Contents

1868–69 United States House of Representatives elections

1868–69 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1866 & 1867 June 1, 1868 – August 2, 1869[a][b] 1870 & 1871 →
All 243[c] seats in the United States House of Representatives 122 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader James Blaine Michael Kerr Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Maine 3rd Indiana 3rd Last election 175 seats 47 seats Seats won 171 67 Seat change 4 20 Popular vote 3,050,307 2,598,042 Percentage 51.81% 44.13% Swing 3.55% 3.44%   Third party Fourth party   Party Conservative Independent Last election 2 seats 2 seats Seats won 5 0 Seat change 3 2 Popular vote 187,553 58,332 Percentage 3.19% 0.99% Swing 1.19% 0.77%
Map of U.S. House elections results from 1868 elections for 41st Congress
Speaker before election Theodore M. Pomeroy Republican Elected Speaker James Blaine Republican

The 1868–69 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 1, 1868, and August 2, 1869. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before or after the first session of the 41st United States Congress convened on March 4, 1869. They coincided with the 1868 United States presidential election, which was won by Ulysses S. Grant. Elections were held for all 243 seats, representing 37 states. All of the former Confederate states were represented in Congress for the first time since they seceded from the Union.

The Democrats gained 20 seats, but Grant's Republican Party retained a commanding majority in the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War, holding onto a firm legitimacy through an association with victory. As more Southern states exited Reconstruction, more Democratic seats appeared in the South. However, Democratic gains in the South were limited, as the Republican power-brokers of Reconstruction held a great deal of influence. The small Conservative Party of Virginia also picked up several seats in Virginia, as it had support among wealthy Southern leaders who wanted to increase the region's power.

Election summary[edit]

Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia were readmitted during this Congress, leaving Congress without vacant State delegations for the first time since 1860. Georgia had been partially readmitted in the previous Congress, but was not initially admitted to the 41st Congress. With Georgia's final readmission in 1870, all former Confederate states were once more represented in Congress.

State	Type	Total seats	Democratic		Conservative		Republican
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama[e]	District	6	2	2	0		4	2
Arkansas	District	3	1	1	0		2	1
California	District	3	2		0		1
Connecticut[e]	District	4	1	2	0		3	2
Delaware	At-large	1	1		0		0
Florida[f]	At-large	1	0		0		1
Georgia[g]	District	7[h]	4	2	0		3	1
Illinois	District + 1 at-large	14	4	1	0		10	1
Indiana[f]	District	11	4	1	0		7	1
Iowa[f]	District	6	0		0		6
Kansas	At-large	1	0		0		1
Kentucky	District	9[h]	9	2	0		0	1
Louisiana	District	5	0	1	0		5	1
Maine[f]	District	5	0		0		5
Maryland	District	5	5	2	0	1	0	1
Massachusetts	District	10	0		0		10
Michigan	District	6	0		0		6
Minnesota	District	2	1	1	0		1	1
Mississippi[g]	District	5	0		0		5	5
Missouri	District	9	2	1	0		7	1
Nebraska[f]	At-large	1	0		0		1
Nevada	At-large	1	0		0		1
New Hampshire[e]	District	3	0		0		3
New Jersey	District	5	3	1	0		2	1
New York	District	31	12	2	0		19	2
North Carolina	District	7	1	1	0	1	6
Ohio[f]	District	19	6	3	0		13	3
Oregon[f]	At-large	1	1	1	0		0	1
Pennsylvania[f]	District	24	6		0		18
Rhode Island	District	2	0		0		2
South Carolina	District	4	0		0		4
Tennessee	District	8	0		0		8
Texas[g]	District	4	1	1	0		3	3
Vermont[f]	District	3	0		0		3
Virginia[g]	District	8	0		5	5	3	3
West Virginia[f]	District	3	0		0		3
Wisconsin	District	6	1		0		5
Total[c]		243	67 27.6%	22	5 2.1%	3	171 70.4%	6

Election dates[edit]

Mississippi held rejected elections on July 1, 1868. New (accepted) elections were held December 1, 1869.

