August 3, 1812 - April 30, 1813 1814 → 114 68 Start date 1812 | 107 seats 36 seats 7 32 | |
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Winner Henry Clay | ||
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 13th Congress were held at different dates in the various states between August 3, 1812 (in Kentucky) and April 30, 1813 (in North Carolina) as James Madison was re-elected to a second term as President. The Congress convened on May 24, 1813.
Contents
- Election summaries
- Louisiana
- Non voting delegates
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- Virginia
- References
A significant expansion in the size of the House occurred as a result of population increases revealed in the 1810 Census. The largest number of new seats were created to accommodate the rapid settlement of Western territories. After America's entry into the War of 1812 against Britain, the Democratic-Republican and Federalist Parties effectively served as pro-war and anti-war camps. Democratic-Republican representatives from Southern and Western states had been the primary leaders in the push to declare war, asserting that the British had violated America's sovereign rights. High levels of support for the conflict in agrarian regions resulted in the Democratic-Republicans taking many newly created rural districts. In contrast, the Federalists and their key supporters in New England opposed the war from the start, citing its potential for damaging American trade and infrastructure. This position found widespread support in the country. The 1812 elections were indeed marked by massive Federalist gains, with many coming in the mid-Atlantic States, where support for the war became lukewarm after the initial shots were fired. Nonetheless, the Federalists were unable to secure anywhere near enough seats to secure a majority in the House of Representatives.
Election summaries
Following the 1810 Census, the House was reapportioned, adding 39 new seats, with 13 States gaining between 1 and 10 seats, 5 States having no change, and no States losing seats.
Louisiana
Louisiana held its election for the 12th Congress at the same time as the election for the 13th Congress, with nearly-identical results.
Non-voting delegates
Two territories elected delegates in 1812 for the 12th Congress. Illinois Territory had been created in 1809, but was not awarded a delegate until 1812, whereas Missouri Territory was created in 1812 at the same time that the State of Louisiana was admitted to the Union.
Delaware
Delaware gained a seat after the 1810 Census, and chose to elect both seats on a general ticket. The ten years between 1813 and 1823 were the only time when Delaware was represented by more than one Representative, and is one of only three states (the other two being Alaska and Wyoming) that have never been divided into districts.
Georgia
Georgia gained two seats after the 1810 Census.
William W. Bibb (DR) resigned November 6, 1813 after being elected to the Senate, and was replaced in a special election by Alfred Cuthbert (DR)
Kentucky
Kentucky gained four seats after the 1810 Census.
In the 8th district, Representative-elect John Simpson was killed at the Battle of Frenchtown in the War of 1812. In a subsequent special election, Stephen Ormsby was elected to the 8th district and took his seat on May 28, 1813.
On January 19, 1814, Henry Clay of the 2nd district resigned to accept a "special and important diplomatic mission." He was replaced in a special election by Joseph H. Hawkins (DR), who took his seat on March 29 of that year.
Louisiana
Louisiana held its election for the 13th Congress at the same time as the election for the 12th Congress, with nearly-identical results.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts gained three seats after the 1810 Census, all of which were added to the District of Maine. Massachusetts' electoral law required a majority for election. This was not met in the 19th district requiring a second election.
In the 4th district, William M. Richardson (DR) resigned April 18, 1814 and was replaced in a special election by Samuel Dana (DR)
In the 12th district, Daniel Dewey (F) resigned February 24, 1814 and was replaced in a special election by John W. Hulbert (F)
New Hampshire
New Hampshire gained one seat after the 1810 Census.
New Jersey
New Jersey changed from electing its Representatives on a statewide general ticket to using three plural districts of two seats each. These districts were used only for the 1812 election, and the state returned to using a single at-large district in 1814. This was only the second time that New Jersey used districts (the first being in 1798).
Jacob Hufty died on May 20, 1814. A special election was held to fill the vacancy left by his death on October 10–11, 1814. The election was held on an at-large basis, as New Jersey had already gone back to using a general ticket. This vacancy was filled by Thomas Bines (DR), who took his seat November 2, 1814.
New York
Ten seats were added after the 1810 Census, bringing New York's representation to 27, the largest of any state at the time. New York would remain the State with the most Representatives until the 1970 Census showed that California had become the most populous state.
There were two separate House elections in 1812. The first was held in April 1812 for an un-reapportioned 17 representatives. This election was subsequently declared void and a new election was held on December 15–17, 1812. In this second election, only 3 incumbents ran, two of whom were re-elected.
