United States House election, 1794
Encyclopedia
The U.S. House election, 1794 was an election for the United States House of Representatives
to the Fourth United States Congress during President
George Washington's
second term. Voting in the various states took place between August 1794 (New Hampshire and Rhode Island) and September 1795 (Kentucky). Congress was convened on December 7, 1795. Tennessee elected their first Representative (Andrew Jackson
) on October 7, 1796.
In the second election with organized political parties, the Thomas Jefferson
-led Democratic-Republican Party
once again defeated the Alexander Hamilton
-led Federalist Party
and slightly increased their majority. These new wins by the Democratic-Republicans can mostly be attributed to the support of Jeffersonian ideas of agrarian democracy, which gained great footholds in the West.
During this period each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election. This article covers all such state elections to the 4th Congress. Elections to a Congress took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when the Congress convened. In some states the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd numbered year).
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
to the Fourth United States Congress during President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George Washington's
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
second term. Voting in the various states took place between August 1794 (New Hampshire and Rhode Island) and September 1795 (Kentucky). Congress was convened on December 7, 1795. Tennessee elected their first Representative (Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
) on October 7, 1796.
In the second election with organized political parties, the Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
-led Democratic-Republican Party
Democratic-Republican Party (United States)
The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...
once again defeated the Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
-led Federalist Party
Federalist Party (United States)
The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...
and slightly increased their majority. These new wins by the Democratic-Republicans can mostly be attributed to the support of Jeffersonian ideas of agrarian democracy, which gained great footholds in the West.
During this period each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election. This article covers all such state elections to the 4th Congress. Elections to a Congress took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when the Congress convened. In some states the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd numbered year).
Overall results
| Party | Total seats |
Change | Seat percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-Republican Party | 59 | +5 | 55.7% |
| Federalist Party | 47 | -4 | 44.3% |
| Totals | 106 | +1 | 100% |
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 1794United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 1794The 1794 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held in December 1794, to elect ten U.S. Representatives to represent the State of New York in the United States House of Representatives of the 4th United States Congress.-Background:...