The 1818 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana took place on August 3, 1818. Incumbent U.S. representative William Hendricks defeated Reuben W. Nelson to represent Indiana's at-large congressional district in the 16th United States Congress.
Political parties did not play an important role in Indiana congressional elections before the 1830s. Hendricks, an independent politician, was a prominent member of the eastern, antislavery political faction that dominated Indiana politics during the first decade following statehood. Hendricks faced minimal opposition in his bid for a third term in Congress. The incumbent was enormously popular across the state, with only a few pockets of resistance. On Election Day, Hendricks lost only two counties in southwestern Indiana, while Nelson received no votes in three counties.
Candidates Hendricks Hendricks was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 1782 and graduated from Jefferson College. He left Pennsylvania after 1810, migrating first to Cincinnati and then to Madison, Indiana, where he worked as an attorney at law. He became involved in territorial politics, winning election to the legislature from Jefferson County, Indiana, in 1813. Between 1813 and 1816 he held several appointive positions, including that of territorial printer, prosecutor, and United States Attorney. He served as speaker of the territorial House of Representatives and as secretary of the Indiana constitutional convention in 1816, despite not being a delegate.
Hendricks was one of the leaders of the eastern faction during the territorial period, which lobbied successfully for the abolition of slavery in Indiana. He was elected to Congress in 1816 and re-elected the following year, both times defeating candidates from the western, proslavery faction. In Congress, Hendricks opposed the admission of Missouri as a slave state during the Missouri Crisis and represented militiamen seeking payment for their service during the War of 1812. Charges that Hendricks neglected the veterans' case was the subject of controversy during the previous campaign.
Nelson Nelson was born in Duchess County, New York, in 1777. He moved to the Indiana Territory in around the year 1810 and became a prominent attorney and Mason in Jeffersonville, Indiana. As editor of the Corydon Indiana Herald, Nelson was critical of Hendricks and the eastern faction. He ran against Hendricks in 1817, but withdrew and endorsed Thomas Posey shortly before the election.
General election Results
Results by county County William Hendricks Reuben W. Nelson Others Margin Total Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Clark 1,122 96.56 40 3.44 — 1,082 93.11 1,162 Crawford Daviess 328 100.00 — — 328 100.00 328 Dearborn 903 97.10 27 2.90 — 876 94.19 930 Dubois 68 100.00 — — 68 100.00 68 Franklin 1,389 99.64 5 0.36 — 1,384 99.28 1,394 Gibson 163 90.06 18 9.94 — 145 80.11 181 Harrison 664 62.52 398 37.48 — 266 25.05 1,062 Jackson 285 95.64 13 4.36 — 272 91.28 298 Jefferson 741 96.61 26 3.39 — 715 93.22 767 Jennings 121 99.18 1 0.82 — 120 98.36 122 Knox 179 34.29 343 65.71 2 0.38 -164 -31.42 522 Lawrence 151 99.34 1 0.66 — 150 98.68 152 Monroe 132 86.84 20 13.16 — 112 73.68 152 Orange 492 99.80 1 0.20 — 491 99.60 493 Perry 180 87.38 26 12.62 — 154 74.76 206 Pike 79 63.20 46 36.80 — 33 26.40 125 Posey 284 89.87 26 8.23 — 258 81.64 316 Ripley 72 100.00 — — 72 100.00 72 Spencer Sullivan 363 98.91 4 1.09 — 359 97.82 367 Switzerland 394 98.50 6 1.50 — 388 97.00 400 Vanderburgh 75 92.59 6 7.41 — 69 85.18 81 Vigo 169 98.83 2 1.17 — 167 97.66 171 Warrick 6 6.12 92 93.88 — -86 -87.76 98 Washington 878 97.77 20 2.23 — 858 95.54 898 Wayne 1,408 99.93 1 0.07 — 1,407 99.86 1,409 TOTAL 10,646 90.45 1,122 9.53 2 0.02 9,524 80.92 11,770
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