The 1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 6, 1870, and October 6, 1871. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before or after the first session of the 42nd United States Congress convened on March 4, 1871. They occurred in the middle of PresidentUlysses S. Grant's first term. Elections were held for all 243 seats, representing 37 states.
With Grant's administration rocked by a number of scandals (including a shady deal for gold speculation that led to a crash in the market and several business deals that saw high-ranking governmental officials gain kickbacks) and Reconstruction winding down, his Republican Party lost seats to the opposition Democratic Party but retained an overall majority. Also, since white-supremacist governments controlled by the Democratic Party were reestablishing themselves in some portions of the South, the Democrats were able to make huge gains in this election.
In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors.[1] This law did not affect election dates for Congress, which remained within the jurisdiction of State governments, but over time, the States moved their congressional elections to this date as well. In 1870, there remained 12 States that held elections before Election Day, and 4 that held it after at this time:
Early elections:
December 1, 1869: Mississippi (Mississippi was a special case, having held elections for both the 41st Congress upon readmission and for the 42nd Congress on the same day)
^Majority of states held elections on November 8, 1870 (i.e. Election Day).
^ Note that Dubin (p. 221) records 9–10 "Conservatives", and approximately 94 Democrats, as being elected to the 42nd Congress. This contrasts with Martis (pp. 124–125) which offers no separate accounting of "Conservatives" from Democrats and thus records a total of 104 Democratic members of the 42nd Congress.