The Congressional elections of 1854-1855 were the midterm Democratic disaster of the Pierce administration. During the 15 month timespan in which the states chose U.S. Representatives, the Democratic membership was halved by an array of opposition parties. The state elections fall into three general time frames, each with different strategies of the opposition.
The first series of campaigns took place in the 8/4/1854 to 9/11/1854 time frame. These campaigns were underway when the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on 5/30/1854. In these six states, choosing 22 members, the Democrats were challenged by the Whigs, with some Free Soil and Republican challengers. Before the election, these seats were evenly split (D-11, W-11). When the votes were counted, the Whigs ended up with 10 seats to seven Democrats and five Republicans (the latter from Maine). In four of the six states voting in this phase, there was no change in seats; that would only occur in two later states.
Twelve states elected U.S. House members in the six week period from 10/2/1854 to 11/14/1854. These states were electing 129 Representatives, 121 of which were from Free States. Before the election, these seats stood D-85, W-40, and Free Soil-4. The unpopularity of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, with the possibility that the expansion of slavery into the fertile new plains would undermine eastern farmers, resulted in a disaster for the Democratic Party. The opposition was not united, however. Whigs ran in six of thes
[More...]The Congressional elections of 1854-1855 were the midterm Democratic disaster of the Pierce administration. During the 15 month timespan in which the states chose U.S. Representatives, the Democratic membership was halved by an array of opposition parties. The state elections fall into three general time frames, each with different strategies of the opposition.
The first series of campaigns took place in the 8/4/1854 to 9/11/1854 time frame. These campaigns were underway when the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on 5/30/1854. In these six states, choosing 22 members, the Democrats were challenged by the Whigs, with some Free Soil and Republican challengers. Before the election, these seats were evenly split (D-11, W-11). When the votes were counted, the Whigs ended up with 10 seats to seven Democrats and five Republicans (the latter from Maine). In four of the six states voting in this phase, there was no change in seats; that would only occur in two later states.
Twelve states elected U.S. House members in the six week period from 10/2/1854 to 11/14/1854. These states were electing 129 Representatives, 121 of which were from Free States. Before the election, these seats stood D-85, W-40, and Free Soil-4. The unpopularity of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, with the possibility that the expansion of slavery into the fertile new plains would undermine eastern farmers, resulted in a disaster for the Democratic Party. The opposition was not united, however. Whigs ran in six of these states, including the populous NY, PA, IL, NJ, and MA. The opposition was united under the Anti-Nebraska label in Ohio, the People's label in Indiana, and the Republican label in WI and MI. Free Soil candidates appeared in three of these 12 states, and American candidates appeared in four states. The result: Whigs-45, Anti-Nebraska-32, Democrats-27, Americans-17, and Republicans-8. The Democrats lost a net of 57 of their 85 seats in these states.
As the year 1854 closed, the standings were Whigs-55, Anti-Nebraska / Republicans-40, Democrats-34, and Americans-17. The repudiation of the Pierce administration was clear in the North.
The third and last phase of the congressional elections took place between 3/13/1855 and 11/6/1855. Congress would not assemble until 12/3/1855, though the term of office technically began on 3/4/1855. Thirteen states with 82 Representatives thus held their elections after the term technically began. At the beginning of 1855, these seats were distributed D-63, Whig-13. Ten of these states were Slave States, and the remaining three were in New England. The Democratic plan to stop the hemorrhaging was to argue that they were the only national party in the field. The opposition, however, was prepared for that argument. They already noted that when they ran as a united front, they fared better (such as Ohio, where they swept the entire state). As a result, the opposition ran in 1855 strictly on the American Party label except for a special election in Massachusetts and an anti-nativist Whig in North Carolina. The challenge for the opposition was more acute in 1855, as 73 of these seats were located in Slave States, where the Kansas-Nebraska Act was more popular. The result in these states: D-47 to Am-35. The Democrats lost all nine seats in New England and a net of seven in the South.
As a result of the elections, the Democrats won 81 seats to become the largest faction in the new House. The Whigs elected 55 Representatives, the Americans 52, and various Anti-Nebraska parties 45. Opposition labels were quite fluid, however, as they actually fell into two groups based on their opinions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
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100 (42.74%)