April 24, 1810 - August 2, 1811 1812 → 107 36 Start date 1810 | 94 seats 48 seats 13 12 | |
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Winner Henry Clay | ||
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 12th Congress were held in the various states at various dates between April 1810 (in New York) and August 1811 (in Tennessee) during James Madison's first term in office. Louisiana elected its first representative in September 1812. Congress assembled on November 4, 1811. The first session witnessed the unprecedented occurrence of a new member, Henry Clay, being elected Speaker of the House on the very first day that he entered the chamber. No other individual has ever repeated this feat.
Contents
- Election summaries
- Complete returns
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
- Non voting delegates
- References
With the repeal of the Embargo Act of 1807, the Democratic-Republicans enjoyed a renewed popularity. As the economy improved following the reopening of the export market, many of the seats that had entered Federalist hands over economic concerns reverted to the Democratic-Republicans, who were able to re-claim the two-thirds majority they lost in the previous election.
Election summaries
One new seat was added with the admission of Louisiana in 1812, during the 2nd session of the 12th Congress
Complete returns
Louisiana elected its first representative in 1812.
Connecticut
At the same time as the general election, a special election was held to fill the vacancy left by Dana's resignation, which was won by Ebenezer Huntington (F).
Georgia
At some point in 1812, Howell Cobb resigned to accept a captain's commission in the army in the War of 1812. He was replaced in a special election on October 5, 1812 by William Barnett (DR).
Kentucky
At the same time as the general election, a special election was held in the 5th district to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the 11th Congress, which was won by William T. Barry (DR) without opposition.
Maryland
John Montgomery (DR) of the 6th district resigned April 29, 1811 and was replaced in a special election by Stevenson Archer (DR)
Shortly after being re-elected, John Brown (DR) of the 7th district resigned in late October to take up an appointment as clerk of the county court of Queen Anne's County, producing vacancies for both the remainder of the 11th Congress and for the upcoming 12th Congress. A special election was held on November 15 to fill both vacancies, with a single ballot for both.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts' electoral law at the time required a majority for election. This was not met in the 15th district necessitating a second election.
In the 4th district, Joseph Bradley Varnum (DR) resigned from the House upon being elected to the Senate on June 29, 1811 and was replaced in a special election by William M. Richardson (DR)
In the 17th district, Barzillai Gannett (DR) resigned sometime in 1812 and was replaced in a special election by Francis Carr (DR)
New Hampshire
New Hampshire's electoral law required a candidate to receive votes from a majority of voters (10%). In the initial election, only two candidates won a majority, so a second election was held for the remaining three seats. The data from the source used give majorities to all the top five candidates, suggesting that the data are incomplete.
New Jersey
The Federalists ran no official ticket in 1810, but votes were received for various Federalists in some counties.
New York
On May 6, 1812, Robert Le Roy Livingston (F) of the 6th district resigned to serve in the War of 1812 and was replaced in a special election by Thomas P. Grosvenor (F)
North Carolina
A special election was held in the 3rd District after Thomas Blount died in office on February 7, 1812. William Kennedy was returned to office.
Ohio
This was the last election in which Ohio had a single at-large district. Due to rapid population growth in the state, the at-large district had become disproportionately populous by this point.
Pennsylvania
John Smilie (DR) of the 9th district died on December 30, 1812. His seat remained vacant for the remainder of the 12th Congress.
Virginia
In the 8th district, John P. Hungerford (DR) was initially declared as the winner by a 6-vote margin (769-763), however, the election was subsequently challenged by John Taliaferro (DR), and the House Committee on Elections ruled in Taliaferro's favor. He took his seat on December 2, 1811.
Non-voting delegates
There were five territories with the right to send non-voting delegates to the 12th Congress. Two of them, Illinois Territory and Missouri Territory elected their first representative near the end of the 12th Congress in 1812, while Orleans Territory's seat remained vacant until the territory was admitted as the State of Louisiana.