Contents

1868–69 United States Senate elections

1868–69 United States Senate elections

← 1866 & 1867 Dates vary by state (And other dates for special elections) 1870 & 1871 →
25 of the 66 (8 vacant)/74 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 34 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Henry B. Anthony[a] Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1863 Leader's seat Rhode Island Last election 39 seats 10 seats Seats before 57 9 Seats won 17 5 Seats after 57 9 Seat change Seats up 17 5
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      Unreconstructed states
Majority Party before election Republican Elected Majority Party Republican

The 1868–69 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. 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 1868 and 1869, 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 1.

The Republican Party maintained their Senate majority. Six former Confederate states were then readmitted separately from the regular election, each electing two Republicans. This increased the Republicans' already overwhelming majority to the largest proportion of seats ever controlled by the party.

Results summary[edit]

Senate party division, 41st Congress (1869–1871)

• Majority party: Republican (57)
• Minority party: Democratic (9)
• Other parties: (0)
• Vacant: (8)
• Total seats: 74

Change in Senate composition[edit]

Beginning of 1868[edit]

After the readmission of the Confederate states[edit]

Before the elections[edit]

After July 16, 1868, readmission of South Carolina.

Result of the elections[edit]

Race summaries[edit]

Elections during the 40th Congress[edit]

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1868 or in 1869 before March 4; ordered by election date.

Races leading to the 41st Congress[edit]

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1869; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
California	John Conness	Republican	1862 or 1863	Unknown if incumbent lost re-election or retired. Winner elected in 1868. Democratic gain.	▌Y Eugene Casserly (Democratic) [data missing]
Connecticut	James Dixon	Republican	1856 1863	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1868 or 1869. Republican hold.	▌Y William Buckingham (Republican) [data missing]
Delaware	James A. Bayard Jr.	Democratic	1851 1857 1863 1864 (Resigned) 1867 (Appointed) 1869 (special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1869. Democratic hold.	▌Y Thomas F. Bayard Sr. (Democratic) [data missing]
Florida	Adonijah Welch	Republican	1868 (special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1868 or 1869. Republican hold.	▌Y Abijah Gilbert (Republican) [data missing]
Indiana	Thomas A. Hendricks	Democratic	1862	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1868. Republican gain.	▌Y Daniel D. Pratt (Republican) [data missing]
Maine	Lot M. Morrill	Republican	1861 (special) 1863	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1869. Republican hold.	▌Y Hannibal Hamlin (Republican) [data missing]
Maryland	William P. Whyte	Democratic	1868 (Appointed)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1868 or 1869. Democratic hold.	▌Y William T. Hamilton (Democratic) [data missing]
Massachusetts	Charles Sumner	Republican	1851 (special) 1857 1863	Incumbent re-elected in 1869.	▌Y Charles Sumner (Republican) [data missing]
Michigan	Zachariah Chandler	Republican	1857 1863	Incumbent re-elected in 1869.	▌Y Zachariah Chandler (Republican) [data missing]
Minnesota	Alexander Ramsey	Republican	1863	Incumbent re-elected in 1869.	▌Y Alexander Ramsey (Republican) 52 votes (80%) ▌Charles W. Nash (Democratic) 13 votes (20%)[3]
Mississippi	Vacant since January 21, 1861, when Jefferson Davis (D) resigned.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	None.
Missouri	John B. Henderson	Republican	1862 (Appointed) 1862	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1868. Republican hold.	▌Y Carl Schurz (Republican) [data missing]
Nebraska	Thomas Tipton	Republican	1867	Incumbent re-elected in 1869.	▌Y Thomas Tipton (Republican) [data missing]
Nevada	William M. Stewart	Republican	1865	Incumbent re-elected in 1869.	▌Y William M. Stewart (Republican) [data missing]
New Jersey	Frederick T. Frelinghuysen	Republican	1866 (Appointed) 1867 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1869. Democratic gain.	▌Y John P. Stockton (Democratic) ▌Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (Republican) [data missing]
New York	Edwin D. Morgan	Republican	1863	Incumbent lost renomination. Winner elected January 19, 1869. Republican hold.	▌Y Reuben E. Fenton (Republican) ▌Henry C. Murphy (Democratic) ▌Henry S. Randall (Democratic)
Ohio	Benjamin Wade	Republican	1851 1856 1863	Incumbent lost renomination. Winner elected in 1868. Democratic gain.	▌Y Allen G. Thurman (Democratic) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	Charles R. Buckalew	Democratic	1863	Unknown if incumbent lost re-election or retired. Winner elected January 19, 1869. Republican gain.	▌Y John Scott (Republican) 58.65% ▌William A. Wallace (Democratic) 38.35% ▌Hiester Clymer (Democratic) 0.75%
Rhode Island	William Sprague IV	Republican	1862	Incumbent re-elected in 1868.	▌Y William Sprague IV (Republican) [data missing]
Tennessee	David T. Patterson	Democratic	1866 (Readmission)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected early on October 22, 1867, for the term beginning March 4, 1869. Republican gain.	▌Y William G. Brownlow (Republican) 63 ▌William B. Stokes (Republican) 39[4]
Texas	Vacant since March 23, 1861, when Louis Wigfall (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	None.
Vermont	George F. Edmunds	Republican	1866 (Appointed) 1866 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1868.	▌Y George F. Edmunds (Republican) [data missing]
Virginia	Vacant since January 2, 1864, when Joseph Segar (U) was not seated.[5]			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	None.
West Virginia	Peter G. Van Winkle	Republican	1863	Unknown if incumbent lost re-election or retired. Winner elected in 1869. Republican hold.	▌Y Arthur I. Boreman (Republican) 43(H), 19(S) ▌Daniel Lamb (Republican) 10(H), 3(S)
Wisconsin	James R. Doolittle	Republican	1857 1863	Unknown if incumbent lost re-election or retired. Winner elected in 1868 or 1869. Republican hold.	▌Y Matthew H. Carpenter (Republican) [data missing]

