The 1820 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana took place on August 7, 1820. Incumbent U.S. representative William Hendricks defeated Reuben W. Nelson to represent Indiana's at-large congressional district in the 17th 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 in Indiana. He was enormously popular across the state and faced minimal opposition to his bid for re-election. On Election Day, Hendricks carried every county but Knox, which included the slaveholding commercial center of Vincennes, Indiana.
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 in 1817 and 1818, each time defeating candidates from the western, proslavery faction. In Congress, Hendricks opposed the admission of Missouri as a slave state during the Missouri Crisis, supported Latin American independence, and represented militiamen seeking payment for their service during the War of 1812.
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. He challenged Hendricks again in 1818, losing the general election by a wide margin.
General election Results
Results by county County William Hendricks Reuben W. Nelson Margin Total Votes % Votes % Votes % Clark 907 77.26 267 22.74 640 54.51 1,174 Crawford 211 89.03 26 10.97 185 78.06 237 Daviess 375 97.91 8 2.09 367 95.82 383 Dearborn 1,177 98.41 19 1.59 1,158 96.82 1,196 Dubois 74 98.67 1 1.33 73 97.33 75 Fayette 757 99.34 5 0.66 752 98.69 762 Floyd 248 77.50 72 22.50 176 55.00 320 Franklin 1,364 98.84 16 1.16 1,348 97.68 1,380 Gibson 461 99.35 3 0.65 458 98.71 464 Harrison 820 70.75 339 29.25 481 41.50 1,159 Jackson 382 83.77 74 16.23 308 67.54 456 Jefferson 985 94.71 55 5.29 930 89.42 1,040 Jennings 222 97.37 6 2.63 216 94.74 228 Knox 302 38.77 477 61.23 -175 -22.46 779 Lawrence 524 99.05 5 0.94 519 98.11 529 Martin 137 99.28 1 0.72 136 98.55 138 Monroe 320 100.00 — 320 100.00 320 Orange 719 99.04 7 0.96 712 98.07 726 Owen 88 100.00 — 88 100.00 88 Perry 251 98.05 5 1.95 246 96.09 256 Pike 188 100.00 — 188 100.00 188 Posey 559 99.64 2 0.36 557 99.29 561 Randolph 165 100.00 — 165 100.00 165 Ripley 224 100.00 — 224 100.00 224 Scott 228 96.61 8 3.39 220 93.22 236 Spencer 185 100.00 — 185 100.00 185 Sullivan 417 81.44 95 18.55 322 62.89 512 Switzerland 604 99.50 3 0.49 601 99.01 607 Vanderburgh 174 97.21 5 2.79 169 94.41 179 Vigo 495 94.28 30 5.71 465 88.57 525 Warrick 115 100.00 — 115 100.00 115 Washington 868 90.23 94 9.77 774 80.46 962 Wayne 1,785 100.00 — 1,785 100.00 1,785 TOTAL 16,331 90.96 1,623 9.04 14,708 81.92 17,954
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