The 1792–93 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 27, 1792, and September 6, 1793. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 3rd United States Congress convened on December 2, 1793. With the addition of the new state of Kentucky's representatives, and the congressional reapportionment based on the 1790 United States census, the size of the House increased to 105 seats.
They coincided with the re-election of PresidentGeorge Washington. While Washington ran for president as an independent, his followers (more specifically, the supporters of Alexander Hamilton) formed the nation's first organized political party, the Federalist Party, whose members and sympathizers are identified as pro-Administration on this page. In response, followers of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison created the opposition Democratic-Republican Party, who are identified as anti-Administration on this page. The Federalists promoted urbanization, industrialization, mercantilism, centralized government, and a broad interpretation of the United States Constitution. In contrast, Democratic-Republicans supported the ideal of an agrarian republic made up of self-sufficient farmers and small, localized governments with limited power.
Despite nearly unanimous support for Washington as a presidential candidate, Jeffersonian ideas edged out Hamiltonian principles at the ballot box for congressional candidates, with the Democratic-Republicans taking 24 seats more than they had prior to the organization of their political movement. Most of the increase was due to the addition of new seats in Western regions as a result of the 1790 census. Dominated by agrarian culture, these Western territories offered strong support to Democratic-Republican congressional candidates. As a result, they secured a thin majority in the legislature.
Election summaries
In this period, each state fixed its own date for its congressional election as early as August 1792 (in New Hampshire and Rhode Island) and as late as September 1793 (in Kentucky). 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), but as the first session of Congress typically began in November or December, the elections took place before Congress actually met. The 3rd Congress first met on December 2, 1793.
These were the first elections held after reapportionment following the first census. Thirty-six new seats were added,[4] with 1 state losing 1 seat, 3 states having no change, and the remaining 11 states gaining between 1 and 9 seats. This was the first apportionment based on actual census data, the apportionment for the 1st and 2nd Congresses being set by the Constitution using estimated populations.
New member elected September 7, 1792 and seated November 9, 1792.[5] Anti-Administration gain. Winner was later re-elected to the next term; see below.
New member elected September 7, 1792 and seated November 8, 1792.[5]. Anti-Administration gain. Winner was later re-elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent disqualified March 21, 1792. New member elected July 9, 1792. Anti-Administration hold. Winner later lost re-election to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned December 6, 1792 to become Chief Justice of Maryland's 3rd Judicial District. New member elected January 7–10, 1793. Pro-Administration gain. Winner was already elected to the next term; see below.
Representative-elect Ingersoll declined the seat and Representative-elect Mitchell resigned to become U.S. Senator. Two new members elected on a general ticket November 11, 1793. Two Pro-Administration holds.
Three special elections followed the 1792 elections in Connecticut after Representatives-elect Sturges and Huntington resigned before the start of Congress and Mitchell was elected to the Senate.
Delaware's apportionment did not change following the 1790 census. As in the 1st and 2nd Congresses, each voter cast votes for two separate candidates, at least one of whom had to be from a different county as the voter.
Following the 1790 census, Georgia's apportionment was decreased from 3 seats to 2 (the only state whose representation decreased after the census). Georgia switched from separate districts to at-large seats.
Maryland increased from 6 to 8 representatives after the 1790 census. The previous mixed district/at-large system was replaced with a conventional district system.
Incumbent retired. Pro-Administration gain. Incumbent resigned December 6, 1792 to become Chief Justice of Maryland's 3rd Judicial District. Winner was also elected to finish the term; see above.
Following the 1790 census, Massachusetts's representation increased from eight to fourteen Representatives and was redistricted into four plural districts, plus a single at-large district. The 4th district covered the District of Maine (the modern-day State of Maine). The plural districts were concurrent tickets rather than a single general ticket, though the 1st and 2nd districts appeared to have also had a general ticket alongside the more specific tickets.
As before, a majority was required for election, in those districts where a majority was not achieved, additional ballots were required.
Due to re-apportionment following the 1790 census, New York's congressional delegation grew from 6 to 10. Three incumbents ran for re-election, two of whom won, and the other three incumbents retired. With the increase following re-apportionment, this left seven open seats.
Pennsylvania switched from using districts to electing its representatives on an at-large basis for the 3rd Congress, just as it had done for the 1st Congress. This would be the last time that Pennsylvania would elect all of its Representatives at-large. Due to re-apportionment following the 1790 census, Pennsylvania's delegation increased from 8 representatives to 13.
Rhode Island gained a second representative from the results of the 1790 census. Rhode Island did not divide itself into districts, but elected two at-large representatives.
Vermont had no apportionment in the House of Representatives before 1790 census because it was not admitted to the Union until 1791. Vermont's election laws at the time required a majority to win election to the House of Representatives. If no candidate won a majority, a runoff election was held, which happened in the 1st district.
Virginia gained nine representatives from the 1790 census, and in addition, the old 2nd district was lost after its territory became the new State of Kentucky. There were, therefore, ten new districts created for the 3rd Congress.
^Muhlenberg was elected speaker by Anti-Administration Party members but continued to affiliate with the Pro-Administration Party.[2]
^Massachusetts required a majority for election, which led to additional ballots on January 14, 1793 and April 1, 1793.
^Vermont required a majority for election, which led to an additional ballot on March 20, 1793.
^ abcdefghijklmnopq Source does not give numbers of votes or has incomplete data.
^ Date given for the start of the term, of the person elected at the special election.[8] In some cases this is clearly wrong as the date of the legal start of the Congress is given, even though the member was elected at a later date.
Mapping Early American Elections project team (2019). "Mapping Early American Elections". Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
External links
Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)
