1862 United States elections

none February 2026 January 2025 1862 Midterm elections January 6–November 4Dubin 1998 190, 193–95 Republican Party (US)Abraham Lincoln (R) 38th 6 of 68 seats(4 seats of Class I + 3 special elections) Republican-Union gain Republican-Union ±0 350px Results#a22222 Union gain #e08214 Constitutional Union gain#f48882 Republican hold #ffaacc Border state Union hold#552200ff Confederate state 155 of 180 seats(151 general + 12 special elections) Republican-Union hold Democratic +29 350px General elections 350px Special elections Results #0671B0 Democratic gain #a22222 Union gain #CA0120 Republican gain#92C5DE Democratic hold #c55c45dd Union hold #F48882 Republican hold#dd3497 Border state Union gain #ffaacc Border state Union hold#66c2a5 Emancipation gain #e66101 Conservative Union gain#666666 Independent gain 15 (13 Union, 2 Confederate) 350px United States elections 350px Confederate States elections Results#0671B0 Democratic gain #a22222 Union gain #666666 Independent gain#dd3497 Border state Union gain #f48882 Republican hold#fdb863 Constitutional Union hold Elections were held in the United States on or before November 4, 1862, during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The Democratic Party flipped more than two dozen seats in the United States House of Representatives and won key state races in the Northern United States, but failed to end unified Republican-Union control of the White House and Congress. Elections for the 38th United States Congress were staggered throughout 1862 and 1863, preceding the start of the first session. Four of the 24 United States senators in Class I and 151 of the 180 United States representatives were elected in 1862, with the remainder chosen the following year.Dubin 1998 193–96 Fifteen state gubernatorial elections, including two in the Confederacy, were also contested, alongside numerous state and local elections.Dubin 2007 1–2 The elections took place against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the end of slavery in the United States. In what was the first real test of Democratic opposition to the Lincoln administration, Democrats made a net gain of 29 seats in the House, won governorships in New Jersey and New York, and flipped partisan control of state legislatures in four Lower North states.Silbey 1977 143–44 Dubin 1998 193–95 Smith 2006 57 Dubin 2007 127, 136 Republican-Unionists flipped a Democratic-held United States Senate seat in Oregon, while the Constitutional Union Party flipped a Republican-held seat in Rhode Island.Carey 1922 650 Dell 1975 165 Emancipation and the status of freedpeople were major issues during the campaign. The appearance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in late September interrupted the elections, with significant implications for party alignments. In the Upper North, the proclamation undercut Conservative efforts to marginalize Radical Republicans within the Republican-Union coalition.Donald 1970 81 Current 1976 403 Democrats benefited from racist backlash to the proclamation in the Lower North, wielding anti-abolitionist rhetoric to great effect. Opposition to conscription, Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, and a sagging war effort also contributed to the strong Democratic showing in the region.Allardice 2011 104–6 Thornbrough 1995 117–22 McPherson 1988 560–61 While contemporary observers interpreted the elections as a "severe reproof" of the administration, the results of the elections were inconclusive.McPherson 1988 561 Despite the magnitude of the Democratic gains in 1862, Republican-Unionists were able to salvage their congressional majorities due to the support of Unionists from the border states. The lack of absentee voting for soldiers contributed to the decline in the Republican-Union vote compared to 1860.Smith 2006 57–58 See also 1862–63 United States House of Representatives elections 1862–63 United States Senate elections Notes Bibliography Allardice Bruce S. 'Illinois is Rotten with Traitors!' The Republican Defeat in the 1862 State Election Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society Spring–Summer 2011 104 1/2 97–114 41201305 https://www.jstor.org/stable/41201305 Carey Charles Henry History of Oregon 1922 Pioneer Historical Publishing Company Chicago https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_Oregon/ox2iAeFUGXQC Current Richard N. The History of Wisconsin 2: The Civil War Era, 1848–1873 1976 State Historical Society of Wisconsin Madison https://archive.org/details/historyofwiscons0002unse Dell Christopher Lincoln and the War Democrats: The Grand Erosion of Conservative Tradition 1975 Farleigh Dickenson University Press Rutherford, NJ https://archive.org/details/lincolnwardemocr0000dell Donald David Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man 1970 Alfred A. Knopf New York https://archive.org/details/charlessumnerrig0000dona Dubin Michael J. Party Affiliations in State Legislatures: A Year by Year Summary, 1796–2006 2007 McFarland and Company Jefferson, NC https://archive.org/details/partyaffiliation0000dub Dubin Michael J. United States Congressional Elections, 1788–1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses March 1, 1998 McFarland and Company Jefferson, N.C. 978-0-7864-0283-0 https://books.google.com/books?id=9ElyQgAACAAJ McPherson James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era 1988 Oxford University New York https://archive.org/details/battlecryoffreed0000unse Silbey Joel H. A Respectable Minority: The Democratic Party in the Civil War Era, 1860–1868 1977 W. W. Norton and Company New York 978-0-393-05648-8 https://archive.org/details/respectableminor0000silb Smith Adam I. P. No Party Now: Politics in the Civil War North 2006 Oxford University Press New York 978-0-19-518865-3 https://archive.org/details/nopartynowpoliti0000smit Thornbrough Emma Lou Indiana in the Civil War Era, 1850–1880 1995 Indiana Historical Society Indianapolis https://archive.org/details/indianaincivilwa0003thor Category:1862 elections in the United States 1862 Category:United States midterm elections