| For the third time in a decade, the House of Representatives was deadlocked in the choice of a Speaker. After nearly two months of voting, First-term Representative William Pennington of New Jersey was elected on the 44th ballot.
The Republican Party controlled just under half of the seats in the House. They hoped that their candidate for Speaker, Representative John Sherman of Ohio, would win enough third-party votes to be elected Speaker. The Democrats sponsored Representative Thomas S. Bocock of Virginia, as the prior Speaker (James L. Orr of South Carolina) had retired. The American Party Representatives scattered their votes on the first few ballots. Sherman moved into first place on the second ballot, and he hit his all-time high of 112 on the 11th ballot (four votes shy of a majority). Unlike the deadlocks of 1849 and 1855, the House devoted large chunks of time to debate during the 1859-1860 voting for Speaker. The chief topic of debate was the policy of the federal government in relation to expansion of slavery and Sherman's role in the publication of a book ("The Impending Crisis and How to Meet It" by Hinton Harper) on the deliterious effects of slavery on the Southern economy. Bocock withdrew his name from consideration after the 11th ballot to allow other Democrats an opportunity to test their chances of being elected. In the meantime, the Americans had concentrated their votes on Alexander Boteler of Virginia, who was in second place on the 15th ballot of voting.
| US House Speaker Balloting, 1859 |
| Contender: Ballot | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| John Sherman OH | 66 | 107 | 110 | 105 | 110 | 110 | 96 | 111 | 111 | 111 | 112 | 112 | 110 | 111 | 110 |
| Thomas S. Bocock VA | 86 | 88 | 88 | 86 | 85 | 85 | 86 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 19 | 12 | 8 | 7 |
| Alexander R. Boteler VA | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 23 | 15 | 21 | 29 | 31 | 39 | 43 |
| Galusha A. Grow PA | 43 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| John A. Gilmer NC | 3 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| John A. McClernand IL | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 | 4 | 21 | 25 |
| William Barksdale MS | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 5 | 20 | 15 | 10 |
| John S. Phelps MO | 1 | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 6 | -- | 2 |
| John G. Davis IN | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -- | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 14 |
| Miles Taylor LA | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| Scattering | 15 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 27 | 22 | 19 | 11 |
In the second of the three blocks of ballots, the Democrats supported various members of the House in the hopes that one of them would appeal to enough Americans to win. During these ballots, the time devoted to debates increased, and on many days only one ballot was taken. The year 1860 began after the 24th ballot, with Sherman still hovering just below the 50% mark.
| US House Speaker Balloting, 1859-1860 |
| Contender: Ballot | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| John Sherman OH | 109 | 106 | 95 | 108 | 103 | 100 | 101 | 101 | 102 | 101 | 104 | 103 | 102 | 103 | 105 |
| John S. Millson VA | -- | 95 | 79 | 69 | 27 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Andrew J. Hamilton TX | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 89 | 88 |
| Charles L. Scott CA | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 | 17 | 3 | 83 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Clement L. Vallandigham OH | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 6 | -- | 2 | 2 | -- | 12 | 69 | 2 | -- | -- | -- |
| Horace Maynard TN | -- | -- | -- | -- | 5 | 3 | 1 | 65 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Thomas S. Bocock VA | 6 | -- | -- | 1 | 10 | 28 | 14 | 7 | -- | 7 | 2 | 56 | 32 | -- | -- |
| Alexander R. Boteler VA | 38 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 4 | 2 | 2 | -- | -- | -- |
| John A. McClernand IL | 28 | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | 3 | -- | 5 | -- | 33 | 2 | 9 | 37 | -- | -- |
| John A. Gilmer NC | 2 | 6 | 35 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 22 |
| George S. Houston AL | 7 | -- | 1 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 15 | 4 | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 3 | -- | -- |
| James M. Quarles TN | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 13 | -- | -- |
| William B. Maclay NY | 4 | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | 9 | 12 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 | -- | -- | -- |
| John G. Davis IN | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -- | -- |
| Scattering | 20 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 21 | 27 | 14 | 8 | 27 | 12 | 20 | 16 | 5 | 4 |
After a week of balloting in the new year, Sherman was still leading the Democratic candidate (Andrew J. Hamilton) and the American (John A. Gilmer) with minimal scattering. On 1/12/1860, a two-week debate began, during which no votes for speaker were taken. This debate, which takes up about 100 pages in the Congressional Globe, was the first step in breaking the deadlock. Hamilton and Gilmer both withdrew from contention when balloting resumed on 1/25/1860. The Democrats returned to Bocock, and the Americans supported William N.H. Smith of NC. After the 38th ballot, the Democrats agreed to support Smith if he could muster the American vote. On the following ballot, Smith moved into first place, six ahead of Sherman with just 10 scattering. The Republicans immediately realized that Smith was headed for victory. Their caucus decided to go with a more moderate Republican who could also appeal to the Americans - William Pennington. On the 40th ballot, Pennington moved into first place with 115 votes, two more than Smith, with just six scattering. After two additional ballots with no change, Smith dropped out. Pennington was only one vote short on the 43d ballot and reached a bare majority on the 44th ballot.
| US House Speaker Balloting, 1860 |
| Contender: Ballot | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 |
| William Pennington NJ | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 1 | 115 | 115 | 115 | 116 | 117 |
| William N.H. Smith NC | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 26 | 37 | 36 | 33 | 112 | 113 | 113 | 113 | 1 | 4 |
| John Sherman OH | 105 | 105 | 108 | 106 | 105 | 109 | 110 | 109 | 106 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Andrew J. Hamilton TX | 88 | 88 | 81 | 75 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| John A. McClernand IL | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 | 3 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 2 | 91 | 85 |
| Thomas S. Bocock VA | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 51 | 58 | 55 | 51 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 | -- |
| John A. Gilmer NC | 19 | 18 | 19 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 5 | 16 |
| Scattering | 7 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 11 |
| 
117 (8.96%)
