1852–53 United States House of Representatives elections
House elections for the 33rd U.S. Congress
1852–53 United States House of Representatives elections
Majority party
Minority party
Leader
Linn Boyd
Joseph R. Chandler
Party
Democratic
Whig
Leader's seat
Kentucky 1st
Pennsylvania 2nd
Last election
120 seats
82 seats
Seats won
150
68
Seat change
30
14
Popular vote
1,566,004
1,308,031
Percentage
49.82%
41.61%
Swing
6.51%
0.28%
Third party
Fourth party
Party
Free Soil
Union
Last election
4 seats
15 seats
Seats won
4
5[ a]
Seat change
10
Popular vote
125,271
22,139
Percentage
3.99%
0.70%
Swing
0.87%
3.99%
Fifth party
Sixth party
Party
Southern Rights
Independent
Last election
8 seats
4 seats[ c]
Seats won
4[ b]
3[ d]
Seat change
4
1
Popular vote
20,326
87,826
Percentage
0.65%
2.79%
Swing
3.48%
The 1852–53 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 2, 1852, and November 8, 1853. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 33rd United States Congress convened on December 5, 1853. The size of the House increased to 234 seats following the congressional reapportionment based on the 1850 United States census .
Democrats increased their House majority while electing national compromise candidate Franklin Pierce , a Northerner favorable to Southern interests, to the Presidency. Effects of the Compromise of 1850 temporarily had reduced sectional tensions, and both major parties, Democrats and Whigs , unified around the 1852 presidential campaign , with Whig unity more tenuous. Two small parties, the Union and Southern Rights parties, collapsed before this election, while the Free Soil Party , opposing slavery in the Western territories, retained four seats. One Independent , Caleb Lyon , was elected from New York .
Election summaries
Following the 1850 census , the House was reapportioned . In the initial apportionment bill , the number of seats was unchanged at 233,[ 1] but later one seat was added to California 's delegation, increasing the total apportionment to 234, due to returns from California being determined to be incomplete.[ 2]
↓
158
4
1
71
Democratic
FS
I
Whig
State
Type
Date
Total seats
Democratic
Free Soil
Whig
Others
Seats
Change
Seats
Change
Seats
Change
Seats
Change
Seats
Change
Iowa
Districts
August 2, 1852
2
1
1
0
1
1
0
Missouri
Districts
August 2, 1852
7
2
3
1
0
4
1
0
Vermont
Districts
September 7, 1852
3
1
0
1
0
3
0
Maine
Districts
September 13, 1852
6
1
3
2
0
3
1
0
Florida
At-large
October 5, 1852
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
Indiana
Districts
October 12, 1852
11
1
10
2
0
1
1
0
Ohio
Districts
October 12, 1852
21
12
1
2
1
7
2
0
Pennsylvania
Districts
October 12, 1852
25
1
16
1
0
9
0
California
At-large
November 2, 1852 (Election Day )[ e]
2
2
0
0
0
Illinois
Districts
9
2
5[ f]
1
0
4
3
0
Michigan
Districts
4
1
4
3
0
0
2
0
New Jersey
Districts
5
4
0
1
0
New York
Districts
33
1
21
4
1
1
10
7
1[ g]
1
Wisconsin
Districts
3
3
1
0
1
0
0
Delaware
At-large
November 8, 1852
1
1
0
0
0
Massachusetts
Districts
November 8, 1852
11
1
1
1
1
9
2
0
South Carolina
Districts
February 28 – March 1, 1853
6
1
6
1
0
0
0
Late elections (after the March 4, 1853 beginning of the term)
New Hampshire
Districts
March 8, 1853
3
1
3
1
0
0
2
0
Connecticut
Districts
April 4, 1853
4
4
1
0
0
1
0
Rhode Island
Districts
April 6, 1853
2
2
1
0
0
1
0
Virginia
Districts
May 26, 1853
13
2
13
0
0
2
0
Arkansas
Districts
August 1, 1853
2
1
2
1
0
0
0
Kentucky
Districts
August 1, 1853
10
5
0
5
0
Texas
Districts
August 1, 1853
2
2
0
0
0
North Carolina
Districts
August 4, 1853
8
1
5
2
0
3
3
0
Tennessee
Districts
August 4, 1853
10
1
5
2
0
5
1
0
Alabama
Districts
August 8, 1853
7
6
2
0
1
1
0
1[ h]
Georgia
Districts
October 3, 1853
8
6
6
0
2
2
0
8[ i]
Louisiana
Districts
November 1, 1853
4
3
1
0
1
1
0
Maryland
Districts
November 2, 1853
6
4
2
0
2
2
0
Mississippi
District + 1 at-large
November 7–8, 1853
5
1
5
5
0
0
0
4[ j]
Total
234
1
158[ f] 67.5%
28
41.7%
7130.3%
15
10.4%
12
Popular vote
Democratic
49.82%
Whig
41.61%
Free Soil
3.99%
Union
0.70%
Southern Rights
0.65%
Independent
2.79%
Others
0.44%
House seats
Democratic
64.10%
Whig
30.34%
Union
2.14%
Free Soil
1.71%
Southern Rights
1.71%
Independent
1.28%
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Note: From statehood to 1864, California's representatives were elected at-large, with the top two vote-getters winning election from 1849 to 1858; in 1860 when California gained a seat in the House the top three vote-getters were elected.
