1816 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana

none February 2026 September 2023 1816 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana's at-large congressional district Indiana File:Flag of the United States (1795-1818).svg Presidential no 1814 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana Territory 1814 (Terr.) 1817 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana 1817 August 5, 1816 150x150px File:William hendricks sr.jpg William Hendricks cc5f11 5,160 80.25% File:3x4.svg Allen D. Thom 1eafaf 1,269 19.74 File:1816 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana.svg 200px County resultsHendricks: #cc5f11 60–70% #973f00 80–90% #733000 >90%Thom: #1eafaf 70–80%#cccccc No data #808080 Non-voting area U.S. representative Jonathan JenningsRepresenting the Indiana Territory William Hendricks The 1816 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana took place on August 5, 1816.Riker Thornbrough 1960 71 William Hendricks defeated Allen D. Thom to represent Indiana's at-large congressional district in the 14th United States Congress.Hill 1974 298 The United States Congress passed enabling legislation permitting the Indiana Territory to write a constitution in 1816. Delegates to the constitutional convention met in Corydon, Indiana, from June 10 to June 29, after which the first state elections took place in August. Congress formally approved the Constitution of Indiana on December 11, nine days after Indiana's representative was seated by the United States House of Representatives.Carmony 1998 1, 6, 9 Riker Thornbrough 1960 ix The election was formally nonpartisan.Riker Thornbrough 1960 xvi Hendricks identified as an independent politician unaffiliated with either national political party. Locally, Hendricks belonged to the political faction led by the outgoing U.S. territorial delegate, Jonathan Jennings.Hill 1974 299, 301 Michael J. Dubin classifies Hendricks as a Democratic-Republican during his congressional term.Dubin 1998 55 Candidates Political parties did not play a significant role in Indiana congressional elections before the 1830s.Riker Thornbrough 1960 xx Hendricks and Thom represented sectionally-oriented factions led by the incumbent delegate, Jennings, and the outgoing territorial governor, Thomas Posey. There were no formal nominations; Thom claimed to have been drafted by his supporters, while both leading candidates were pejoratively labeled "caucus" nominees, an allusion to the unpopular congressional nominating caucus.Carmony 1998 454 Hendricks Hendricks was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 1782 and graduated from Jefferson College. He left Pennsylvania after 1810, migrating first to Cincinnati and then to Madison, Indiana, where he worked as an attorney at law. He was elected to the territorial House of Representatives in 1813, serving until 1816. During this period he held numerous other positions in the territorial government, including that of territorial printer, prosecutor, U.S. attorney, and speaker of the House.Hill 1974 297–98 His alliance with Jennings enabled him to be appointed secretary of the constitutional convention, despite not being a delegate.Cayton 1996 253 He was a prominent member of the dominant, Jennings-led faction,Hill 1974 301 which supported the abolition of slavery,Salafia 2013 98 and drew support from the populous, eastern counties.Hill 1974 301 Thom Thom was the U.S. collector of revenue at Jeffersonville, Indiana,Hill 1974 298 and served as the last adjutant general of the Indiana Territory.Brown 1907 338 He was a supporter of governor Thomas Posey,Carmony 1998 454 who succeeded William Henry Harrison as the leader of the proslavery, western faction in Indiana politics.Cayton 1996 252 Sullivan George R. C. Sullivan initially declared his candidacy, but withdrew in favor of Thom shortly before the election.Carmony 1998 454 An attorney and resident of Vincennes, Indiana,Hill 1974 298 he received at least one vote in Orleans Township, Orange County, Indiana, despite no longer being a candidate.Lampi 2012 Orleans General election Results 1816 Indiana's at-large congressional districtLampi 2012 Final Result Nonpartisan election William Hendricks 5,160 80.25 Nonpartisan election Allen D. Thom 1,269 19.74 Nonpartisan election George R. C. Sullivan 1 0.00% 6,430 100.00 Results by county Returns from the majority of counties have been lost. Phil Lampi's A New Nation Votes project locates partial results from five counties based on unofficial returns published in the Vincennes Western Sun.Lampi 2012 Final Result County William Hendricks Allen D. Thom George R. C. Sullivan Margin Total Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Clark ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Dearborn ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Franklin 449 91.82 40 8.18 409 83.64 — 489 Gibson ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Harrison ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Jackson 93 69.40 41 30.60 — 52 38.80 134 Jefferson ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Knox 170 23.84 543 76.16 — -373 -52.31 713 Orange 191 66.32 96 33.33 1 0.35 95 32.99 288 Perry ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Posey ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Switzerland ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Warrick ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data Washington 499 85.44 85 14.55 — 414 70.89 584 Wayne ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data ** No data See also 1816 and 1817 United States House of Representatives elections 1817 United States House of Representatives election in Indiana List of United States representatives from Indiana Notes References Bibliography Brown Demarchus C. Legislative and State Manual of Indiana for 1907 1907 Indiana General Assembly Indianapolis https://www.google.com/books/edition/Legislative_Manual_for/J1IxAQAAMAAJ Carmony Donald Francis Indiana 1816-1850: the Pioneer Era 1998 Indiana Historical Society Indianapolis 0-87195-125-8 https://books.google.com/books?id=BkYhDQAAQBAJ Cayton Andrew L. Frontier Indiana 1996 Indiana University Press Bloomington https://www.google.com/books/edition/Frontier_Indiana/cFPpPXWjnvkC Dubin Michael J. https://books.google.com/books?id=9ElyQgAACAAJ&q=United+States+Congressional+Elections,+1788-1997:+The+Official+Results United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses March 1, 1998 McFarland and Company Hill Frederick D. William Hendricks' Political Circulars to his Constituents: Congressional Period, 1816-1822 Indiana Magazine of History December 1974 70 4 296–344 27789995 Lampi Philip J. Indiana 1816 U.S. House of Representatives 2012 A New Nation Votes American Antiquarian Society July 8, 2026 https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/q811kk16v Riker Dorothy Thornbrough Gayle Indiana Election Returns: 1816-1851 1960 Indiana Historical Bureau Indianapolis https://archive.org/details/indianaelectionr0000unse Salafia Matthew Slavery's Borderland: Slavery and Bondage Along the Ohio River 2013 University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia https://books.google.com/books?id=ID9VAl0KbiIC 1816 Indiana United States House of Representatives