1863 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

none March 2026 September 2023 1863 United States Senate election in Massachusetts presidential no 1857 United States Senate election in Massachusetts 1857 1869 United States Senate election in Massachusetts 1869 January 15, 1863 160x160px 40 members of the Massachusetts Senate235 members of the Massachusetts House of RepresentativesMajority vote of each house needed to win Senate Percentage House Percentage Charles Sumner - Brady-Handy.jpg Charles Sumner Republican Party (United States) 33 82.5% 194 82.55% Josiah Gardner Abbott - Brady-Handy.jpg Josiah Abbott People's 5 12.5% 38 16.17% Senator Charles Sumner Republican Party (United States) Charles Sumner Republican Party (United States) The 1863 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on January 9, 1863. Incumbent Charles Sumner was re-elected to a third term in office. At the time of this election, Massachusetts elected United States senators by a majority vote of each house of the Massachusetts General Court. Background The Republican state convention met at Worcester, Massachusetts, on September 9, 1862. Sumner had earned the disapproval of Conservative Republicans when he opposed Lincoln's plan for gradual emancipation in March 1862, calling instead for Congress to use its authority under the War Powers Clause to abolish slavery immediately. Seeking to preempt a movement to replace Sumner at the next senatorial election, Sumner's allies took the unusual step of having the state convention endorse his bid for re-election. A resolution endorsing Sumner and approving his course in the Senate passed over the protests of conservative delegates, in effect making Sumner's re-election the central issue of the fall campaign.Donald 1970 76, 63, 75, 77–78 Conservative opponents of Sumner held a convention at Boston on October 7, 1862.Donald 1970 79 Many of the organizers of the convention were former Whigs who had supported the Constitutional Union Party in 1860.Smith 2006 62 In a nod to antipartisan wartime rhetoric, the movement called itself the People's Party; its express purpose was to defeat Sumner's bid for reelection. The convention adopted a pro-war, anti-abolitionist platform and selected candidates for the upcoming state elections; Charles F. Adams was nominated for U.S. senator, but declined. The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, issued September 22, had brought the Lincoln administration into line with Sumner's position, while the endorsement of the People's ticket by the Massachusetts Democratic Party undermined the movement's claim to constitute the true pro-administration party in Massachusetts. Following these events, most Conservative Republicans returned to the fold, and the Republican ticket was elected by a large majority.Baum 1984 63–65The Elections Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post November 15, 1862 https://archive.org/details/sim_saturday-evening-post_1862-11-15_2155 House 1863 Senate election in the HouseCharles Sumner The Independent January 22, 1863 https://archive.org/details/sim_independent_1863-01-22_15_738 Republican Party (United States) Charles Sumner (incumbent) 194 82.55% People's #f59100 Josiah G. Abbott 38 16.17% Democratic Party (United States) Caleb Cushing 2 0.85% Republican Party (United States) Charles Francis Adams 1 0.43% 235 100.00% Senate 1863 Senate election in the Senate Republican Party (United States) Charles Sumner (incumbent) 33 82.5% People's #f59100 Josiah G. Abbott 5 12.5% Republican Party (United States) Charles Francis Adams 1 2.5% None No vote 1 2.5% 40 100.00% The lone vote for Adams was cast by Senator Whitney of Hampden. Senator Crane of Worcester County did not vote. Notes Bibliography Baum Dale The Civil War Party System: The Case of Massachusetts, 1848–1876 1984 University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill https://archive.org/details/civilwarpartysys0000baum Donald David Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man 1970 Alfred A. Knopf New York https://archive.org/details/charlessumnerrig0000dona 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 1863 Massachusetts United States Senate