Connecticut
Delaware
Election was held November 8, 1852.
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
District
Incumbent
This race
Member
Party
First elected
Results
Candidates
Iowa 1
Iowa 2
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
The elections were held November 8, 1852. However, many of the districts went to a December 13, 1852 second ballot.
Michigan
Mississippi
Elections held late, from November 7 to 8, 1853
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Elections held late, on August 4, 1853.
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Wisconsin
Non-voting delegates
See also
Notes
^ Includes three Union Whigs and two Union Democrats.
^ Includes four Southern Rights Democrats.
^ Included three Independent Democrats and one Independent Whig.
^ Includes one Independent, one Independent Democrat, and the Benton Independent.
^ In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform date for choosing presidential electors (see: Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721). Congressional elections were unaffected by this law, but the date was gradually adopted by the states for congressional elections as well.
^ a b Includes 1 Independent Democrat , William Henry Bissell , elected to IL-08 .
^ Caleb Lyon was elected to NY-23 as an Independent .
^ Previous election had 1 Union member.
^ Previous election had 6 Constitutional Union and 2 Southern Rights.
^ Previous election had 3 Union and 1 Southern Rights.
^ Full name unpublished in source, presumably Alexander Wilkin (Whig)
References
^ 9 Stat. 432
^ 10 Stat. 25
^ a b c Guide to U.S. Elections . Vol. II (6th ed.). Washington, D.C. : CQ Press . 2010. p. 1016. ISBN 9781604265361 . LCCN 2009033938 . OCLC 430736650 .
^ "Our Campaigns - CA - at Large Race - Nov 02, 1852" .
^ "State of Connecticut Elections Database » Search Past Election Results" . State of Connecticut Elections Database . Retrieved October 9, 2024 .
^ "Our Campaigns - MA District 1 - 1st Trial Race - Nov 08, 1852" .
^ "Our Campaigns - MA District 1 - 2nd Trial Race - Dec 13, 1852" .
^ "MI - District 01 Race - Nov 02, 1852" . Our Campaigns . January 11, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2022 .
^ "MI - District 02 Race - Nov 02, 1852" . Our Campaigns . January 11, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2022 .
^ "MI - District 03 Race - Nov 02, 1852" . Our Campaigns . January 11, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2022 .
^ "MI - District 04 Race - Nov 02, 1852" . Our Campaigns . January 11, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2022 .
^ "MS - At Large" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved March 9, 2021 .
^ "MS - District 01" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved March 9, 2021 .
^ "MS - District 02" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved March 9, 2021 .
^ "MS - District 03" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved March 9, 2021 .
^ "MS - District 04" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved March 9, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 01" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 02" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 03" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 04" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 05" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 06" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 07" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 08" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 09" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "TN - District 10" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved February 16, 2021 .
^ "VT Elections Database » Vermont Election Results and Statistics" . VT Elections Database . Retrieved August 29, 2024 .
^ "Virginia Elections Database » Virginia Election Results and Statistics" . Virginia Elections Database . Retrieved August 31, 2024 .
^ "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF) . Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via Wayback Machine .
^ Greeley, Horace (February 22, 1868). "The Tribune Almanac for the Years L838 to L868, Inclusive: Comprehending the Politician's Register and the Whig Almanac, Containing Annual Election Returns by States and Counties ... Political Essays ... &c., Making a Connected Political History for Thirty Years" . New York tribune – via Google Books.
^ "Our Campaigns - NM Territorial Delegate Race - Oct 01, 1853" .
Bibliography
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 .
Moore, John L., ed. (1994). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections (Third ed.). Congressional Quarterly Inc. ISBN 978-0871879967 .
"Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present" . Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015 .
External links
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