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1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections
House elections for the 42nd U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 6, 1870, and October 6, 1871. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before or after the first session of the 42nd United States Congress convened on March 4, 1871. They occurred in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's first term. Elections were held for all 243 seats, representing 37 states.
With Grant's administration rocked by a number of scandals (including a shady deal for gold speculation that led to a crash in the market and several business deals that saw highranking governmental officials gain kickbacks) and Reconstruction winding down, his Republican Party lost seats to the opposition Democratic Party but retained an overall majority. Also, since white-supremacist governments controlled by the Democratic Party were reestablishing themselves in some portions of the Southern United States, the Democrats were able to make huge gains in this election.
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Election summaries
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104 | 139 |
Democratic | Republican |

The previous election included 5 Conservatives
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Election dates
In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors.[1] This law did not affect election dates for Congress, which remained within the jurisdiction of State governments, but over time, the States moved their congressional elections to this date as well. In 1870, there remained 12 States that held elections before Election Day, and 4 that held it after at this time:
- Early elections:
- December 1, 1869: Mississippi (Mississippi was a special case, having held elections for both the 41st Congress upon readmission and for the 42nd Congress on the same day)
- June 6: Oregon
- August 4: North Carolina
- September 6: Vermont
- September 12: Maine
- October 11: Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania
- October 25: West Virginia
- November 1: South Carolina
- Late elections:
- March 14, 1871: New Hampshire
- April 4, 1871: Connecticut
- August 6, 1871: Montana Territory
- September 6, 1871: California
- October 6, 1871: Texas
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Special elections
Alabama
Arizona Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Arkansas
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California
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Colorado Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Connecticut
Dakota Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Delaware
District of Columbia
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Florida
Niblack subsequently successfully challenged Walls's election and was seated from Florida's at-large district on January 29, 1873.[6]
Georgia
Idaho Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
New Mexico Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Vermont
Virginia
Washington Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin elected six members of congress on Election Day, November 8, 1870.
Wyoming Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Non-voting delegates
See also
Notes
- Majority of states held elections on November 8, 1870 (i.e. Election Day).
- Note that Dubin (p. 221) records 9–10 "Conservatives", and approximately 94 Democrats, as being elected to the 42nd Congress. This contrasts with Martis (pp. 124–125) which offers no separate accounting of "Conservatives" from Democrats and thus records a total of 104 Democratic members of the 42nd Congress.
- Includes 1 Independent Republican.
- Elections held at the same time as elections for 41st Congress.
- Includes 2 Liberal Republicans: Gustavus A. Finkelnburg elected to Missouri's 2nd district, and James G. Blair elected to Missouri's 8th district.
- Includes 1 Independent Republican, John V. Creely, elected to Pennsylvania's 2nd district.
- Previous election had 5 Conservatives.
- Includes 2 Liberal Republicans and 1 Independent Republican.
References
Bibliography
External links
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