Contents

1862–63 United States House of Representatives elections

1862–63 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1860 & 1861 June 2, 1862 – November 3, 1863[a] 1864 & 1865 →
All 184 seats[b] in the United States House of Representatives 93 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Galusha Grow (lost re-election) Samuel Cox Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Pennsylvania 14th Ohio 7th Last election 108 seats 45 seats Seats won 87[1] 72[1] Seat change 21 27   Third party   Party Unionist Last election 28 seats Seats won 25[1] Seat change 3
Results      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      Unionist gain      Unionist hold      Emancipation-Unionist gain[2]
Speaker before election Galusha Grow Republican Elected Speaker Schuyler Colfax Republican

The 1862–63 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 2, 1862, and November 3, 1863, during the American Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln's first term. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 38th United States Congress convened on December 7, 1863. The congressional reapportionment based on the 1860 United States census was performed assuming the seceded states were still in the union, increasing the number of congressional districts to 241. West Virginia was given three seats from Virginia after the former broke away from the latter to rejoin the union as a separate state. The seceded states remained unrepresented and left 58 vacancies. Republicans lost 22 seats and the majority, while Democrats gained 28.

The Civil War to date had been only weakly successful for the Union, but had wrought major, disruptive change in the size and reach of the Federal Government, which before the war had been small and little seen beyond post offices, customs houses in ports, and scattered military posts. The Republican Party was also relatively new, yet had led the Union down a radical path of rapid industrialization and destructive total war.

Voters turned on the administration over its failure to deliver a swift victory over the Confederate rebellion (at times verging on military incompetence), along with rising inflation and new taxes to pay for the war effort, the suspension of habeas corpus, and the introduction of conscription.

Expressing a typical sentiment, the Cincinnati Gazette had editorialized that voters "are depressed by the interminable nature of this war, as so far conducted, and by the rapid exhaustion of the national resources without progress."^[3] Short of a majority, Republicans retained control with the support of the Unionist Party. In September 1862, President Lincoln had warned the South that he planned by executive order, and as a war measure, to liberate all slaves in rebelling states as of January 1, 1863. The popularity of emancipation varied by region. It was more popular in New England and areas near the Great Lakes, and less popular in cities with large immigrant populations and in the southern portion of the North.

While Democrats hailed the elections as a repudiation of emancipation, the results did not alter Lincoln's plan or hamper prosecution of the war.^[4] In Lincoln's home district of Springfield, Illinois, John T. Stuart, a Democrat and one of Lincoln's former law partners, defeated the Republican incumbent. A fear of an influx of freed slaves competing for jobs and depressing wages, and a desire by white voters to prevent black suffrage, helped drive this result and others.^[5]

The sitting House Speaker, Galusha Grow of Pennsylvania, also lost re-election, but he would return to the House 30 years later in 1894. A Speaker of the House would not lose re-election again until 1994.

Election summaries[edit]

The eight Representatives remaining from Tennessee and Virginia in the 37th Congress were absent from the 38th Congress. Other seceded states remained unrepresented, leaving 58 vacancies^[6] Upon admission, West Virginia was allotted three Representatives ^[7] and during the second session one seat was added for the new state of Nevada.^[8]

Reapportionment transpired according to the 1860 census, under the 1850 Apportionment Act^[9] providing a total of 233 seats. A later Act added eight seats,^[10] increasing the total to 241.

State	Type	Date	Total seats (Reapportionment)		Democratic		Independent Republican		Republican		Unionist[d]
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Oregon	At-large	June 2, 1862	1		0	1	0		1	1	0
Maine	Districts	September 8, 1862	5	1	1	1	0		4	2	0
Indiana	Districts	October 14, 1862	11		7	3	0		4	3	0
Iowa	Districts		6	4	0		0		6	4	0
Ohio	Districts		19	2	14	6	0		5	8	0
Pennsylvania	Districts		24	1	12	6	2	2	10	9	0
Delaware	At-large	November 1, 1862	1		1	1	0		0		0	1
Massachusetts	Districts		10	1	0		0		10		0	1
Illinois	Districts	November 4, 1862 (Election Day)[e]	14	5	9	4	0		5	1	0
Kansas	At-large		1		0		0		1		0
Michigan	Districts		6	2	1	1	0		5	1	0
Minnesota	Districts		2		0		0		2		0
Missouri	Districts		9	2	0	5	0		1		8	7
New Jersey	Districts		5		4	1	0		1	1	0
New York	Districts		31	2	17	7	0		14	9	0
Wisconsin	Districts		6	3	3	3	0		3		0
Late elections (after the March 4, 1863 beginning of the term)
New Hampshire	Districts	March 10, 1863	3		1	1	0		2	1	0
Rhode Island	Districts	April 1, 1863	2		0		0		2	2	0	2
Connecticut	Districts	April 6, 1863	4		1	1	0		3	1	0
Kentucky	Districts	August 3, 1863	9	1	0	1	0		0		9
Vermont	Districts	September 1, 1863	3		0		0		3		0
California	At-large	September 2, 1863	3		0		0		3		0
West Virginia[f]	Districts	October 22, 1863	3	3	0		0		0		3	3
Maryland	Districts	November 3, 1863	5	1	1	1	0		0		4	2
Secessionist States
Alabama	Districts	None	6	1
Arkansas	Districts	None	3	1
Florida	At-large	None	1
Georgia	Districts	None	7	1
Louisiana	Districts	None	5	1								2
Mississippi	Districts	None	5
North Carolina	Districts	None	7	1
South Carolina	Districts	None	4	2
Tennessee	Districts	None	8	2								3
Texas	Districts	None	4	2
Virginia	Districts	None	11[g]	2								5
Total[b]			184	3	72	27	2	2	85	25	25	5
			58 Vacancies[h]		39.1%		1.1%		46.2%		13.6%

