United States Senate elections, 1870
Encyclopedia
The United States Senate election of 1870 was an election which had the 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...

 relinquish six seats in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, though still retain an overwhelming majority.

As this election was prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...

, Senators were chosen by State legislatures.

That election marked the first time that, with Mississippian Hiram Rhodes Revels
Hiram Rhodes Revels
Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first African American to serve in the United States Senate. Because he preceded any African American in the House, he was the first African American in the U.S. Congress as well. He represented Mississippi in 1870 and 1871 during Reconstruction...

, an African American had been appointed senator (and congressman).

Results

Senate Party Division, 42nd Congress
42nd United States Congress
The Forty-second 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, 1871 to March 3, 1873, during the third and fourth...

 (1871–1873)
  • Majority Party: Republican (56)
  • Minority Party: Democratic (17)
  • Other Parties: Liberal Republican (1)
  • Total Seats: 74

Senate composition before and after elections

41st Congress
41st United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President : Schuyler Colfax* President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony - House of Representatives :* Speaker: James G. Blaine -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

 Senate composition
  42nd Congress
42nd United States Congress
The Forty-second 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, 1871 to March 3, 1873, during the third and fourth...

 Senate composition
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                                                             
Color Key:   = Republican   = Democratic   = Liberal Republican
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