Results: Federalist hold Federalist gain Democratic-Republican hold Democratic-Republican gain Undistricted territory
The 1796–97 United States House of Representatives elections took place in the various states took place between August 12, 1796 (in North Carolina), and October 15, 1797 (in Tennessee). Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives. The size of the House increased to 106 seats after Tennessee became the 16th state to join the union. The first session of the 5th United States Congress was convened on May 15, 1797, at the proclamation of the new President of the United States, John Adams. Since Kentucky and Tennessee had not yet voted, they were unrepresented until the second session began on November 13, 1797.
Gains for the Federalist Party provided the president with a reliable majority in support of his policies. Many of the Federalist pick-ups in Congress came from the former Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware). New England remained heavily Federalist, whereas the South and West favored Democratic-Republican candidates. Federalist trade and infrastructure policies found widespread approval in the Mid-Atlantic states during this era. With the growth of cities in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York, government intervention in the interest of industrialization and mercantilism became more attractive to voting citizens in these areas.
During this period, each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election. Elections to a Congress took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when the Congress convened. In some states the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd-numbered year).
Election summaries
During this period, each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election. Elections took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when a Congress convened. In some states, the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd-numbered year). The 1st session of the 5th Congress ran May 15 – July 10, 1797,[1] before the states of Kentucky and Tennessee had their elections, causing those states to be unrepresented in the 1st session.
Incumbent resigned March 28, 1796, having been elected judge of the Supreme Court of Maryland. New member elected April 18, 1796 and seated May 5, 1796.[d] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was later elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned in June 1796 to become a U.S. Senator. New member elected September 12, 1796 and seated December 7, 1796.[d][1] Federalist hold. Winner was later elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned July 1, 1796 to become U.S. Senator. New member elected September 19, 1796 and seated December 5, 1796.[d] Federalist hold. On the same day, winner lost election to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned in 1796. New member elected October 3, 1796 and seated December 5, 1796.[d] Federalist hold. On the same ballot, winner was elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned in 1796 to become a U.S. district judge. New member elected November 15, 1796 and seated December 19, 1796.[d] Federalist hold. Winner was also elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned in June 1796, having been elected U.S. Senator. New member elected November 21, 1796 and seated January 27, 1797.[d][1] Democratic-Republican gain.
Incumbent resigned June 1, 1796. New member elected November 28, 1796 and seated December 13, 1796. Federalist gain. Winner did not run for the next term.
Incumbent resigned October 13, 1796 to become U.S. Senator. New member elected December 5, 1796 and seated January 3, 1797.[d] Federalist hold. Winner had already been elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned in September 1797 when elected U.S. Senator. New member elected September 26, 1797 and seated November 23, 1797, despite being under the minimum age for service. Democratic-Republican hold.
Incumbent rep.-elect Theodore Sedgwick (F) resigned in June 1796 to become U.S. Senator. Democratic-Republican gain. New member also elected to finish the term on a later ballot; see above.
In 1796, New Hampshire had a single at-large district with 4 seats. Each voter cast 4 votes and a majority of voters (12.5% of votes) was required to be elected. Since only three candidates received a majority, a run-off was held between the candidates in fourth and fifth place to fill the remaining seat.
^New Hampshire law required a majority for election, requiring an additional ballot on November 7, 1796.
^Vermont law required a majority for election, requiring additional ballots on December 11, 1796 and February 7, 1797.
^Massachusetts law required a majority for election, requiring additional ballots on January 16, 1797 and April 3, 1797.
^ abcdefghijklmnopDate cited is the election date, but the new member in some cases "took" the seat on a later date.[2]
^Source mistakenly gives party as Democratic-Republican; Tillinghast did later become a Democratic-Republican, but in the 5th Congress, he was a Federalist
^ abcdefghijklmnSource does not give numbers of votes or has incomplete data
^ abcOnly candidates with at least 1% of the vote listed
^Although Winn had run as a Democratic-Republican in the previous election, the source used stated that he'd run as a Federalist in this election, however, by the time he returned to Congress in 1801 he was a Democratic-Republican again
^The source used does not list votes for Powell, but provides a citations stating "Col. Powell of Loudoun was expected to have been a candidate on this occasion; but from the present ill state of his health, it was understood he had declined and consequently had but a few votes."[24]
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)