Elections during the 41st Congress[edit]

There were no elections in 1869 during this Congress after March 4.

Delaware[edit]

Interim appointed Senator James A. Bayard Jr. was elected January 19, 1869 to finish his term.^[2]

Maryland[edit]

Maryland (special)[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2022)

1868 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1863 1868 1868 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate William Pinkney Whyte Party Democratic Legislative vote - Percentage -%

William Pinkney Whyte won election by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat to fill the vacancy created by Reverdy Johnson.^[6]

Maryland (regular)[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2022)

1868 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1868 1868 1874 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate William Thomas Hamilton Thomas Swann Party Democratic Democratic Legislative vote 56 46 Percentage 50.91% 41.82

William Thomas Hamilton won election against Thomas Swann by a margin of 9.09%, or 10 votes for the Class 1 seat.^[7]

Maryland (March special)[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2022)

1868 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1864 March 6, 1868 1872 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate John Creswell Philip Francis Thomas Party Democratic Democratic Legislative vote 59 41 Percentage 57.84% 40.20%

Philip Francis Thomas, a Democrat, was elected in 1867, however, failed to qualify for the seat due to his support for the Confederacy. George Vickers was elected to finish the rest of the term by a margin of 17.65%, or 18 votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[8]

Minnesota[edit]

The Minnesota U.S. Senate election was held by the state legislature on January 19, 1869, with each chamber voting separately. Republican Senator Alexander Ramsey received 16 of 21 votes in the state Senate and 36 of 44 in the state House. The legislature declared Ramsey the duly elected U.S. Senator in a joint convention on January 20, 1869. Democratic nominee Charles W. Nash was an attorney from Hastings, former state Senator for the 7th Senate District (1862–1864), and the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1865.^[3]

New York[edit]

The election in New York was held on January 19, 1869, by the New York State Legislature. Republican Edwin D. Morgan had been elected in February 1863 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1869. At the State election in November 1867, 17 Republicans and 15 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1868–1869) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1868, Democrat John T. Hoffman was elected Governor, and 75 Republicans and 53 Democrats were elected for the session of 1869 to the Assembly. The 92nd New York State Legislature met from January 5 to May 11, 1869, at Albany, New York.

