The
U.S. House election, 1802 was an election to the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for the eighth Congress. Voting in the various states took place between April 1802 (New York) and December 1803 (New Jersey-after Congress had assembled) with the Congress, convened by a proclaimation of President
JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
, meeting on October 17, 1803.
With a number of new districts created due to a growing population west of the
Appalachian MountainsThe Appalachian Mountains , often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians...
, the House grew greatly prior to the 1802 elections.
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The
U.S. House election, 1802 was an election to the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for the eighth Congress. Voting in the various states took place between April 1802 (New York) and December 1803 (New Jersey-after Congress had assembled) with the Congress, convened by a proclaimation of President
JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
, meeting on October 17, 1803.
With a number of new districts created due to a growing population west of the
Appalachian MountainsThe Appalachian Mountains , often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians...
, the House grew greatly prior to the 1802 elections. Nearly all of these new seats went to the Democratic-Republicans, the party that more closely aligned itself with the agrarian interests of Western farmers. As a result, the Democratic-Republicans were given a veto-proof
supermajorityA supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds majority. In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority requirement...
in the House.
Overall results
| Party |
Total seats (change) |
Seat percentage |
Democratic-RepublicansThe Democratic-Republican Party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison around 1792. Supporters usually identified themselves as Republicans, but sometimes as Democrats. The term "Democratic Republican" was also used by contemporaries, but mostly by the party's opponents...
|
103 |
+35 |
72.5% |
| Federalists The Federalist Party was an American political party in the period 1792 to 1816, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801. The party was formed by Alexander Hamilton, who, during George Washington's first term, built a network of...
|
39 |
+1 |
27.5% |
| Totals |
142 |
+36 |
100% |
External links
- http://clerk.house.gov/histHigh/Congressional_History/index.html