United States House election, 1866
Encyclopedia
Elections to the United States House of Representatives
were held in 1866 to elect Representatives to the 40th United States Congress
.
The elections occurred just one year after the American Civil War
ended at Appomattox
, in which the Union
defeated the Confederacy
.
The 1866 elections were a decisive event in the early Reconstruction era, in which President
Andrew Johnson
faced off against the Radical Republicans in a bitter dispute over whether Reconstruction should be lenient or harsh toward the vanquished South
.
Most of the congressmen from the former Confederate states were either prevented from leaving the state or were arrested on the way to the capital. A Congress consisting of mostly Radical Republicans sat early in the Capitol
and aside from the delegation from Tennessee
who were allowed in, the few Southern Congressmen who arrived were not seated.
, had been elected Vice President
in the 1864 presidential election
as the running mate
of Abraham Lincoln
, a Republican
. (The Republicans had chosen not to re-nominate Hannibal Hamlin
for a second term as Vice President).
Lincoln and Johnson ran together under the banner of the National Union Party
, which brought together Republicans (with the exception of some hard-line abolitionist
Radical Republicans who backed John C. Frémont
, who eventually dropped out of the race after brokering a deal with Lincoln) and the War Democrats (the minority of Democrats who backed Lincoln's prosecution of the war, as opposed to the Peace Democrats
, or Copperheads, who favored a negotiated settlement with the Confederates).
After the assassination of Lincoln
, Johnson became President. He immediately became embroiled in a dispute with the Radical Republicans over the conditions of Reconstruction; Johnson favored a lenient Reconstruction, while Radical Republicans wanted to continue the military occupation of the South and force Southern states to give freedmen
(the newly-freed slaves) civil rights
(and the right to vote
).
; he generally supported Democrats
but his speeches were poorly received.
The Republicans
won in a landslide, capturing enough seats to override Johnson's vetoes. Only the border states of Delaware
, Maryland
, and Kentucky
voted for Democrats. Recently Reconstructed Tennessee sent a Republican delegation. The other 10 ex-Confederate states did not vote.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
were held in 1866 to elect Representatives to the 40th United States Congress
40th United States Congress
The Fortieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867 to March 4, 1869, during the third and fourth...
.
The elections occurred just one year after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
ended at Appomattox
Appomattox
Appomattox may refer to:*Appomattox, Virginia, a town*Appomattox County, Virginia* Appomattox Basin, a name for the Tri-Cities, Virginia region*Appomattox Court House, a court house in Virginia...
, in which the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
defeated the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
The 1866 elections were a decisive event in the early Reconstruction era, in which President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
faced off against the Radical Republicans in a bitter dispute over whether Reconstruction should be lenient or harsh toward the vanquished South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
.
Most of the congressmen from the former Confederate states were either prevented from leaving the state or were arrested on the way to the capital. A Congress consisting of mostly Radical Republicans sat early in the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
and aside from the delegation from Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
who were allowed in, the few Southern Congressmen who arrived were not seated.
Background
Johnson, a War DemocratWar Democrats
War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were adherents of the Democratic Party who rejected the Copperheads/Peace Democrats who controlled the party...
, had been elected Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
in the 1864 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1864
In the United States Presidential election of 1864, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected as president. The election was held during the Civil War. Lincoln ran under the National Union ticket against Democratic candidate George B. McClellan, his former top general. McClellan ran as the "peace candidate",...
as the running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, a Republican
History of the United States Republican Party
The United States Republican Party is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States after its great rival, the Democratic Party. It emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas Nebraska Act which threatened to extend slavery into the territories, and to promote more vigorous...
. (The Republicans had chosen not to re-nominate Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War...
for a second term as Vice President).
Lincoln and Johnson ran together under the banner of the National Union Party
National Union Party (United States)
The National Union Party was the name used by the Republican Party for the national ticket in the 1864 presidential election, held during the Civil War. State Republican parties did not usually change their name....
, which brought together Republicans (with the exception of some hard-line abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
Radical Republicans who backed John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, who eventually dropped out of the race after brokering a deal with Lincoln) and the War Democrats (the minority of Democrats who backed Lincoln's prosecution of the war, as opposed to the Peace Democrats
Copperheads (politics)
The Copperheads were a vocal group of Democrats in the Northern United States who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads," likening them to the venomous snake...