Special elections[edit]

There were seven special elections during the 37th Congress, and two during the 38th Congress.

37th Congress[edit]

38th Congress[edit]

Alabama[edit]

Alabama elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

Arkansas[edit]

Arkansas elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

California[edit]

Note: From statehood to 1866, California's representatives were elected state-wide at-large, with the top two vote-getters winning election from 1849 to 1858. In 1860, when California gained a seat, the top three vote-getters were elected.

California elected its members September 2, 1863, after the term began but before the Congress convened.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
California at-large Plural district with 3 seats	Timothy Phelps	Republican	1861	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Cornelius Cole (Republican) 20% ▌Y William Higby (Republican) 19.9% ▌Y Thomas B. Shannon (Republican) 19.9% ▌John Bigler (Independent) 13.4% ▌John B. Weller (Independent) 13.4% ▌Ninian E. Whiteside (Democratic) 13.4%
	Aaron A. Sargent	Republican	1861	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.
	Frederick F. Low	Republican	1861	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.

Connecticut[edit]

Connecticut elected its members April 6, 1863, after the term began but before the Congress convened. The democratic party lost a seat while the Republicans gained one.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Colorado Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Delaware[edit]

Delaware elected its sole member November 1, 1862.

Dakota Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Florida[edit]

Florida elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

Georgia[edit]

Georgia elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

Idaho Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Illinois[edit]

Illinois elected its members November 4, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Indiana[edit]

Indiana elected its members October 14, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Iowa[edit]

Iowa elected its members October 14, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Kansas[edit]

Kansas elected its member November 4, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Kentucky[edit]

Kentucky elected its members August 3, 1863, after the term began but before the Congress convened.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Louisiana[edit]

Although Louisiana had withdrawn from the Union during the Civil War, elections were held on December 3, 1863, for the two congressional districts in portions of the state under Union control.^[11] The seats had been vacant since the end of the 36th Congress.

Maine[edit]

Maine elected its members September 8, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Maryland[edit]

Maryland elected its members November 3, 1863, after the term began but before the Congress convened.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Massachusetts[edit]

Massachusetts elected its members November 1, 1862.

Michigan[edit]

Michigan elected its members November 4, 1862.

Minnesota[edit]

Minnesota elected its members November 4, 1862.

Mississippi[edit]

Mississippi elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

Missouri[edit]

Missouri elected its members November 4, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Nebraska Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Nevada Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

New Hampshire[edit]

New Hampshire elected its members March 10, 1863.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

New Mexico Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

New Jersey[edit]

New Jersey elected its members November 4, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

New York[edit]

New York elected its members November 4, 1862. The state lost two seats in reapportionment, going from 33 members to 31.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

North Carolina[edit]

North Carolina elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

Ohio[edit]

Ohio elected its members October 14, 1862.

Oregon[edit]

Oregon elected its members June 2, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Pennsylvania[edit]

Pennsylvania elected its members October 14, 1862.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Rhode Island[edit]

Rhode Island elected its members April 1, 1863, after the term began but before the Congress convened.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

South Carolina[edit]

South Carolina elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

Tennessee[edit]

Tennessee elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

Texas[edit]

Texas elected no members to the next Congress due to its withdrawal during the Civil War.

Utah Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Vermont[edit]

Vermont elected its members September 1, 1863, after the term began but before the Congress convened.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

Virginia[edit]

Virginia elected its members May 28, 1863, but they were all disqualified.

Washington Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

West Virginia[edit]

West Virginia elected three representatives on October 22, 1863, after becoming a state on June 20, 1863, but before the Congress convened. It was made up of three districts that previously belonged to Virginia, all of which were vacant before the elections. They were seated on December 7, 1863.

Wisconsin[edit]

Wisconsin elected six U.S. Representatives on Election Day, 4 November 1862; Democrats gained three seats.

Three seats were newly apportioned. One incumbent was redistricted and won re-election in his new district, but died on 19 November. Two special elections were held 30 December 1862, to replace him for both the remainder of his old term and his new term.^[27]

Non-voting delegates[edit]

See also[edit]

• 1862 United States elections
  • 1862–63 United States Senate elections
• 37th United States Congress
• 38th United States Congress

Notes[edit]

References[edit]