1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 29, 1800, and August 1, 1801. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 7th United States Congress convened on December 7, 1801. They were held at the same time as the 1800 presidential election, in which Vice President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic Republican, defeated incumbent President John Adams, a Federalist. Elections were held for all 106 seats, representing 15 states.

These elections resulted in the Democratic-Republicans picking up 22 seats from the Federalists. This brought the Democratic-Republicans a solid majority of 68 seats, whereas the Federalists were only able to secure 38. Many state legislatures also changed to Democratic-Republican control, with the result that many new Democratic-Republicans were voted into the Senate. The Federalists never again succeeded in gaining a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and the national Federalist Party disintegrated completely in the early 1820s.

The victory of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans can be attributed partially to unpopular policies pursued by the Adams administration, including the Alien and Sedition Acts, which sought to curtail guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press spelled out in the Bill of Rights.

The difference between Federalist policies in support of a strong national government and the Democratic-Republican preference for states' rights played a prominent role in the election. Federal taxation became an issue as Southerners and Westerners rejected federal taxes levied on property.

Election summaries

+ ↓ 68 38 Democratic-Republican Federalist

State Type Date Totalseats Democratic-Republican Federalist Seats Change Seats Change New York Districts April 29 – May 1, 1800 10 6 4 North Carolina Districts August 15, 1800 10 6 4 New Hampshire At-large August 25, 1800 4 0 4 Rhode Island At-large August 26, 1800 2 2 2 0 2 Vermont Districts September 2, 1800 2 1 1 Connecticut At-large September 22, 1800 7 0 7 Georgia At-large October 6, 1800 2 2 2 0 2 Delaware At-large October 7, 1800 1 0 1 Pennsylvania Districts October 14, 1800 13 10 2 3 2 South Carolina Districts October 24, 1800 6 3 2 3 2 Massachusetts Districts November 3, 1800 14 7 5 7 5 New Jersey At-large December 24, 1800 5 5 2 0 2 Maryland Districts January 1, 1801 8 5 2 3 2 Late elections Virginia Districts April 23, 1801 19 18 5 1 5 Kentucky Districts August 3, 1801 2 2 0 Tennessee At-large August 4, 1801 1 1 0 Total 106 68 22 38 22

Special elections

There were special elections in 1800 and 1801 during the 6th United States Congress and 7th United States Congress.

Elections are sorted here by date then district.

6th Congress

! | William Henry Harrison | | None | 1799 | | Incumbent resigned to become Governor of Indiana Territory.New member elected November 6, 1800 by the territorial legislature and seated November 24, 1800.Federalist gain.Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below. | nowrap |

7th Congress District Incumbent This race Representative Party First elected Results Candidates James Jones Democratic-Republican 1798 Incumbent died January 11, 1801, before the beginning of the Congress.New member elected March 23, 1801.Democratic-Republican hold. Elizur Goodrich Federalist 1799 Incumbent resigned March 3, 1801.New member elected April 9, 1801.Federalist hold. George Thatcher Federalist 1788 Incumbent declined re-election.New member elected June 22, 1801 and seated December 7, 1801.Democratic-Republican gain. David Stone Federalist 1798 Incumbent elected U.S. Senator, and therefore chose not to serve in the House in the 7th Congress.New member elected August 6, 1801 and seated December 7, 1801.Democratic-Republican gain. Levi Lincoln Democratic-Republican 1800 Incumbent resigned March 5, 1801, to become U.S. Attorney General.New member elected August 24, 1801 and seated January 11, 1802.Federalist gain. William Edmond Federalist 1797 Incumbent resigned March 3, 1801.New member elected September 21, 1801.Federalist hold. John Bird Federalist 1798 Incumbent resigned July 25, 1801.New member elected October 8, 1801 and seated December 7, 1801.Democratic-Republican gain. Thomas Tillotson Democratic-Republican 1800 Incumbent resigned August 10, 1801, to become N.Y. Secretary of State.New member elected October 8, 1801 and seated December 7, 1801.Democratic-Republican hold. Peter Muhlenberg Democratic-Republican 1798 Incumbent elected U.S. Senator, and therefore declined to serve in the House in the 7th Congress.New member elected October 13, 1801 and seated December 7, 1801.Democratic-Republican hold. Albert Gallatin Democratic-Republican 1794 Incumbent appointed U.S. Treasury May 14, 1801, during the 7th Congress but before that congress formally convened.New member elected October 13, 1801 and seated December 7, 1801.Democratic-Republican hold. Silas Lee Federalist 1800 Incumbent resigned August 20, 1801.No majority was achieved on the September 25, 1801, and December 7, 1801, ballots, so the election was continued in 1802.