, or Copperheads, who favored a negotiated settlement with the Confederates).
After the assassination of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
, Johnson became President. He immediately became embroiled in a dispute with the Radical Republicans over the conditions of Reconstruction; Johnson favored a lenient Reconstruction, while Radical Republicans wanted to continue the military occupation of the South and force Southern states to give freedmen
Freedman
A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....
(the newly-freed slaves) civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
(and the right to vote
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
).
Campaign and results
Johnson stumped the country in a public speaking tour known as the Swing Around the CircleSwing Around the Circle
Swing Around the Circle refers to a disastrous speaking campaign undertaken by U.S. President Andrew Johnson August 27 - September 15, 1866, in which he tried to gain support for his mild Reconstruction policies and for his preferred candidates in the forthcoming midterm Congressional election...
; he generally supported Democrats
History of the United States Democratic Party
The history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....
but his speeches were poorly received.
The Republicans
History of the United States Republican Party
The United States Republican Party is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States after its great rival, the Democratic Party. It emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas Nebraska Act which threatened to extend slavery into the territories, and to promote more vigorous...
won in a landslide, capturing enough seats to override Johnson's vetoes. Only the border states of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
voted for Democrats. Recently Reconstructed Tennessee sent a Republican delegation. The other 10 ex-Confederate states did not vote.
Overall results
| Party | Total seats (change) | Seat percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Party Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S... |
173 | +37 | 77.2% |
| Democratic Party Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
47 | -9 | 21.0% |
| Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
2 | +1 | 0.9% |
| Conservatives | 2 | +2 | 0.9% |
| Totals | 224 | +31 | 100.0% |
California
| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald C. McRuer Donald C. McRuer Donald Campbell McRuer was a California Republican politician and U.S. Congressman.McRuer was born 1826 in Bangor, Maine.... |
Republican | 1864 | Retired Democratic gain |
Samuel Beach Axtell Samuel Beach Axtell Samuel Beach Axtell . Notable for being the most controversial Chief Justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court; corrupted administration as Governor of New Mexico; brief tenure as Governor of Utah; and two term Congressman from California.-Early life:Axtell was born in Franklin County,... (D) 57.3% Timothy G. Phelps (R) 42.7% |
|
| William Higby William Higby William Higby was a United States Representative from California. He was born in Willsboro, New York. He attended a preparatory school in Westport, New York and was graduated from the University of Vermont in Vermont in 1840. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1847 and commenced... |
Republican | 1862 | Re-elected | William Higby William Higby William Higby was a United States Representative from California. He was born in Willsboro, New York. He attended a preparatory school in Westport, New York and was graduated from the University of Vermont in Vermont in 1840. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1847 and commenced... (R) 52.1% James W. Coffroth (D) 47.9% |
|
| John Bidwell John Bidwell John Bidwell was known throughout California and across the nation as an important pioneer, farmer, soldier, statesman, politician, prohibitionist and philanthropist... |
Republican | 1864 | Retired Democratic gain |
James A. Johnson James A. Johnson (politician) James Augustus Johnson was a U.S. Representative from California who went on to serve as the state's 14th Lieutenant Governor.-Early life:... (D) 50.6% Chancellor Hartson (R) 49.4% |
Sources
- Howard K. BealeHoward K. BealeHoward Kennedy Beale was an American historian. He specialized in nineteenth and twentieth-century American history, particularly the Reconstruction Era. He also wrote biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, Edward Bates, and Charles A. Beard. Beale was born in Chicago to Frank A. and Nellie Kennedy...
. The Critical Year (1930) - Patrick W Riddleberger. 1866, the critical year revisited (1979)
- Hans L. Trefousse. Andrew Johnson: A Biography 1989.
- Edward McPhersonEdward McPhersonEdward McPherson was a prominent Pennsylvania newspaperman, attorney, and United States Congressman. As a director of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, he effected efforts to protect portions of the Gettysburg Battlefield.-Early life and career:McPherson was born in Gettysburg,...
, The Political History of the United States of America During the Period of Reconstruction (1875) large collection of speeches and primary documents, 1865-1870, complete text online. [The copyright has expired.]