1864–65 United States House of Representatives elections
The 1864–65 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 5, 1864, and November 7, 1865, in the midst of the American Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln's reelection. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives. Members were elected before the first session of the 39th United States Congress convened on December 4, 1865, including the at-large seat from the new state of Nevada, and the 8 from Tennessee, the first secessionist state to be readmitted. The other 10 secessionist states had not yet been readmitted, and therefore were not seated.
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All 193 seats in the United States House of Representatives 97 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results National Unionist gain National Unionist hold Democratic gain Democratic hold | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The opposition Democrats were deeply divided between the Copperheads, a group that demanded an immediate negotiated settlement with the Confederate States of America, and the War Democrats, who supported the war. With the Democrats lacking any coherent message, they lost half their seats to Lincoln's Republican Party, who increased their majority to a commanding level.
The National Union Party (formerly known as the Unionists) lost seven seats, retaining control of 18 seats (some classify the Representatives as including 13 Unconditional Unionists and five Unionists), all from the border states of Maryland, Tennessee, and Kentucky, as well as West Virginia.