1855 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts

none March 2026 September 2023 1855 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts presidential Massachusetts no 1853 United States Senate election in Massachusetts 1853 1859 United States Senate election in Massachusetts 1859 January 23 and 31, 1855 x160px 40 members of the Massachusetts Senate396 members of the Massachusetts HouseMajority vote of both houses needed to win Senate Percentage House Percentage Hon. Henry Wilson, Mass - NARA - 528305 (5x7 crop).jpg Henry Wilson Know Nothing 21 52.5% 234 57.8% U.S. senator Julius Rockwell Whig Party (United States) Henry Wilson Know Nothing The 1855 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held during January 1855. Henry Wilson was elected to fill the remainder of the term left vacant by the resignation of Edward Everett. Everett had resigned in 1854 over poor health and protest following his failure to vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Prior to the election, Julius Rockwell had been appointed to the seat on an interim basis. 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. Background In 1854, the anti-immigration, anti-slavery American Party (better known as Know-Nothings) swept the Massachusetts elections, taking nearly every seat in the legislature. American Party caucus Henry Wilson was nominated as the American Party candidate in a legislative caucus on January 13. Most of the House participated; none of the Senators did.LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS IN MASSACHUSETTS The Richmond Daily Dispatch 22 Jan 1855United States Senate The Boston Herald 13 Jan 1855 First informal American Party caucus Henry Wilson Know Nothing 178 50.42% Alfred H. Ely Know Nothing 50 14.16% Julius Rockwell (incumbent) Know Nothing 45 12.75% Alexander Bullock Know Nothing 22 6.23% Nahum F. Bryant Know Nothing 16 4.53% Nathaniel P. Banks Know Nothing 14 3.97% Charles Woodward Stearns Know Nothing 8 2.27% Scattering Others 20 5.67% 353 100.00% Second formal American Party caucus Henry Wilson Know Nothing 200 57.80% Alfred B. Ely Know Nothing 57 16.47% Alexander Bullock Know Nothing 30 8.67% Julius Rockwell (incumbent) Know Nothing 27 7.80% Nahum F. Bryant Know Nothing 12 3.47% Nathaniel P. Banks Know Nothing 4 1.16% Scattering Others 16 4.62% 346 100.00% Opposition to Wilson Following Wilson's endorsement by the caucus, public opposition was aroused against his election. On January 15, a printed circular called for a caucus of "all members in the House who believe in the freedom of debate, who refuse to sanction a high-handed course of political action, and who are opposed to the election of Hon. Henry Wilson to the United States Senate." The opposition caucus met and endorsed Alexander Bullock for Senator.Massachusetts Politics New York Daily Times 16 Jan 1855 1 Election in the House Much of the debate in the House surrounded Wilson's loyalty to the American Party, or his lack thereof. Wilson had been the Free Soil Party candidate for governor in 1854 but aligned himself with the nativist Know Nothing movement after their sweeping victory, in an effort to strengthen the party's emphasis on opposition to slavery. (The Free Soil Party had been dissolved into the new Republican Party.) On January 23, the House convened and elected Wilson on the first ballot. His candidacy was then sent to the Senate for ratification. 1855 U.S. Senate special election in the HouseMassachusetts Legislature 23 Jan 1855 The Boston Herald 4 Henry Wilson Know Nothing 234 57.80% Nahum F. Bryant Know Nothing 85 23.35% Julius Rockwell (incumbent) Whig Party (United States) 18 7.80% Alfred B. Ely Unknown 9 2.47% Charles A. Phelps Know Nothing 3 2.27% Jonathan Pierce Unknown 3 0.09% John G. Palfrey Republican Party (US) 3 0.09% George S. Boutwell Democratic Party (United States) 2 0.06% Nathaniel P. Banks Know Nothing 1 0.03% S. M. Copeland Unknown 1 0.03% Samuel Hoar Republican Party (United States) 1 0.03% Ephraim M. Wright Whig Party (United States) 1 0.03% Henry W. Bishop Democratic Party (United States) 1 0.03% Richard Henry Dana Jr. Republican Party (United States) 1 0.03% Mr. Luscom Unknown 1 0.03% 364 100.00% Election in the Senate On January 31, the State Senate convened and ratified the House's choice of Wilson. 1855 U.S. Senate election in the SenateHenry Wilson Elected United States Senator from Massachusetts. 1 Feb 1855 New York Daily Times Henry Wilson Know Nothing 21 55.26% Ephraim M. Wright Whig Party (US) 14 36.84% Scattering Others 4 10.53% 38 100.00% Aftermath Wilson joined Samuel Hoar's new anti-slavery Republican Party upon entering the Senate. References Massachusetts 1855 Massachusetts 1855 1855 Special Massachusetts Special United States Senate Special United States Senate 1855 Category:Henry Wilson