Dates vary by state 1792 / 1793 → 18 6 17 8 Winner Pro-Administration | 19 seats 7 seats 8 2 7 2 | |
Other Instances United States Senate el, United States Senate el, United States Senate el, United States Senate el, United States Senate el | ||
The United States Senate elections of 1790 and 1791 were the second series of elections of Senators in the United States. In these elections, terms were up for the nine Senators in Class 1. As of these elections, formal organized political parties had yet to form in the United States, but two political factions were present: The coalition of Senators who supported President George Washington's administration were known as the Pro-Administration Party, and the Senators against him as the Anti-Administration Party.
Contents
- Change in Senate composition
- Before the elections
- General and special elections during the 1st Congress
- Races leading to the 2nd Congress
- Special and general elections in 1791 during the 2nd Congress
- Vermont
- References
As these elections were prior to the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Senators were chosen by State legislatures.
Change in Senate composition
Note: There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.
Before the elections
After the June 25, 1790 elections in Rhode Island.
General and special elections during the 1st Congress
In these elections, the winner was seated before March 4, 1791; ordered by election date.
Races leading to the 2nd Congress
In these general elections, the winner was seated March 4, 1791; ordered by state.
All of these elections involved the Class 1 seats.
Special and general elections in 1791 during the 2nd Congress
In these elections, the winner was seated after March 4, 1791, the beginning of the next Congress.
Vermont
Stephen R. Bradley and Moses Robinson were elected by the Vermont House of Representatives and Governor and Council in January 1791, anticipating Vermont's admission to the union. Vermont was admitted as the 14th state on March 4, 1791. The Senate had adjourned on March 3, at the completion of the 1st United States Congress; the 2nd United States Congress held a one-day session on March 4, and was not scheduled to convene again until October 24.
As a result of this Congressional schedule Bradley and Robinson had not been seated when the Vermont House of Representatives convened in early October, 1791. At this legislative session, some members suggested that the January election of Bradley and Robinson had been premature, since Vermont had not yet been admitted to the union. Bradley and Robinson volunteered to resign the credentials of their January elections; on October 17, the Governor and Council voted again, and selected Bradley and Robinson. The House of Representatives then voted a second time, and also selected Bradley and Robinson. No vote totals were recorded.
Bradley was selected for the "short term" (Class 1), which expired on March 3, 1795. Robinson received the "long term" (Class 3), which expired on March 3, 1797.