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1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1798 & 1799 April 29, 1800 – August 1, 1801 1802 & 1803 →
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All 106 seats in the United States House of Representatives 54 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Nathaniel Macon Theodore Sedgwick Party Democratic-Republican Federalist Leader's seat North Carolina 5th Massachusetts 1st Last election 46 seats 60 seats Seats won 68 38 Seat change 22 22
Results:      Federalist hold      Federalist gain      Democratic-Republican hold      Democratic-Republican gain      Undistricted territory
Speaker before election Theodore Sedgwick Federalist Elected Speaker Nathaniel Macon Democratic-Republican

The 1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 29, 1800, and August 1, 1801. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 7th United States Congress convened on December 7, 1801. They were held at the same time as the 1800 presidential election, in which Vice President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic Republican, defeated incumbent President John Adams, a Federalist. Elections were held for all 106 seats, representing 15 states.

These elections resulted in the Democratic-Republicans picking up 22 seats from the Federalists. This brought the Democratic-Republicans a solid majority of 68 seats, whereas the Federalists were only able to secure 38. Many state legislatures also changed to Democratic-Republican control, with the result that many new Democratic-Republicans were voted into the Senate. The Federalists never again succeeded in gaining a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and the national Federalist Party disintegrated completely in the early 1820s.

The victory of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans can be attributed partially to unpopular policies pursued by the Adams administration, including the Alien and Sedition Acts, which sought to curtail guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press spelled out in the Bill of Rights.

The difference between Federalist policies in support of a strong national government and the Democratic-Republican preference for states' rights played a prominent role in the election. Federal taxation became an issue as Southerners and Westerners rejected federal taxes levied on property.

Election summaries

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Democratic- Republican		Federalist
				Seats	Change	Seats	Change
New York	Districts	April 29 – May 1, 1800	10	6		4
North Carolina	Districts	August 15, 1800	10	6		4
New Hampshire	At-large	August 25, 1800	4	0		4
Rhode Island	At-large	August 26, 1800	2	2	2	0	2
Vermont	Districts	September 2, 1800	2	1		1
Connecticut	At-large	September 22, 1800	7	0		7
Georgia	At-large	October 6, 1800	2	2	2	0	2
Delaware	At-large	October 7, 1800	1	0		1
Pennsylvania	Districts	October 14, 1800	13	10	2	3	2
South Carolina	Districts	October 24, 1800	6	3	2	3	2
Massachusetts	Districts	November 3, 1800	14	7	5	7	5
New Jersey	At-large	December 24, 1800	5	5	2	0	2
Maryland	Districts	January 1, 1801	8	5	2	3	2
Late elections (After the March 4, 1801 beginning of the next Congress)
Virginia	Districts	April 23, 1801	19	18	5	1	5
Kentucky	Districts	August 3, 1801	2	2		0
Tennessee	At-large	August 4, 1801	1	1		0
Total			106	68 64.2%	22	38 35.8%	22

Special elections

There were special elections in 1800 and 1801 during the 6th United States Congress and 7th United States Congress.

Elections are sorted here by date then district.

6th Congress

7th Congress

Connecticut

Note: Between the two sources used, there is disagreement over the ordering of the candidates. Both sources have the same numbers of votes recorded, but disagree on which candidates received those votes, one source lists Goddard as 8th, Talmadge as 9th, etc., as listed here, while the other has them as 11th, 12th, etc., three places off for all of them until the bottom three listed here which are moved up to 8th-10th, suggesting that one of the two sources accidentally misplaced three names on the list. They are ordered here as Goddard and Talmadge in 8th and 9th place as it is more likely that they'd been at the top of the runners-up given that they were subsequently elected to fill vacancies in the 7th Congress.

Delaware

Georgia

Kentucky

Maryland

Massachusetts

Massachusetts law required a majority for election, which was not met in the 1st and 6th districts, necessitating a second trial.

Mississippi Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

New Hampshire

New Jersey

In 1800, New Jersey returned to its traditional at-large district, continued to use this system to select representatives until it was abolished in 1842, with a single exception in 1813.

New York

North Carolina

Northwest Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Rhode Island switched to a general ticket for its two seats, instead of electing each one separately. Only one candidate received a majority in the 1800 election, requiring an 1801 run-off election to choose a Representative for the second seat.

South Carolina

Tennessee

Claiborne did not serve in the 7th Congress as he was appointed Governor of Mississippi Territory and was replaced in a special election by William Dickson (Democratic-Republican)

Vermont

Vermont law required a candidate to win a majority to take office, necessitating a run-off election in the 2nd (Eastern) district.

Virginia

Non-voting delegates

See also

• 1800 United States elections
  • List of United States House of Representatives elections (1789–1822)
  • 1800–01 United States Senate elections
  • 1800 United States presidential election
• 6th United States Congress
• 7th United States Congress

Notes

1. n Majority required for electionecessitating an April 15, 1801 second ballot for one seat.
2. n Majority required for electionecessitating a December 2, 1800 second ballot for one seat.
3. n Majority required for electionecessitating a March 9, 1801 second ballot for two seats.
4. ^ Source does not give numbers of votes or has incomplete data
5. ^ Only candidates with at least 1% of the vote listed
6. Percent based on incomplete records
7. Source did not give full name

References

1. "Seventh Congress (membership roster)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
2. Jenkins, Jeffrey A.; Stewart, Charles Haines (2013). Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0691156446. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
3. "Virginia Elections Database » Virginia Election Results and Statistics". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
4. "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
5. "Our Campaigns - MA - 4th Western - Special Election - 1st Trial Race - Aug 25, 1800". www.ourcampaigns.com.
6. "Our Campaigns - MA - 4th Western - Special Election - 2nd Trial Race - Oct 20, 1800". www.ourcampaigns.com.
7. "Our Campaigns - MA - 3rd Middle - Special Election - 1st Trial Race - Aug 25, 1800". www.ourcampaigns.com.
8. "Our Campaigns - MA - 3rd Middle - Special Election - 2nd Trial Race - Oct 20, 1800". www.ourcampaigns.com.
9. "Our Campaigns - NH At-Large - Special Election Race - Aug 25, 1800". www.ourcampaigns.com.
10. "Our Campaigns - NH At-Large - Special Runoff Race - Oct 27, 1800". www.ourcampaigns.com.
11. "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
12. "Our Campaigns - NW Territorial Delegate - Special Election Race - Nov 06, 1800". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
13. "MA - 3rd Western - Special Election". April 15, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2018 – via Our Campaigns.
14. "MA - 3rd Western - Special Election". May 12, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2018 – via Our Campaigns.
15. "Our Campaigns - GA At-Large Race - Mar 23, 1801". www.ourcampaigns.com.
16. "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
17. "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
18. "Massachusetts district 14 special election". Retrieved August 19, 2018 – via Our Campaigns.
19. "MA - 4th Western - Special Election - 2nd Trial". April 15, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2018 – via Our Campaigns.
20. "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
21. "NY District 6". September 5, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2018 – via Our Campaigns.
22. "NY District 5". April 7, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2018 – via Our Campaigns.
23. "Wilkes University Elections Statistics Project" (PDF).
24. "MS Territorial Delegate - Initial Election". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
25. "NW Territorial Delegate - Final Election". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.

Bibliography

• "A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825". Tufts Digital Library, Tufts University. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
• Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: 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.
• Mapping Early American Elections project team (2019). "Mapping Early American Elections". Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Retrieved 2024-09-06.

External links

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

• 1800 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1801 United States House of Representatives elections