1798–99 United States House of Representatives elections explained

Election Name:	1798–99 United States House of Representatives elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1795
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1796–97 United States House of Representatives elections
Next Election:	1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections
Outgoing Members:	5th_United_States_Congress#House_of_Representatives_3
Elected Members:	6th United States Congress#House_of_Representatives_3
Seats For Election:	All 106 seats in the United States House of Representatives
Majority Seats:	54
Election Date:	April 24, 1798 – August 1, 1799
Image1:	TheodoreSedgwick.jpg
Leader1:	Theodore Sedgwick
Party1:	Federalist Party
Last Election1:	57 seats
Seats1:	60^[1]
Seat Change1:	3
Leader2:	Nathaniel Macon
Party2:	Democratic-Republican Party
Last Election2:	49 seats
Seats2:	46
Seat Change2:	3
Map Size:	350px
Speaker
Before Election:	Jonathan Dayton
Before Party:	Federalist Party
After Election:	Theodore Sedgwick
After Party:	Federalist Party
Map:	File:House of Representatives, United States 1804 1805.svg

The 1798–99 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 24, 1798 in New York and August 1, 1799 in Tennessee. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives, with some after the official start of the 6th United States Congress on March 4, 1799, but before the start of the first session of this Congress in Philadelphia on December 2, 1799.^[2] These elections were held during President John Adams term. It was the last congressional session before the move to the new capital at Washington, D.C. Elections were held for all 106 seats, representing 16 states.

President Adams, a Federalist elected two years prior in the election of 1796, remained popular during a time of national economic growth, and the Federalists made a modest gain of three seats at the expense of the opposition Democratic-Republicans, the party of Vice President and future President Thomas Jefferson. This resulted in an increased Federalist majority in the House, 60-46 seats.

The Federalist party squandered its popularity by passing a series of controversial new laws in the summer of 1798, including the Naturalization Act of 1798 and the Alien and Sedition Acts. Their passage seriously injured the chances of President Adams and Federalist congressional candidates in the elections of 1800.

The House that met during this Congress would ultimately elect Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr in the presidential election of 1800.

Election summaries

↓
60	46
Federalist	Democratic-Republican

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Democratic- Republican
State	Type	Date	Total seats	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
New York	Districts	April 24–26, 1798	10	4	2	6	2
New Hampshire	At-large	August 2, 1798	4	4		0
North Carolina	Districts	August 10, 1798	10	4	3	6	3
Connecticut	At-large	September 7, 1798	7	7		0
Maryland	Districts	October 1, 1798	8	5	1	3	1
Rhode Island	At-large	August 28, 1798	2	2		0
Vermont	Districts	September 4, 1798	2	1		1
Delaware	At-large	October 2, 1798	1	1		0
Georgia	At-large	October 8, 1798	2	2	2	0	2
Pennsylvania	Districts	October 9, 1798	13	5	1	8	1
New Jersey	District	October 10, 1798	5	2	3	3	3
South Carolina	Districts	October 12, 1798	6	5	2	1	2
Massachusetts	Districts	November 5, 1798	14	12	1	2	1
Late general elections
Virginia	Districts	April 24, 1799	19	6	2	13	2
Kentucky	Districts	May 7, 1799	2	0		2
Tennessee	At-large	August 1, 1799	1	0		1
Total			106	60 56.6%	3	46 43.4%	3

Special elections

See also: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives. There were special elections in 1798 and 1799 during the 5th United States Congress and 6th United States Congress.

Elections are sorted here by date then district.

5th Congress

District	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
District	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
	Samuel Sitgreaves		Federalist	1794		Incumbent resigned sometime in 1798. New member elected October 9, 1798 and seated December 4, 1798.^[3] Democratic-Republican gain. Winner also elected to the next term on the same day; see below.	nowrap
	Nathan Bryan		Democratic- Republican	1795		Incumbent died June 4, 1798. New member elected August 2, 1798 and seated December 10, 1798. Democratic-Republican hold. New member also elected to the next term one week later; see below.	nowrap
	John Swanwick		Democratic- Republican	1794		Incumbent died July 31, 1798. New member elected October 9, 1798 and seated December 3, 1798. Federalist gain. Winner elected to the next term on the same day; see below.	nowrap
	Joshua Coit		Federalist	1792		Incumbent died September 5, 1798. New member elected October 22, 1798 and seated December 3, 1798. Federalist hold. Winner had already been elected to the next term; see below.	nowrap
	William Giles		Democratic- Republican	1790 (special)		Incumbent resigned October 2, 1798. New member elected November 1, 1798 and seated December 3, 1798. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner later elected to the next term; see below.	nowrap
	Joshua Seney		Democratic- Republican	1789 1792 (resigned) 1798		Representative-elect died October 20, 1798. New member elected November 29, 1798 and seated with the new Congress. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap

6th Congress

Connecticut

See main article: United States House of Representatives election in Connecticut, 1798.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
William Edmond	Federalist	1797 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap rowspan=7
Chauncey Goodrich	Federalist	1794	Incumbent re-elected.
Vacant			Incumbent Joshua Coit (F) died September 5, 1798. Federalist hold.
Roger Griswold	Federalist	1794	Incumbent re-elected.
Nathaniel Smith	Federalist	1795 (special)		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist hold.
John Allen	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected, but declined to serve.
Samuel W. Dana	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.

