Effingham Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Effingham Lawrence was a Democratic Party
member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana
. He served one day, the last day of the session of the 43rd United States Congress
(March 4, 1875), the shortest term of any member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
for some time and then successfully contested the re-election of Jacob Hale Sypher
. Lawrence then served for one day in Congress but was not reelected. He died in New Orleans in 1878.
for a seat in Congress from Louisiana.
The 1874 voting in which Lawrence failed "re-election" to the seat had already been held before he was seated for the term to which he had, by the later court-order, been elected in 1872. Thus, under the congressional calendar in effect at the time, Lawrence was able to serve for one day of the 1873-1875 term to which he had, in the end, been elected. On the following day—March 5, 1875—he was succeeded by Randall Lee Gibson, a Democrat who had defeated him during the preceding autumn.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He served one day, the last day of the session of the 43rd United States Congress
43rd United States Congress
The Forty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1873 to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth...
(March 4, 1875), the shortest term of any member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Biography
Lawrence was born in Queens, New York, in 1820. He moved to Louisiana in 1843 and engaged in the planting and refining of sugar. He served in the Louisiana State House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
for some time and then successfully contested the re-election of Jacob Hale Sypher
Jacob Hale Sypher
Jacob Hale Sypher was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana. He served four terms as a Republican....
. Lawrence then served for one day in Congress but was not reelected. He died in New Orleans in 1878.
Contested election
The voting in the 1872 election was characterized by a number of irregularities, with Sypher initially being declared the winner and returned to Congress whilst Lawrence appealed the election results. Lawrence's belated replacement of Sypher, after courts intervened to nullify the originally results and instead deliver the seat to Lawrence, marked the first time since the Civil War that a Democrat had defeated a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
for a seat in Congress from Louisiana.
The 1874 voting in which Lawrence failed "re-election" to the seat had already been held before he was seated for the term to which he had, by the later court-order, been elected in 1872. Thus, under the congressional calendar in effect at the time, Lawrence was able to serve for one day of the 1873-1875 term to which he had, in the end, been elected. On the following day—March 5, 1875—he was succeeded by Randall Lee Gibson, a Democrat who had defeated him during the preceding autumn.