Connecticut

Note: Between the two sources used, there is disagreement over the ordering of the candidates. Both sources have the same numbers of votes recorded, but disagree on which candidates received those votes, one source lists Goddard as 8th, Talmadge as 9th, etc., as listed here, while the other has them as 11th, 12th, etc., three places off for all of them until the bottom three listed here which are moved up to 8th-10th, suggesting that one of the two sources accidentally misplaced three names on the list. They are ordered here as Goddard and Talmadge in 8th and 9th place as it is more likely that they'd been at the top of the runners-up given that they were subsequently elected to fill vacancies in the 7th Congress.

District Incumbent This race Representative Party First elected Results Candidates William Edmond Federalist 1797 Incumbent re-elected. Chauncey Goodrich Federalist 1794 Incumbent lost re-election.Federalist hold.Winner (Edmond) chose not to serve.A special election was held to replace him; see above. Jonathan Brace Federalist 1798 Incumbent resigned in May 1800.Federalist hold.Winner (Smith) also elected to finish the term; see above. Roger Griswold Federalist 1794 Incumbent re-elected. Elizur Goodrich Federalist 1798 Incumbent re-elected.Winner (Goodrich) chose not to serve.A special election was therefore held to replace him; see above. John Davenport Federalist 1798 Incumbent re-elected. Samuel W. Dana Federalist 1796 Incumbent re-elected.

Delaware

District Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates James A. Bayard Federalist 1796 Incumbent re-elected.

Georgia

District Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates James Jones Federalist 1798 Incumbent re-elected to a different party.Democratic-Republican gain. Benjamin Taliaferro Federalist 1798 Incumbent re-elected to a different party.Democratic-Republican gain.

Kentucky

District Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates Thomas T. Davis Democratic-Republican 1797 Incumbent re-elected. John Fowler Democratic-Republican 1797 Incumbent re-elected.

Maryland

District Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates George Dent Federalist 1792 Incumbent retired.Federalist hold. John C. Thomas Federalist 1798 Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic-Republican gain. William Craik Federalist 1796 Incumbent retired.Federalist hold George Baer Jr. Federalist 1796 Incumbent retired.Democratic-Republican gain. Samuel Smith Democratic-Republican 1792 Incumbent re-elected. Gabriel Christie Democratic-Republican 17921794 (lost)1798 Incumbent retired.Democratic-Republican hold. Joseph H. Nicholson Democratic-Republican 1798 Incumbent re-elected. John Dennis Federalist 1796 Incumbent re-elected.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts law required a majority for election, which was not met in the 1st and 6th districts, necessitating a second trial.

District Incumbent This race Representative Party First elected Results Candidates Theodore Sedgwick Federalist 1798 Incumbent retired.Democratic-Republican gain. Second ballot William Shepard Federalist 1796 Incumbent re-elected. Samuel Lyman Federalist 1794 Incumbent retired.Federalist hold.Winner resigned November 6, 1800, causing a special election; see above. Dwight Foster Federalist 1793 Incumbent resigned June 6, 1800, when elected U.S. Senator.Democratic-Republican gain.Winner also elected to finish the term; see above. Lemuel Williams Federalist 1798 Incumbent re-elected. John Reed Sr. Federalist 1794 Incumbent retired.Democratic-Republican gain. Second ballot Phanuel Bishop Democratic-Republican 1798 Incumbent re-elected. Harrison Gray Otis Federalist 1796 Incumbent retired.Democratic-Republican gain. Joseph Bradley Varnum Democratic-Republican 1794 Incumbent re-elected. Samuel Sewall Federalist 1796 Incumbent resigned January 10, 1800, to become Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court.Federalist hold.Winner also elected to finish the term; see above. Bailey Bartlett Federalist 1797 Incumbent retired.Federalist hold. Silas Lee Federalist 1798 Incumbent re-elected. Peleg Wadsworth Federalist 1792 Incumbent re-elected. George Thatcher Federalist 1788 Incumbent re-elected.Winner declined to serve, causing a special election; see above.

Mississippi Territory See Non-voting delegates, below.

New Hampshire

District Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates James Sheafe Federalist 1799 (special) Incumbent retired.Federalist hold. Jonathan Freeman Federalist 1796 Incumbent retired.Federalist hold. William Gordon Federalist 1796 Incumbent resigned June 12, 1800, to become state attorney general.Federalist hold.Winner (Samuel Tenney) also elected to finish current term; see above. Abiel Foster Federalist 1794 Incumbent re-elected.

New Jersey

In 1800, New Jersey returned to its traditional at-large district, continued to use this system to select representatives until it was abolished in 1842, with a single exception in 1813.

1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections

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