) 2 votes ▌Francis Strother Lyon (Democratic) 1 vote[12]

Alabama[edit]

Alabama (regular)[edit]

The legislature had failed to elect a senator for the other seat, previously held by Democrat Jeremiah Clemens. On November 28, 1853, Democrat Clement Claiborne Clay was elected late to the seat.^[12]

Alabama (special, class 3)[edit]

On December 20, 1852, Democrat William R. King resigned due to poor health. On January 14, 1853, Democrat Benjamin Fitzpatrick was appointed to continue the term, and he was elected November 28, 1853, to finish the term.^[14][12]

Arkansas[edit]

Democratic senator William K. Sebastian had been appointed May 12, 1848, to continue the term, to which he was elected later that year to finish.

Sebastian was re-elected to a full term in 1853.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

California (special)[edit]

The California legislature had failed to elect a successor to Democrat John C. Frémont in time for the 1851 beginning of the class 1 term.

In fact, this time it took eight ballots for Democrat John B. Weller (71 votes, 80.7%) to be elected January 30, 1852, over Whig Pierson B. Reading (17 votes, 19.3%).^[2]

Connecticut (special)[edit]

The Connecticut legislature had failed to elect a senator for the term beginning in 1851. Democrat Isaac Toucey was elected in May 1852 to finish the term.

Delaware[edit]

First-term Whig Presley Spruance retired and Whig former senator John M. Clayton was elected January 12, 1853.

Clayton received 17 votes and there were 13 blank ballots cast.^[4]

Georgia[edit]

Second-term Whig John M. Berrien resigned May 28, 1852, and Democrat Robert M. Charlton was appointed May 31, 1852, to finish the term.

Democrat Robert Toombs was elected in 1852 and would serve through re-election in 1858 and until he withdrew in 1861.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

Illinois[edit]

Two-term Democrat Stephen A. Douglas was re-elected January 5, 1853. He would be re-elected in 1859 and serve until his 1861 death.

Indiana (special)[edit]

First term Democrat James Whitcomb died December 4, 1852, and Democrat Charles W. Cathcart was appointed December 6, 1852, pending a special election to finish the term that would end in 1855.

Democrat John Pettit won the January 18, 1853, election.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

Iowa[edit]

First-term Democrat George Wallace Jones was re-elected to a second term.

He received the Democratic nomination on December 20, 1852, by the narrowest of margins: 30 to 29 votes.^[17] The general election was held the next day, December 21, in which Jones easily won.

Kentucky[edit]

One-term Whig Joseph R. Underwood retired from the class 2 seat and the Know Nothing Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky John Burton Thompson had already been elected early, December 15, 1851, far in advance of the 1853 term.

Louisiana[edit]

Louisiana (regular)[edit]

Democrat Solomon W. Downs lost re-election to Whig businessman Judah P. Benjamin in January 1852. Some Whig newspapers thought Benjamin too young and inexperienced at forty, despite his undoubted talent, but the Whig legislative caucus selected him on the second ballot, and he was elected by the legislature.^[18]

Louisiana (special)[edit]

First-term Democrat Pierre Soulé was appointed U.S. Minister to Spain and resigned April 11, 1853.

Former-Democratic congressman and diplomat John Slidell was elected April 28, 1853.

Slidell would be re-elected in 1858 and serve until he withdrew in 1861.

Maine[edit]

First-term Democrat James W. Bradbury retired and the Maine legislature failed to elect his replacement until long after the new Congress began. It wasn't until 1854 that a new senator would be elected.

Massachusetts[edit]

Long-time senator Whig John Davis retired. Whig U.S. Secretary of State and former Governor of Massachusetts Edward Everett was elected in 1853.

Everett would resign just one year into his term due to his distaste dealing with the politics of slavery and abolition.

Michigan[edit]

First-term Democrat Alpheus Felch retired. Fellow Democratic congressman Charles E. Stuart was elected January 11, 1853, over Whig Mayor of Detroit Zachariah Chandler.

Stuart only served one term, retiring in 1859. Chandler, meanwhile, would be elected to the other seat and serve for three terms.