In the 1st district, the results of the election were contested, but no action was taken by the House.
Egbert Benson (F) of the 2nd district resigned on August 2, 1813 and was replaced in a special election by William Irving (DR)
William Dowse (F) of the 15th district died on February 18, 1813, before the Congress met. A special election was held to fill the resultant vacancy, which was won initially by John M. Bowers (F), but this result was overturned after a successful challenge by Isaac Williams, Jr. (DR).
North Carolina
North Carolina gained one representative as a result of the Census of 1810.
Ohio
The 1810 Census revealed dramatic population growth in Ohio since 1800, resulting in its representation increasing from a single Representative to six, resulting in the State being broken up into 6 districts, abolishing the at-large district. Jeremiah Morrow (DR), who had served since Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, retired to run for Senator, so that all six seats were open.
There was a special election in the 3rd district caused by the resignation of Duncan McArthur before the beginning of Congress. He was replaced by William Creighton, Jr. (DR)
There were two special elections in the 6th district. The first was held due to the death of Representative-elect John S. Edward before Congress met. That election was won by Reasin Beall. Beall, in turn, resigned on June 7, 1814, to take up a position at the Federal Land Office in Wooster, Ohio, and in that election, David Clendenin (DR) was elected to fill the resulting vacancy.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania gained five seats in the House of Representatives as a result of the Census of 1810, which awarded it a total of 23 seats. Pennsylvania was re-districted into 15 districts, one with 4 seats, five with 2, and the remaining nine with 1 seat each. There were seven open seats for this election, five resulting from the increase in apportionment, and two resulting from the retirement of incumbents.
Jonathan Roberts (DR) of the 2nd district resigned February 24, 1814. A special election was held for his replacement, which was won by Samuel Henderson (F)
Two vacancies occurred in the 3rd district. The first occurred when John Gloninger (F) resigned August 2, 1813, which vacancy was filled in a special election by Edward Crouch (DR). The second vacancy occurred when James Whitehill (DR) resigned September 1, 1814. Whitehill was replaced in a special election by Amos Slaymaker (F).
Robert Whitehill (DR) of the 5th district died April 8, 1813 and was replaced in a special election by John Rea (DR).
John M. Hyneman (DR) of the 7th district resigned August 2, 1813 and was replaced in a special election by Daniel Udree (DR).
John Smilie (DR) of the 13th district died December 30, 1812 before the start of the Thirteenth Congress, a special election was held for his replacement, electing Isaac Griffin (DR). There are no surviving records of that special election, other than a single manuscript indicating a 779-vote majority for Griffin, but no indication of his opponent(s) or the total number of votes.
Abner Lacock (DR) of the 15th district resigned before the start of the 13th Congress and was replaced in a special election by Thomas Wilson (DR)
South Carolina
South Carolina gained one representative as a result of the 1810 Census, increasing from 8 seats to 9.
Tennessee
Tennessee's representation increased from 3 seats to 6 as a result of the 1810 Census.
In the 3rd district, the difference between the top two candidates was a single vote. William Kelly unsuccessfully contested the election.
In the 5th district, Felix Grundy (DR) resigned in 1814, and was replaced in a special election by Newton Cannon (DR).
Vermont
Vermont gained two seats after the 1810 Census. Rather than re-district, however, Vermont replaced its districts with a single at-large district. It would continue to use an at-large district in 1814, 1816, and 1818, then one more time in 1822 (with 5 seats).
Virginia
Virginia gained one seat after the 1810 Census, bringing its representation in the House of Representatives to 23 seats, the largest number Virginia would ever have. Virginia went from having the most representatives to having the second-most tied with Pennsylvania. New York, with its 27 seats, surpassed Virginia and remained the most populous state until the late 1960s.
The 9th district saw a re-match of the previous election's 8th district race. As with the previous election, Hungerford was initially declared the winner and Taliaferro challenged the results. In 1811, however, Taliaferro was unsuccessful in this challenge and Hungerford remained in Congress.
On March 31, 1814, John Dawson (DR) of the 11th district died in office. A special election was held which elected Philip P. Barbour (DR) to fill the vacancy.
Non-voting delegates
Four territories had delegates in the 13th Congress: Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, and Missouri. Illinois Territory and Missouri Territory elected their delegates in 1812 for both the end of the 12th and the start of the 13th Congresses.