1856–57 United States House of Representatives elections

States held the 1856–57 United States House of Representatives elections between August 4, 1856, and November 4, 1857. Each state, including the pending new state of Minnesota, set a date to elect 236 Representatives to the House before the first session of the 35th United States Congress convened on December 7, 1857.

The elections briefly returned a semblance of normalcy to the Democratic Party, restoring its House majority alongside the election of Democratic President James Buchanan. However, superficial victory masked severe, ultimately irretrievable divisions over slavery. Voters next would return a Democratic House majority only in 1874.

Party realignments continued. In 1856, the Whig Party disbanded, the Know Nothing movement declined, and its vehicle, the American Party, collapsed. Many Northern Whig, American, and other Representatives who opposed the Democrats joined the new, rapidly consolidating Republican Party, whose attitude toward slavery was stridently negative. It was an openly sectional, Northern party which opposed fugitive slave laws and slavery in the territories. Though it did not explicitly demand abolition, for the first time a major party offered a mainstream political platform to outspoken abolitionists.

In March 1857, after almost all Northern states had voted, the Supreme Court issued its infamous Dred Scott decision, amplifying tensions and hardening voter divisions. Remaining elections were concentrated in the South. Southern voters widely drove the American Party from office, rallying to the Democrats in firm opposition to the Republicans.

In October 1857, the pending new state of Minnesota elected its first Representatives. Between the admissions of Vermont in 1791 and Wisconsin in 1848, Congress had admitted new states roughly in pairs: one slave, one free. California was admitted alone as a free state in 1850 only as part of a comprehensive compromise including significant concessions to slave state interests. Admission of Minnesota in May 1858, also alone but with no such deal, helped expose the declining political influence of the South, destroying the formerly binding concept that slave and free state power was best kept in balance even in the Senate while solidifying a sense that the West would exclude slavery.

Election summaries Two seats were added for the new state of Minnesota, which was unrepresented for part of the 1st session.

+ ↓ 133 14 90 Democratic KN Republican State Type Date Totalseats Democratic Know Nothing Republican Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Arkansas District August 4, 1856 2 2 0 0 Iowa District 2 0 1 0 2 1 Missouri District 7 5 4 2 2 0 6 Vermont District September 2, 1856 3 0 0 3 Maine District September 8, 1856 6 0 1 0 6 1 Florida At-large October 6, 1856 1 1 0 0 South Carolina District October 13–14, 1856 6 6 0 0 Indiana District October 14, 1856 11 6 4 0 5 4 Ohio District 21 9 9 0 12 9 Pennsylvania District 25 15 8 0 1 10 7 California At-large November 4, 1856(Election Day) 2 2 0 0 Delaware At-large 1 1 1 0 1 0 Illinois District 9 5 0 4 Massachusetts District 11 0 0 11 11 11 Michigan District 4 0 1 0 4 1 New Jersey District 5 3 2 0 2 2 New York District 33 12 7 0 3 21 4 Wisconsin District 3 0 1 0 3 1 New Hampshire District March 10, 1857 3 0 0 3 3 3 Rhode Island District April 1, 1857 2 0 0 2 2 2 Connecticut District April 6, 1857 4 2 2 0 4 2 2 Virginia District May 28, 1857 13 13 1 0 1 0 Alabama District August 3, 1857 7 7 2 0 2 0 Kentucky District 10 8 4 2 4 0 Texas District 2 2 1 0 1 0 North Carolina District August 6, 1857 8 7 2 1 2 0 Tennessee District 10 7 2 3 2 0 Georgia District October 5, 1857 8 6 2 0 Mississippi District October 5–6, 1857 5 5 1 0 1 0 Minnesota At-large October 13, 1857 2 2 2 0 0 Louisiana District November 3, 1857 4 3 1 0 Maryland District November 4, 1857 6 3 1 3 1 0 Total 236 133 50 14 37 90 10

Special elections

There were a total of thirteen special elections in 1856 and 1857 during the 34th and 35th Congresses.

34th Congress

! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | Rep.-elect Lyman Trumbull (D) was later elected U.S. senator and took office March 4, 1855.New member elected November 4, 1856.Democratic hold.Winner was not a candidate for the full term; see below. | nowrap |

35th Congress

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas Territory See non-voting delegates, below.

Kentucky

1856–57 United States House of Representatives elections

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