In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing presidential electors. This law did not affect election dates for Congress, which remained within the jurisdiction of State governments, but over time, the States moved their congressional elections to that date. 1868 was the first year in which the majority of States (20 of 37) held their elections on that date. There were still 9 states which held elections before that date and 4 that held regular elections after that date, in addition to 4 readmitted states that held elections after that date.

• Early dates (1868):
  • June 1: Oregon
  • September 1: Vermont
  • September 14: Maine
  • October 13: Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania
  • October 22: West Virginia
• ▌Late dates (regular elections):
  • December 29, 1868: Florida
  • March 9, 1869: New Hampshire
  • April 5, 1869: Connecticut
  • August 2, 1869: Alabama
• Readmitted states:
  • July 6, 1869: Virginia
  • December 1, 1869: Mississippi (also held elections to the 42nd Congress on the same day)
  • December 3, 1868: Texas
  • December 20–22, 1870: Georgia

Special elections[edit]

There were special elections in 1868 and 1869 to the 40th United States Congress and 41st United States Congress.

Special elections are sorted by date then district.

40th Congress[edit]

Readmission of state are treated here as regular (late) elections, not special elections.

41st Congress[edit]

Readmission of state are treated here as regular (late) elections, not special elections.

Alabama[edit]

1868 elections to finish the term[edit]

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

1869 elections to the next term[edit]

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

Arkansas[edit]

California[edit]

California elections

← 1867 November 3, 1868 1871 →
All 3 seats
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 2 1 Seats won 2 1 Seat change Popular vote 54,548 53,873 Percentage 50.3% 49.7%
Democratic hold   Republican hold

California's delegation remained at two Democrats and one Republican.

Colorado Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Dakota Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Connecticut[edit]

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

Delaware[edit]

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

Florida[edit]

United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 1868^[8]

← 1865 May 5, 1868 and December 29, 1868 1870 →
Florida's single seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party Third party   Party Republican Democratic Independent Seats won 1 0 0 Popular vote 14,108 7,915 2,276 Percentage 58.1% 32.6% 9.4%

Florida had been unrepresented in Congress since January 21, 1861, when its sole member and both senators withdrew from Congress following the secession of Florida from the Union. Following the end of the Civil War, an election had been held in 1865, but it was rejected by Congress. In 1868, Congress readmitted Florida following Reconstruction.

Election to the current term[edit]

The first election, for the duration of the 40th congress, was held May 5, 1868.^[9]

Hamilton was seated on July 1, 1868,^[10] during the 2nd session of the 40th Congress.

Election to the next term[edit]

Florida elected its one at-large member on December 29, 1868, re-electing Hamilton, who had just been elected in May to finish the current term.^[11]

Georgia[edit]

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

Idaho Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Illinois[edit]

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

Indiana[edit]

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

Iowa[edit]

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

Kansas[edit]

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

Kentucky[edit]

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

Louisiana[edit]

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

Maine[edit]

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

Maryland[edit]

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

Massachusetts[edit]

Michigan[edit]

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

Minnesota[edit]

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

Mississippi[edit]

1868 rejected elections[edit]

Mississippi elected its members July 1, 1868, but that election was later rejected by the House.

1869 accepted elections[edit]

Mississippi then held new elections December 1, 1869 both: to finish the term in the 40th Congress and to the next term (starting in 1871) in the 41st Congress. Both elections had the same vote totals and were accepted by the House. The new members were seated in 1870.

Missouri[edit]

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

Montana Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Nebraska[edit]

Nevada[edit]

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

New Hampshire[edit]

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

New Jersey[edit]

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

New Mexico Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

New York[edit]

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

North Carolina[edit]

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

Ohio[edit]

Oregon[edit]

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

Pennsylvania[edit]

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

Rhode Island[edit]

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

South Carolina[edit]

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

Tennessee[edit]

Texas[edit]

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

Utah Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Vermont[edit]

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

Virginia[edit]

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

Washington Territory[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

West Virginia[edit]

Wisconsin[edit]

Wisconsin elected six members of congress on Election Day, November 3, 1868.^[41]