1825 Michigan Territorial Council election

none September 2023 1825 Michigan Territorial Council election May 31, 1825June 30, 1825 legislative 26 nominees, from which 13 members to be chosen by the president of the United States 1st Michigan Territorial Council 2nd Michigan Territorial Council no 1823 Michigan Territorial Council election 1823 1827 Michigan Territorial Council election 1827 The 1825 Michigan Territorial Council election was held in the Territory of Michigan to elect the members of the territory's legislative council. Background Michigan Territorial Council#History The First Michigan Territorial Council had nine members, selected by the president of the United States from a slate of 18 people chosen in a general election.Utley Cutcheon 1906 279 The council wrote a memorial to Congress complaining that "much inconvenience is experienced from the small number that forms" the council and that "the duties imposed on the present members are extremely arduous". They asked for an increase in size to 13, the same as the legislative council for Florida Territory.Memorial of the Legislative Council, Carter 1943 610–611 (August 5, 1824). Congress expanded the size to 13 in an act of February 5, 1825,An Act in addition to an act, entitled "An act to amend the ordinance and acts of Congress for the government of the territory of Michigan," and for other purposes, 4 80 (1825). to be selected by the president from a slate of 26 people chosen in a general election.Utley Cutcheon 1906 279 Election In an act of April 13, 1825, the legislative council divided the territory into six districts and apportioned the 13 seats among them. It also set the date for the election of the next council as the "last Tuesday of May next, ... and thereafter ... biennially". The date for the election in the sixth district, comprising the more remote counties of Brown, Crawford, and Michilimackinac was set as "the last Thursday of June next".An Act to provide for the election of members of the Legislative Council, Laws of the Territory of Michigan 1874 259–260 (1825). The election was thus held on May 31, 1825, for districts one through five, and on June 30, 1825, for the sixth district. When certifying the results, the canvassers, William Woodbridge, the territory's secretary, and Robert Abbott, its treasurer, expressed uncertainty over how the results should be interpreted. They believed that the Act of Congress of February 5, 1825, gave the right to vote for all 26 positions "to all, and to each of the qualified voters of the Territory" and that the top 26 overall vote-earners, regardless of district, ought to be certified as elected. They felt that the legislative council may have overstepped its power to "regulate the manner of election" by restricting voting to a subset of the 26 positions in each district. Concluding that they were not obligated to resolve the question, they certified two separate sets of results, which they termed the "General Ticket System" and the "District System".Certificate of the Canvassers, Carter 1943 921–924 (November 19, 1825). Territorial Governor Lewis Cass submitted the District System results to Secretary of State Henry Clay on December 2, 1825.Governor Cass to the Secretary of State, Carter 1943 815–816 (December 2, 1825). In a later letter, he recommended to Clay that the tie vote in the fifth district be broken in favor of Zephaniah W. Bunce on the grounds that he was an incumbent member of the council.Governor Cass to the Secretary of State, Carter 1943 929 (January 7, 1826). On March 9, 1826, President John Quincy Adams announced the appointment of Bunce, William A. Burt, Henry Connor, Sidney Dole, Laurent Durocher, Abraham Edwards, Robert A. Forsyth, Robert Irwin Jr., Hubert Lacroix, Wolcott Lawrence, William F. Moseley, John Stockton, and Andrew G. Whitney to the second Michigan Territorial Council.Carter 1943 1036–1037 General ticket system results The first set of results certified by the canvassers counted all votes cast for a person throughout the territory, irrespective of district. These results were not submitted to the secretary of state by Governor Cass. +General Ticket System (not submitted) Rank Candidate Total Votes1Abraham Edwards4282Laurent Durocher3393Henry Connor2904Andrew G. Whitney2885Robert A. Forsyth2826John McDonell2737Louis Baufet2718Joseph Spencer2689Wolcott Lawrence25210William Little22811George McDougall21812Philip Lecuyer21313Hubert Lacroix20814Timothy C. Strong20515Joseph Hickox20416Thomas Rowland18717John R. Williams17418Charles J. Lanman16819Robert Abbott16820Sidney Dole16121William F. Moseley15422John Stockton14123Levi Cook13824Ebenezer Reed13125William A. Fletcher12826James Duane Doty117 District system results The second set of results certified by the canvassers included only votes cast within the district where a candidate resided. These are the results Governor Cass submitted to the secretary of state for use by the president when selecting the members of the council. +1st District (Wayne) — 8 nominees Rank Candidate Total Votes1Abraham Edwards4242Henry Connor2893Andrew G. Whitney2854Robert A. Forsyth2805John McDonell2716Louis Baufet2707Joseph Spencer2678William Little226 +2nd District (Monroe) — 6 nominees Rank Candidate Total Votes1Laurent Durocher3392Wolcott Lawrence2523Hubert Lacroix2074Charles J. Lanman1675John B. Cicot1006Gabriel Godfroy96 +3rd District (Oakland) — 4 nominees Rank Candidate Total Votes1Sidney Dole1602William F. Moseley1543Daniel LeRoy844Daniel Bronson83 +4th District (Macomb) — 4 nominees Rank Candidate Total Votes1John Stockton1412William A. Burt913Christian Clemens784John Bennet53 +5th District (St. Clair) — 2 nominees Rank Candidate Total Votes1Zephaniah W. Bunce502Eber Ward50 +6th District (Brown, Crawford, Michilimackinac) — 2 nominees Rank Candidate Total Votes1James Duane Doty1172Robert Irwin Jr.92 Notes References Carter Clarence E. The Territorial Papers of the United States 11 Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 1943 https://books.google.com/books?id=BotHAQAAMAAJ 2019-10-15 Laws of the Territory of Michigan 2 W.S. George, State Printers Lansing 1874 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015071178845 Laws of the Territory of Michigan 1874 2019-10-16 Utley Henry M. Cutcheon Byron M. Burton Clarence M. Michigan, as a Province, Territory, and State, the Twenty-Sixth Member of the Federal Union Publishing Society of Michigan 2 1906 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081906350&view=1up 2019-10-16 2027/mdp.35112104739232 free Category:1825 Michigan Territory elections Category:Michigan Legislature elections Category:1825 state legislature elections in the United States