1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
40 members of the Massachusetts Senate; 396 members of the Massachusetts House; Majority vote of each house needed to win
Senator before election; Jonathan Mason; Federalist	Elected Senator ; John Quincy Adams; Federalist

The 1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in February 1803.

Incumbent Senator Jonathan Mason, who had been elected to fill the unexpired term of Benjamin Goodhue, did not run for a full term in office. The Massachusetts General Court deliberated and elected State Senator and former diplomat John Quincy Adams, son of former President John Adams, on the fourth ballot. This is the first election in the history of the United States where the winner of the Senate in Massachusetts would eventually become president of the United States. This is also the first election to feature a candidate who would eventually become president of the United States.

Background

Benjamin Goodhue was elected Senator from Massachusetts in 1796. However, he resigned and retired from politics in 1800. In his place, the legislature elected State Senator Jonathan Mason. When Mason's term expired in 1803, he declined to stand for re-election.

Election

First ballot

First ballot^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic-Republican	Thompson J. Skinner	71	42.01%
	Federalist	Timothy Pickering	67	39.64%
	Federalist	Nicholas Tillinghast	12	7.10%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	12	7.10%
	Federalist	Henry Knox	7	4.14%
	Federalist	Samuel Dexter	1	0.59%
	Federalist	William Ely	1	0.59%
Total votes			169	100.00%

Second

First ballot^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	Timothy Pickering	79	46.47%
	Democratic-Republican	Thompson J. Skinner	71	41.76%
	Federalist	Nicholas Tillinghast	9	5.29%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	6	3.53%
	Federalist	Henry Knox	5	2.94%
Total votes			170	100.00%

Third

First ballot^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic-Republican	Thompson J. Skinner	71	41.52%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	56	32.75%
	Federalist	Timothy Pickering	33	19.30%
	Federalist	Nicholas Tillinghast	10	5.85%
	Federalist	Henry Knox	1	0.58%
Total votes			171	100.00%

Fourth

First ballot^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	86	50.29%
	Democratic-Republican	Thompson J. Skinner	70	40.94%
	Federalist	Nicholas Tillinghast	9	5.26%
	Federalist	Timothy Pickering	6	3.51%
Total votes			171	100.00%

Senate ballot

The Senate ratified the choice of Adams on a single unanimous ballot.

Senate ballot^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	19	100.00%
Total votes			19	100.00%

Aftermath

Adams served one term in the Senate, though he would resign months early after the Federalist legislature prematurely voted not to award him a second term. Adams quickly drifted away from the Federalist Party, partly over his differences with Pickering.

After joining the Democratic-Republicans, he would go on to serve as Secretary of State and later as President of the United States from 1825 to 1829.

References

^ "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
^ "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
^ "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

[1] "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

[2] "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

[3] "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

[final-4] "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e (1802←) 1803 United States elections (→1804)
U.S. Senate	Connecticut Delaware Massachusetts Massachusetts (Special) New Jersey (Special) Ohio Tennessee Virginia Virginia (Special)
U.S. House	Connecticut At-large sp Georgia At-large (sp) Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey New York 6th sp 7th sp North Carolina Ohio South Carolina Tennessee Vermont Virginia
Governors	Connecticut Georgia Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey North Carolina Ohio Rhode Island Tennessee Vermont Virginia
States and territories	Connecticut Delaware Georgia Maryland Kentucky Massachusetts Mississippi New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Vermont Virginia

v t e Federal elections in Massachusetts
U.S. President	1788 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate Class 1	1803 1808 1839 1851 1857 1863 1869 1887 1893 1899 1905 1911 1916 1922 s/1926 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1958 s/1962 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 s/2010 2012 2018 2024
U.S. Senate Class 2	s/1855 1859 1865 1871 s/1873 1877 1883 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1942 s/1944 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 s/2013 2014 2020
U.S. House	1788–89 1790–92 1792-93 1794–95 1796–97 1798–99 1800–01 1802–03 1804 1806 1808 1810–11 1812–13 1814–15 1816–17 1818–19 1820–21 1822–23 1824–25 1826–27 1828 1830–1970 1972 1974–2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
U.S. House Special Elections	1796–1797 s/1st s/10th s/11th 1800–1801 s/3rd s/4th s/10th s/4th s/12th s/14th 1804 s/12th 1807 s/12th 1808 s/2nd 1810–1811 s/10th s/11th s/4th 1812 s/17th 1814–1815 s/4th s/12th s/3rd 1816–1817 s/11th s/1st 1818 s/20th 1820 s/1st s/8th s/13th 1823 s/10th 1824 s/10th 1827 s/1st 1834–1991 listed here 2001 s/9th 2007 s/5th 2013 s/5th
"s/" = Special election See also: Political party strength in Massachusetts For statewide elections, see Template:State elections in Massachusetts footer.

v t e John Quincy Adams
U.S. Representative for MA–8 (1843–1848) U.S. Representative for MA–12 (1833–1843) U.S. Representative for MA–11 (1831–1833) 6th President of the United States (1825–1829) 8th United States Secretary of State (1817–1825) U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom (1814–1817) U.S. Minister to Russia (1809–1814) U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1803–1808) U.S. Minister to Prussia (1797–1801) U.S. Minister to the Netherlands (1794–1797)
Presidency	Inauguration American System Internal improvements Tariff of 1828 First Treaty of Prairie du Chien Treaty of Fond du Lac Treaty of Limits United States Naval Observatory State of the Union Address, 1825 1827 1828 Federal judiciary appointments
Other events	Monroe Doctrine, author Treaty of Ghent Adams–Onís Treaty Treaty of 1818 Tariff of 1832 Smithsonian Institution United States v. The Amistad Mendi Bible President, American Academy of Arts and Sciences President, Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences
Writings	Lifelong diary Massachusetts Historical Society holdings Adams Papers Editorial Project
Life and homes	Early life Abigail Adams Cairn John Quincy Adams and abolitionism Adams National Historical Park Birthplace and family home Peacefield Stone Library United First Parish Church and gravesite
Electoral history	Senate 1803 1808 Presidential runs 1824 Corrupt Bargain 1828
Legacy	Bibliography Adams Memorial Adams House at Harvard University U.S. Postage stamps Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar Mount Quincy Adams USS President Adams (1941) USS John Adams (1963) Oyster-Adams Bilingual School
Popular culture	Profiles in Courage (1957 book) 1965 television series) The Adams Chronicles (1976 miniseries) Mutiny on the Amistad (1987 book) Amistad (1997 film) John Adams (2001 book 2008 miniseries)
Adams political family Quincy family	Louisa Adams (wife) George Washington Adams (son) Charles Francis Adams Sr. (son) John Adams II (son) Henry Adams (grandson) Brooks Adams (grandson) John Quincy Adams II (grandson) John Adams father presidency Abigail Adams mother First Lady Quincy political family Abigail Adams Smith (sister) Charles Adams (brother) Thomas Boylston Adams (brother) John Adams Sr. (grandfather) Susanna Boylston (grandmother) John Quincy (great-grandfather)
Related	National Republican Party Republicanism Quincy Patriot John Quincy Adams (Bingham)
← James Monroe Andrew Jackson → Category