1858–59 United States Senate elections
elections for the U.S. Senate
The 1858–59 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1858 and 1859, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.
The Republican Party gained five additional seats in the Senate, but the Democratic Party retained its majority. That majority would erode in 1860 with the secession of the Southern United States, in the early stagrs of the Civil War.
In Illinois, incumbent Stephen A. Douglas (D) and challenger Abraham Lincoln (R) held a series of seven debates, known as the "Lincoln–Douglas debates."
Results summary
Senate party division, 36th Congress (1859–1861)
Majority party: Democratic (38–25)
Minority party: Republican (25–26)
Other parties: American (2)
Total seats: 66–68
Change in Senate composition
Before the elections
As a result of the elections
Race summaries
Special elections during the 35th Congress
In these elections, the winners were seated during 1858 or in 1859 before March 4; ordered by election date.
Races leading to the 36th Congress
In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1859; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.
Elections during the 36th Congress
In this election, the winner was elected in 1859 on or after March 4; ordered by date.
“1858–59 United States Senate elections” enters the record as elections for the U.S. Senate. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what United, States and Senate can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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