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The U.S. House elections, 1789 were the first elections for the United States House of Representatives in 1789, which coincided with the election of President George Washington. Some candidates were chosen in 1788, others in 1789. Dates and manners of elections were set by the states. Actual political parties did not yet exist, but new members of Congress were informally categorized as either "pro-Administration" (i.e., pro-Washington and pro-Hamilton) or "anti-Administration."
The first session of the first House of Representatives came to order on March 4, 1789 with only thirteen members. The requisite quorum (thirty members out of fifty-nine) was not present until April 1, 1789. The first order of business was to elect a Speaker. On the first ballot, Frederick Muhlenberg was elected Speaker by a majority of votes. The business of the first session was largely a matter of procedure rather than policy.
In this period each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election. This article covers all such state elections to the 1st Congress. 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).
Contents |
Election dates
1788
State | Type | Date | Total seats |
Pro- Administration |
Anti- Administration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Carolina | District (5x1) | November 24–25, 1788 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Pennsylvania | At-large (x8) | November 26, 1788 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
Massachusetts | District[1] (8x1) | December 18, 1788 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
New Hampshire | At-large[2] (x3) | December 15, 1788 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Connecticut | At-large (x5) | December 22, 1788 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
1789
State | Type | Date | Total seats |
Pro- Administration |
Anti- Administration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Delaware | At-large (x1) | January 7, 1789 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Georgia | At-large/District[3] (3x1) | February 9, 1789 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Maryland | At-large/District[4] (6x1) | January 7–11, 1789 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
New Jersey | At-large (x4) | February 11-April 27, 1789 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
New York | District (6x1) | March 3–5, 1789 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
Virginia | District (10x1) | February 2, 1789 | 10 | 3 | 7 |
Late
North Carolina and Rhode Island each ratified the constitution on November 21, 1789 and May 29, 1790 respectively. They didn't elect representatives until 1790.
Totals
Type | Total seats[5] |
Pro- Administration |
Anti- Administration |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
At-large | Combined | Districts | |||
22 | 9 | 34 | 65 | 37 | 28 |
Overall results
Party | Total seats[6] |
Change | Seat percentage |
---|---|---|---|
Pro-Administration Party | 37 | N/A | 56.9% |
Anti-Administration Party | 28 | N/A | 43.1% |
Totals | 65 | N/A | 100% |
See also
- United States Senate elections, 1788
- 1st United States Congress
- United States presidential election, 1789
- History of the United States Constitution#The New Government
References
- ^ Massachusetts had a majority vote requirement for election. Four representatives were elected in the general election and four in subsequent trials.
- ^ New Hampshire had a majority vote requirement for election. No representatives were elected in the general election and three were returned at a subsequent trial.
- ^ Georgia had three representatives elected by the whole state electorate, who had to choose one candidate from each district.
- ^ Maryland had six representatives elected by the whole state electorate, who had to choose one candidate from each district.
- ^ Initial apportionment of U.S. House seats set out in the constitution.
- ^ Office of the Clerk
- Source for election dates: United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results, by Michael J. Dubin (McFarland and Company, 1998).
External links
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