United States Senate election in New York, 1855

The 1855 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 6, 1855, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator (Class 3) to represent the State of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

in the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

Background

William H. Seward had been elected in 1849 to this seat and his term would expire on March 3, 1855.

At the time the Democratic Party was split into two opposing factions: the "Hards" and the "Softs"

Barnburners and Hunkers

The Barnburners were the more radical faction of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid 19th century. The term barnburner was derived from the idea of someone who would burn down his own barn to get rid of a rat infestation, in this case those who would destroy all banks and corporations,...

. After most of the "Barnburners" had left the party, joining the Whigs, the majority of "Hunkers" split over the question of reconciliation with the minority of Barnburners who had remained Democrats. The Hard faction (led by Daniel S. Dickinson

Daniel S. Dickinson

Daniel Stevens Dickinson was a New York politician, most notable as a United States Senator from 1844 to 1851.-Biography:...

) was against it, in true Hunker fashion claiming all patronage for themselves; the Soft faction (led by William L. Marcy

William L. Marcy

William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...

, which included the former Barnburners, advocated party unity as a necessity to defeat the Whigs.

In 1854, the Republican Party was founded as a national party, but in New York the Whigs and the Anti-Nebraska Party

Anti-Nebraska Party

The Anti-Nebraska Party was an American political party formed in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Its founders, including Salmon P. Chase, held deep moral opposition to slavery, and were thus appalled by legislation that could lead to more slave-holding states...

ran concurrently at the State election. The unification of these occurred in New York only during the nomination convention for the State election in November 1855

New York state election, 1855

The 1855 New York state election was held on November 6, 1855, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, two judges of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioner and an Inspector of State Prisons, as well as...

. Also running in the 1854 election were the American Party

Know Nothing

The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...

and nominees of the Temperance movement

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

. In a general way, party lines were blurred until the re-alignment during the late 1850s after the disbanding of the American Party.

At the State election in November 1853

New York state election, 1853

The 1853 New York state election was held on November 8, 1853, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer, two Judges of the New York Court of Appeals, a Canal Commissioner, an Inspector of State Prisons and the Clerk of the...

, 23 Whigs, 7 Hards and 2 Softs were elected for a two-year term (1854-1855) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1854, Whig State Senator Myron H. Clark

Myron H. Clark

Myron Holley Clark was an American politician from the U.S. state of New York.- Biography :Clark was born in Naples, Ontario County, New York on October 23, 1806...

was elected Governor of New York

Governor of New York

The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...

, and 82 Whigs, 26 Softs, 16 Hards and 3 Temperance men were elected for the session of 1855 to the New York State Assembly. "Know Nothing

Know Nothing

s are sprinkled miscellaneously among Whigs, Hards and Softs; and exactly how many there are of these gentry in the Assembly Nobody Knows." The 78th State Legislature met from January 2 to April 14, 1855, at Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

Candidates

The incumbent U.S. Senator William H. Seward ran for re-election as a Whig.

Election

In the Assembly, Seward received 69 votes, given by 65 Whigs; 1 Democrat; 1 Temperance man; 1 Republican and 1 Whig-Republican. Dickinson received 14 votes, given by 13 Democrats and 1 American. Horatio Seymour received the votes of 12 Democrats. Dix received 7 votes, given by 5 Democrats; 1 Independent Democrat and 1 Temperance man. Fillmore received 4 votes, given by 2 Whigs; 1 Democrat and 1 Temperance-American. Horatio Seymour, Jr., received the votes of 2 Americans. King, Butler, Lester, Wait and Bronson received 1 Democratic vote each. Campbell received 1 Temperance-American vote. Howell received 1 American vote. Hoffman and Haven received 1 Whig vote each.

In the State Senate, Seward received 18 Whig votes, Dickinson 5 Hard votes, and Allen 2 Whig votes. Preston and Church received 1 Soft vote each. Hoffman, Babcock, Ullmann and Fillmore received 1 American vote each.

Result

William H. Seward was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

**1855 United States Senator election result**
Office	Candidate	Party	Senate (32 members)	Assembly (128 members)
U.S. Senator	William H. Seward William H. Seward William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...	Whig	18	69
	Daniel S. Dickinson Daniel S. Dickinson Daniel Stevens Dickinson was a New York politician, most notable as a United States Senator from 1844 to 1851.-Biography:...	Dem./Hard Barnburners and Hunkers The Barnburners were the more radical faction of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid 19th century. The term barnburner was derived from the idea of someone who would burn down his own barn to get rid of a rat infestation, in this case those who would destroy all banks and corporations,...	5	14
	Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour was an American politician. He was the 18th Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the presidential election of 1868, but lost the election to Republican and former Union General of...	Dem./Soft Barnburners and Hunkers The Barnburners were the more radical faction of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid 19th century. The term barnburner was derived from the idea of someone who would burn down his own barn to get rid of a rat infestation, in this case those who would destroy all banks and corporations,...		12
	Washington Hunt Washington Hunt Washington Hunt was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He moved to Lockport, New York in 1828 to study law, was admitted to the bar in 1834, and opened a law office on Market Street in 1835...	Whig		9
	John Adams Dix John Adams Dix John Adams Dix was an American politician from New York. He served as Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, and the 24th Governor of New York. He was also a Union major general during the Civil War.-Early life and career:...	Dem./Soft Barnburners and Hunkers The Barnburners were the more radical faction of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid 19th century. The term barnburner was derived from the idea of someone who would burn down his own barn to get rid of a rat infestation, in this case those who would destroy all banks and corporations,...		7
	Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...	Whig	1	4
	William F. Allen William F. Allen (New York) William Fitch Allen was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:...	Democrat	2
	Horatio Seymour, Jr.			2
	Preston King Preston King Preston King was a United States Representative and Senator from New York.- Biography :Born in Ogdensburg, New York, he pursued classical studies and graduated from Union College in 1827, where he was an early member of The Kappa Alpha Society. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. He...		1	1
	Ogden Hoffman	Whig	1	1
	Daniel Ullmann	American Know Nothing The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...	1
	Sanford E. Church Sanford E. Church Sanford Elias Church was an American lawyer and Democratic politician...	Democrat	1
	George R. Babcock	Democrat	1
	William W. Campbell	American Know Nothing The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...		1
	Benjamin F. Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (lawyer) Benjamin Franklin Butler was a lawyer, legislator and Attorney General of the United States.-Early life:...	Democrat		1
	Albert Lester Albert Lester Albert Lester was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:Lester removed from Litchfield, Connecticut to Canandaigua....	Democrat		1
	Greene C. Bronson Greene C. Bronson Greene Carrier Bronson was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...	Democrat		1
	Solomon G. Haven Solomon G. Haven Solomon George Haven was a U.S. Representative from New York and Mayor of the City of Buffalo, New York, serving in 1846–1847.-Biography:He was born in Guilford, New York on November 27, 1810...	Opposition Opposition Party (United States) The Opposition Party in the United States is a label with two different applications in Congressional history, as a majority party in Congress 1854-58, and as a Third Party in the South 1858-1860....		1
	John D. Howell			1
	L. or J. Wait			1

Aftermath

Seward remained in the U.S. Senate until March 3, 1861, and two days later became U.S. Secretary of State, appointed by President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

Sources

The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 63 for U.S. Senators; pg. 137 for State Senators 1855; pg. 248ff for Members of Assembly 1855)
Members of the 34th United States Congress
STATE AFFAIRS; Election of a U.S. Senator for Six Years in NYT on February 7, 1855

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