Mississippi[edit]

Mississippi (special, class 1)[edit]

Incumbent Democrat Jefferson Davis resigned in 1851 to run for Governor of Mississippi. Democrat John J. McRae was appointed December 1, 1851, to continue Davis's term, pending a special election. Democrat Stephen Adams won the March 17, 1852, special election to finish the term that would continue until 1857.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

Mississippi (special, class 2)[edit]

Incumbent Democrat Henry S. Foote resigned January 8, 1852, to become Governor of Mississippi. Whig Walker Brooke was elected February 18, 1852, to finish the term that would end the following year.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

Mississippi (regular)[edit]

Brooke was not a candidate to the next term.

The Mississippi legislature failed to elect a replacement for Brooke, and the seat remained vacant until early 1854.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

New Hampshire[edit]

Free Soil senator John P. Hale ran for U.S. President, coming in third place in the popular vote, but failing to win any states. He lost to the Democratic fellow-New Hampshire senator Franklin Pierce. He then lost re-election to his senate seat when Democrats took over the New Hampshire legislature in 1852 state elections.

Democratic former-senator Charles G. Atherton was returned to the Senate in Hale's place on November 25, 1852.

Atherton died from pulmonary tuberculosis in the first year of his term.

After Republicans retook the New Hampshire legislature in 1854, Hale was re-elected to finish the term.

New Jersey[edit]

New Jersey (regular)[edit]

Two-term Whig Jacob W. Miller lost re-election to Democratic former-Congressman William Wright.

Wright would lose re-election in 1859 but be returned to the Senate in 1863.

New Jersey (special)[edit]

First-term Democrat Robert F. Stockton resigned from the Class 1 seat January 10, 1853, to become President of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company.

Democrat John Renshaw Thomson was elected February 11, 1853, over Whig former-senator William L. Dayton to finish the term.

Thomson would be re-elected in 1857 to a full term and serve until his death in 1862.

North Carolina[edit]

Long-time Whig Willie Mangum was a candidate for re-election. Although Democratic former-congressman James C. Dobbin was a top choice of the North Carolina Legislature, no candidate received a majority of votes in either house, so the seat was left unfilled.^[23]

The seat would remain vacant until a 1854 special election.

Dobbin would then be appointed U.S. Secretary of the Navy and Magnum retired from public service.

Rhode Island[edit]

The Rhode Island General Assembly failed to elect, so first-term Whig John Hopkins Clarke thereby lost re-election.

After the term began, Democrat Philip Allen was elected July 20, 1853, to fill the seat. Allen would serve only one term, retiring in 1859.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

South Carolina[edit]

Democrat Robert Rhett resigned May 7, 1852, and Democratic judge of the chancery court William F. De Saussure was appointed May 10, 1852, to continue the term, pending a special election. The term would end in March 1853, so there was an election to finish the term and an election to the next term.

South Carolina (special)[edit]

De Saussure was elected November 29, 1852, just to finish the term.^[24]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

South Carolina (regular)[edit]

Democrat Josiah J. Evans was elected December 1, 1852, on the fourth ballot to the next term.^[25]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)

Tennessee[edit]

First-term Whig John Bell was re-elected October 29, 1853, on the 49th ballot.

Bell would fall out of favor with the Tennessee legislature over the sectionalism that was rife in the late 1850s and lost their vote for re-election.

Texas[edit]

Two-term Democrat Sam Houston — a Texas founder who had served as senator since statehood — was re-elected January 15, 1853.

Houston would retire at the end of this term in 1859, and be replaced by John Hemphill.

Virginia[edit]

First-term Democrat Robert M. T. Hunter was re-elected January 22, 1852.

Hunter would be re-elected again in 1858 and serve until his 1861 expulsion.

See also[edit]

• 1852 United States elections
  • 1852 United States presidential election
  • 1852–53 United States House of Representatives elections
• 32nd United States Congress
• 33rd United States Congress

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
• Byrd, Robert C. (October 1, 1993). Wolff, Wendy (ed.). The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992. United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160632563.
• Clark, Dan Elbert (1913). History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa – via Google Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)