1857 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
The 1857 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in January 1857. Incumbent Charles Sumner was re-elected to a second term in office as a member of the Republican Party. Sumner was narrowly elected by a coalition of Free-Soil and Democratic legislators in 1851. He had since become a founding member of the Massachusetts Republican Party.
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At the time, Massachusetts elected United States Senators by a majority vote of each separate house of the Massachusetts General Court: the House and the Senate.
During the election, Sumner was still recovering from a brutal attack by a fellow member of Congress, Preston Brooks. He would not permanently return to the Senate until 1859.
Background
On May 22, 1856, Congressman Preston Brooks used a walking cane to attack incumbent Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate. Brooks considered his attack retaliation for a Sumner's speech given two days earlier, in which Sumner fiercely criticized slaveholders including South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Brook's relative. The beating nearly killed Sumner and contributed to the country's polarization over the issue of slavery.
In the 1856 legislative elections, supporters of the Republican ticket, including Republicans and nominal members of the Know-Nothing Party, won an overwhelming majority in both houses of the General Court, securing Sumner's re-election without opposition. Representatives-elect included 218 Republicans, 5 Fremont Americans, 6 Fillmore Americans, 4 Democrats, and 2 Whigs. 24 seats were left vacant.[3]
House
In a noted contrast[1] from the divisive and lengthy 1851 election, Sumner was re-elected overwhelmingly by the House on January 9.[4]
In the House, Sumner received votes from 333 of 345 voting. Some protest votes were cast for conservative former Whig politicians who had become independents or Democrats following the party's dissolution in 1856.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Charles Sumner | 333 | 96.52% | |
| Independent | Robert C. Winthrop | 3 | 0.87% | |
| Unknown | Nathaniel J. Lord | 1 | 0.29% | |
| Independent | George H. Gordon | 1 | 0.29% | |
| Democratic | Erasmus D. Beach | 1 | 0.29% | |
| Unknown | Otis P. Lord | 1 | 0.29% | |
| Unknown | Charles E. Goodrich | 1 | 0.29% | |
| Independent | Edward Everett | 1 | 0.29% | |
| Democratic | Rufus Choate | 1 | 0.29% | |
| Constitutional Union | William Appleton | 1 | 0.29% | |
| Total votes | 345 | 100.00% | ||
References
- "The Re-election of Mr. Sumner". New York Daily Times. 15 Jan 1857. p. 1.
- "MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE". Zion's Herald and Wesleyan Journal. 28 (3): 11. 21 Jan 1857.
- "THE ELECTION". The Boston Herald. 5 Nov 1856. p. 2.
- "MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE". Zion's Herald and Wesleyan Journal. 28 (2): 7. 14 Jan 1857.