April 27, 1790 - October 11, 1791 1792 → 39 30 Start date 1790 | 37 seats 28 seats 2 2 | |
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Winner Jonathan Trumbull | ||
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 2nd Congress took place in 1790 and 1791, in the middle of President George Washington's first term. While formal political parties still did not exist, coalitions of pro-Washington (pro-Administration) representatives and anti-Administration representatives each gained two seats as a result of the addition of new states to the union. Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg, who had led the Pro-Administrationists in 1789, switched loyalties to the Anti-Administrationists during the tenure of the 1st Congress. He failed to win election to the Speakership as their leader as a result of these elections, and was succeeded by Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., who became the 2nd Speaker of the House.
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Election summaries
In this period, each state fixed its own date for congressional general elections, as early as April 27, 1790 (in New York) and as late as October 11, 1791 (in Pennsylvania). 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). The first session of this Congress was convened in Philadelphia on October 24, 1791.
Kentucky and Vermont became states during the 2nd Congress, adding two seats each. The legislation admitted Vermont was passed at the end of the 1st Congress taking effect on March 4, 1791, the first day of the 2nd Congress, so that Vermont was represented from the start of the Congress, while Kentucky was unrepresented until the 2nd session.
Late elections to the 1st Congress
North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified the Constitution on November 21, 1789, and May 29, 1790, respectively. Neither state elected congressional representatives until after their admission to the union.
North Carolina
The 5th district (or Western Division) covered areas beyond the Appalachian Mountains that were ceded to the federal government in May 1790 to form the Southwest Territory (later the State of Tennessee) during the 1st Congress. John Sevier, who held the seat for the 5th district, was permitted to retain his seat for the remainder of the 1st Congress in spite of the fact that the territory he represented was no longer part of a state. North Carolina would subsequently re-district to choose representatives for the 2nd Congress.
Complete returns
Kentucky was admitted during the 2nd Congress and elected its first representatives in 1792
Connecticut
There were two subsequent special elections. The first was held to fill the vacancy left by Pierpont Edwards (P) declining to serve and was won by Jeremiah Wadsworth (P). The second was held to fill the vacancy left by Roger Sherman (P)'s election to the Senate and was won by Amasa Learned (P).
Georgia
Georgia switched to a conventional district system for the Second Congress. At the time, the districts were not numbered, but are retroactively renumbered as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively here.
Anthony Wayne's election to the 1st district was subsequently challenged, and after investigation, the House determined that electoral fraud had occurred. Anthony's seat was declared void and a special election was held for his successor which was won by John Milledge (A)
Maryland
Under Maryland law for the election for the 1st and 2nd Congresses "candidates were elected at-large but had to be residents of a specific district with the statewide vote determining winners from each district."
Joshua Seney (A) of the 2nd district resigned December 6, 1792 to accept a judicial position and was replaced in a special election by William Hindman (P)
William Pinkney (P) of the 3rd district resigned due to questions of ineligibility due to his residence and was replaced in a special election by John Francis Mercer (A).
Massachusetts
Massachusetts' law at the time required a majority for election. This condition was met in four of the eight districts, the remaining four required between 2 and 8 ballots for election. Only the first and last are listed in this section to conserve space. Information on the intermediate ballots are available at United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 1790.
New York
New York's districts were not numbered at the time, numbering below is retroactive.
A vacancy occurred in the 1st district when Representative-election James Townsend (P) died on May 24, 1790, prior to the start of the 2nd Congress. A special election was held to fill the resulting vacancy, which was won by Thomas Tredwell (A)
North Carolina
Due to the cession of North Carolina's trans-Appalachian territory to form the Southwest Territory, the territory of the old 5th district was lost. North Carolina retained the same number of Representatives, and so it redistricted for the Second Congress.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania had elected its Representatives at-large in the 1st Congress, but switched to using districts in the 2nd Congress. Five incumbents ran for re-election, four of whom won, while three others retired leaving three open seats. Two districts had no incumbents residing in them, while one (the 8th) had a single representative who declined to run for re-election and one (the 2nd) had three incumbents, only one of whom ran for re-election.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island held elections for the Second Congress on October 18, 1790, about a month and a half after elections for the First Congress due to the late ratification of the Constitution
Vermont
Vermont was admitted at the end of the First Congress, with the admission taking effect at the start of the Second Congress. Vermont was entitled to elect two representatives. Vermont law at the time required a majority to win an office. In the 1st district, no candidate won a majority, necessitating a run-off.
Virginia
John Brown of the 2nd district resigned June 1, 1792 after being elected as Senator for the new state of Kentucky. The territory he represented covered the area that had been admitted as Kentucky (which was entitled to two seats), and therefore his seat was left vacant.