Delaware

See main article: United States House of Representatives election in Delaware, 1798.

Georgia

See main article: United States House of Representatives election in Georgia, 1798.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
	Abraham Baldwin		Democratic- Republican	1789		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain. Winner died January 11, 1801, and seat remained vacant throughout the next Congress.
	John Milledge		Democratic- Republican	1794		Incumbent retired. Federalist gain.

Kentucky

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky, 1799.

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

Maryland

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland, 1798.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
George Dent	Federalist	1792	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Richard Sprigg Jr.	Democratic- Republican	1796 (special)		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain.	nowrap
William Craik	Federalist	1796 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
George Baer Jr.	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Samuel Smith	Democratic- Republican	1792	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
William Matthews	Federalist	1796		Incumbent retired. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
William Hindman	Federalist	1792		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican gain. Winner died October 20, 1798, before the new Congress, causing a special election; see above.	nowrap
John Dennis	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap

Massachusetts

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 1798–1799.

See also: List of United States representatives from Massachusetts. Massachusetts required a majority for election. This was not met in the and necessitating additional ballots in those districts.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Thomson J. Skinner	Democratic- Republican	1796 (special)		Incumbent retired. Federalist gain.	nowrap
William Shepard	Federalist	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Samuel Lyman	Federalist	1794	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Dwight Foster	Federalist	1793	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Nathaniel Freeman Jr.	Democratic- Republican	1794		Incumbent retired. Federalist gain.	nowrap	Fifth ballot
John Reed Sr.	Federalist	1794	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Stephen Bullock	Federalist	1797		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap	Fourth ballot
Harrison Gray Otis	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Joseph Bradley Varnum	Democratic- Republican	1795	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Samuel Sewall	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Bailey Bartlett	Federalist	1797 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Isaac Parker	Federalist	1797		Incumbent retired. Federalist hold.	nowrap
Peleg Wadsworth	Federalist	1793	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
George Thatcher	Federalist	1788	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap

New Hampshire

See main article: United States House of Representatives election in New Hampshire, 1798.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Abiel Foster	Federalist	1794	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap rowspan=4
William Gordon	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.
Jonathan Freeman	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.
Peleg Sprague	Federalist	1797 (special)	Incumbent re-elected, but declined to serve. A special election was held.

New Jersey

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 1798.

See also: List of United States representatives from New Jersey. New Jersey switched to district representation for this election. The districts were not numbered at the time, but are retroactively numbered here as 1–5. New Jersey would go back to an the following election.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
James Schureman	Federalist	1797		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Mark Thomson	Federalist	1794		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Jonathan Dayton	Federalist	1791		Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
James H. Imlay	Federalist	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Thomas Sinnickson	Federalist	1797		Unknown if incumbent lost re-election or retired. Federalist hold.	nowrap

New York

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 1798.

See also: List of United States representatives from New York. Between the 1796 and 1798 elections, New York re-districted. This marked the first time that its districts were numbered.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Jonathan N. Havens	Democratic- Republican	1794	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Edward Livingston	Democratic- Republican	1794	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Philip Van Cortlandt	Democratic- Republican	1793	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Lucas Elmendorf	Democratic- Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
David Brooks	Federalist	1796		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Hezekiah L. Hosmer	Federalist	1796		Incumbent retired. Federalist hold.	nowrap
John E. Van Alen	Federalist	1793		Incumbent retired. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap rowspan=2
John Williams	Federalist	1796		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist loss.
Henry Glen	Federalist	1793	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
None (District created)			New seat. Federalist gain.	nowrap
James Cochran	Federalist	1796		Incumbent retired. Federalist hold.	nowrap

North Carolina

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina, 1798.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Joseph McDowell	Democratic- Republican	1796		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain.	nowrap
Matthew Locke	Democratic- Republican	1793		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain.	nowrap
Robert Williams	Democratic- Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Richard Stanford	Democratic- Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Nathaniel Macon	Democratic- Republican	1791	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
James Gillespie	Democratic- Republican	1793		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain.	nowrap
William B. Grove	Federalist	1791	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Dempsey Burgess	Democratic- Republican	1795		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Thomas Blount	Democratic- Republican	1793		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Vacant			Incumbent Nathan Bryan (D-R) died June 4, 1798. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was also elected to finish the current term; see above.	nowrap