The caucus of Republican State legislators met on January 16, Assemblyman John H. Selkreg presided. All 92 legislators were present. They nominated Ex-Governor Reuben E. Fenton for the U.S. Senate. The incumbent U.S. Senator Edwin D. Morgan was very keen on his re-election, but was voted down. Speaker Truman G. Younglove had held back the appointments to the standing Assembly committees until after the caucus, and subsequent election, of a U.S. Senator, and was accused by the Morgan men to have made a bargain to favor the Fenton men with appointments after the election was accomplished. After the caucus, comparing notes, the assemblymen discovered that some of the most important committee chairmanships had been promised to a dozen different members by Speaker Younglove.

Note: On the first ballot, 93 votes were cast, one too many, and it was annulled without announcing the result. The above stated result transpired unofficially. The blank vote caused some debate if the result was really invalidated by it, but it was finally agreed to take a second ballot.

The caucus of the Democratic State legislators met on January 18. State Senator Henry C. Murphy was again nominated, like in 1867.

In the Assembly, Republicans DeWitt C. Hoyt (Saratoga Co.) and James O. Schoonmaker (Ulster Co.); and Democrats James Irving (NYC), Lawrence D. Kiernan (NYC), Harris B. Howard (Rensselaer Co.), James B. Pearsall (Queens), John Tighe (Albany Co.) and Moses Y. Tilden (Columbia Co.); did not vote.

In the State Senate, Republicans Matthew Hale (16th D.) and Charles Stanford (15th D.); and Democrats Cauldwell, Thomas J. Creamer, Michael Norton (5th D.) and John J. Bradley (7th D.); did not vote.

Reuben E. Fenton was the choice of both the Assembly and the State Senate, and was declared elected.

Notes:

• The vote for Ex-Secretary of State Randall was cast by Henry C. Murphy.
• The votes were cast on January 19, but both Houses met in a joint session on January 20 to compare nominations, and declare the result.

Pennsylvania[edit]

The Pennsylvania election was held January 19, 1869. John Scott was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.^[9] The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on January 19, 1869, to elect a Senator to serve the term beginning on March 4, 1869. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

West Virginia[edit]

On February 2, 1869, the West Virginia Legislature held an election for senator to replace Peter Van Winkle. Nominated were Arthur Boreman, the first governor of West Virginia, and Daniel Lamb, a member of West Virginia's constitutional convention and former delegate.^[11] Boreman, having received majorities of the vote in both the House and Senate, was declared duly as elected senator on February 3, 1869.^[12]

1869 United States Senate election in West Virginia

← 1863 February 2, 1869 1875 →
Needed to win: Majority of votes cast in each House of the Legislature 53 votes cast in the House; 27 votes needed 22 votes cast in the Senate; 12 votes needed
Candidate Arthur Boreman Daniel Lamb Party Republican Republican House vote 43 votes 81.1% 10 votes 18.9% Senate vote 19 votes 86.4% 3 votes 13.6%
U.S. senator before election Peter Van Winkle Republican Elected U.S. Senator Arthur Boreman Republican

See also[edit]

• 1868 United States elections
  • 1868 United States presidential election
  • 1868–69 United States House of Representatives elections
• 40th United States Congress
• 41st United States Congress

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate.
• 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.). U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160632563.
• Taft, George S. (1885). Compilation of Senate Election Cases from 1789 to 1885. United States Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Members of the 41st United States Congress
• Result state election 1867 in The Tribune Almanac for 1868 compiled by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune
• Result state election 1868 in The Tribune Almanac for 1869 compiled by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune
• ALBANY.; Caucus of the Republican Members of the Legislature; Reuben E. Fenton Nominated United States Senator in NYT on January 17, 1869
• ALBANY.; Election of United States Senator in NYT on January 20, 1869
• Result New York State Senate in Journal of the Senate (92nd Session) (1869; pg. 58f)
• Result New York Assembly in Journal of the Assembly (92nd Session) (1869; Vol. I, pg. 75f)
• Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project