Northwest Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Pennsylvania

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 1798.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates^[4]

Notes and References

Web site: Party Divisions of the House of Representatives, 1789 to Present US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives . 2024-07-05 . history.house.gov . en.
Web site: Sixth Congress (membership roster) . February 1, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141206141016/http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/bioguide-front/6.pdf . December 6, 2014 . dead .
Book: Dubin, Michael J. . United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses . McFarland and Company . March 1, 1998 . 978-0786402830.

Web site: Cox . Harold E. . 6th Congress 17991801 . Wilkes University Election Statistics Project . January 6, 2007. [</ref> |- ! {{ushr|Pennsylvania|1|X}} | colspan=3|Vacant | {{Party shading/Federalist}} | Incumbent [[John Swanwick]] (Democratic-Republican) died August 1, 1798.
Federalist gain.
Winner was also elected to finish the current term; see above.| nowrap |

|-! | colspan=3 | Vacant| | Incumbent George Ege (F) resigned in October 1797.
New member elected October 10, 1797 and seated December 1, 1797.
Democratic-Republican gain.
Winner was also elected to finish the current term; see above.| nowrap |

|-! | Albert Gallatin| | Democratic-
Republican| 1794| Incumbent re-elected.| nowrap | |}

Rhode Island

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 1798.

See also: List of United States representatives from Rhode Island. Rhode Island used at-large districts, but elected the candidates on separate tickets instead of using a general ticket.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
	Thomas Tillinghast		Federalist	1797 (special)		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist hold.	nowrap
	Christopher G. Champlin		Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap

South Carolina

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1798.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Thomas Pinckney	Federalist	1797 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John Rutledge Jr.	Federalist	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Lemuel Benton	Democratic- Republican	1793		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain.	nowrap
Thomas Sumter	Democratic- Republican	1796	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Robert Goodloe Harper	Federalist	1794	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
William Smith	Democratic- Republican	1796		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain.	nowrap

Tennessee

See main article: United States House of Representatives election in Tennessee, 1799.

Vermont

See main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Vermont, 1798.

See also: List of United States representatives from Vermont. Majority vote required to win, necessitating a run-off election in the 1st (Western) district.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
	Matthew Lyon		Democratic- Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Second ballot
	Lewis R. Morris		Federalist	1797 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap

Virginia

See main article: 1799 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia.

Incumbent	First elected	Result	Candidates
Daniel Morgan	Federalist	1797		Incumbent retired. Federalist hold.	nowrap
David Holmes	Democratic- Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
James Machir	Federalist	1797		Incumbent retired. Democratic-Republican gain.	nowrap
Abram Trigg	Democratic- Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John J. Trigg	Democratic- Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Matthew Clay	Democratic- Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Abraham B. Venable	Democratic- Republican	1790		Incumbent retired. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Thomas Claiborne	Democratic- Republican	1793		Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Joseph Eggleston	Democratic- Republican	1798 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Carter B. Harrison	Democratic- Republican	1793		Incumbent retired. Democratic-Republican hold.	nowrap
Josiah Parker	Federalist	1789	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Thomas Evans	Federalist	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John Clopton	Democratic- Republican	1795		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain.	nowrap
Samuel J. Cabell	Democratic- Republican	1795	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
John Dawson	Democratic- Republican	1797	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Anthony New	Democratic- Republican	1793	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Richard Brent	Democratic- Republican	1795		Incumbent retired. Federalist gain.	nowrap
John Nicholas	Democratic- Republican	1793	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap
Walter Jones	Democratic- Republican	1797		Incumbent lost re-election. Federalist gain.	nowrap

Non-voting delegates

|-! | colspan=3 | New seat| | New seat created.
New delegate elected October 3, 1799.
New delegate had no known party.| nowrap | |}

Bibliography

Web site: A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825 . Tufts Digital Library, Tufts University . January 17, 2015 . January 29, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150129054451/http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:de.uscongress.1789 . dead .
Book: Dubin, Michael J. . United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses . McFarland and Company . March 1, 1998 . 978-0786402830.
Book: Martis, Kenneth C. . The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989 . Macmillan Publishing Company . January 1, 1989 . 978-0029201701.
Web site: Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present . Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives . January 21, 2015.
Web site: Mapping Early American Elections. 2024-09-06. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. 2019. Mapping Early American Elections project team.

External links

Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)