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The1851 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 4 and March 18–19, 1851, by theNew York State Legislature to elect aU.S. Senator (Class 1) to represent the State ofNew York in theUnited States Senate.
Daniel S. Dickinson (Dem.) had been elected in 1845 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1851.
At this time theWhig Party in New York was split in two opposing factions: theSeward/Weed faction (the majority, opposed to theCompromise of 1850) and the "Silver Grays" (supporters of PresidentMillard Fillmore and his compromise legislation, led byFrancis Granger whose silver gray hair originated the faction's nickname). The opposing factions of theDemocratic Party in New York, the"Barnburners" and the "Hunkers", had reunited at theState election in November 1850, and managed to have almost their whole State ticket elected, onlyHoratio Seymour was defeated for governor by a plurality of 262 votes.
At theState election in November 1849, 14 Seward Whigs, 3 Silver Gray Whigs and 15 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1850–1851) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1850, a Whig majority was elected to the Assembly for the session of 1851. The74th New York State Legislature met from January 7 to April 17, and from June 10 to July 11, 1851, atAlbany, New York.
Ex-Governor of New York Hamilton Fish was the candidate of theWhig Party.
Hamilton Fish belonged to the Seward/Weed faction, but was also a close friend ofHenry Clay who was one of the leaders of the Fillmore faction inWashington, D.C. He was thus considered the only viable compromise candidate. The Silver Grays asked Fish to pledge his support for the Compromise, but Fish refused to make any comment, saying that he did not seek the office, and that the legislators should vote guided by Fish's known political history. Fish had earlier stated his opposition against theFugitive Slave Law of 1850 but was believed to support most of the remainder of the Compromise. Nevertheless, Silver Gray State SenatorJames W. Beekman declared that he would not vote for Fish for personal reasons, a dislike stemming from the time when they were fellow students atColumbia University.
The State Legislature met on February 4, the legally prescribed day, to elect a U.S. Senator. In the Assembly, Fish received a majority of 78 to 49. In the State Senate the vote stood 16 for Fish and 16 votes for a variety of candidates, among them Beekman's vote for Francis Granger. After a second ballot with the same result, Beekman moved to adjourn, which was carried by the casting vote of the lieutenant governor, and no nomination was made.
On February 14, SenatorGeorge B. Guinnip offered a resolution to declareJohn Adams Dix elected to the U.S. Senate. On motion of SenatorGeorge R. Babcock, the resolution was laid on the table, i.e. consideration was postponed.
On February 15, Guinnip again offered a resolution to declareJohn Adams Dix elected to the U.S. Senate. SenatorStephen H. Johnson offered an amendment to this resolution, declaringDaniel S. Dickinson elected. On motion of SenatorMarius Schoonmaker, the resolution was laid on the table too.
On March 18, when two Democratic State Senators were absent, having gone toNew York City, the Whigs persuaded the Democrats in a 14-hour session to re-open the U.S. Senate election, and in the small hours of March 19 Fish was nominated by a vote of 16 to 12 (Beekman, Johnson [both Whigs],Thomas B. Carroll andWilliam A. Dart [both Dem.] did not vote).
Fish was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.
| Office | Candidate | Party | Senate (32 members) February 4 (first ballot) | Senate (32 members) February 4 (second ballot) | Assembly (128 members) February 4 | Senate (32 members) March 19 | Assembly (128 members) March 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Senator | Hamilton Fish | Whig | 16 | 16 | 78 | 16 | 68 |
| John Adams Dix | Democratic | 1 | 1 | 29 | 6 | 6 | |
| James T. Brady[1] | Democratic | 7 | |||||
| Horatio Seymour | Democratic | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Francis Granger | Whig | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Aaron Ward | Democratic | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Daniel S. Dickinson | Democratic | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Arphaxed Loomis | Democratic | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Amasa J. Parker | Democratic | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| David Buel Jr. | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Augustus C. Hand | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| John Hunter | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| John Fine | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Levi S. Chatfield | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| John Tracy | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Abraham Bockee | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| George Rathbun | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Timothy Jenkins | Democratic | 1 | 1 | ||||
| William L. Marcy | Democratic | 1 | |||||
| Washington Irving | 1 | ||||||
| John L. Riker[2] | 1 | ||||||
| Erastus Corning | Democratic | 1 | |||||
| Levi S. Chatfield | Democratic | 1 | |||||
| George Wood | 1 | ||||||
| Daniel Lord | 1 | ||||||
| James S. Wadsworth | Democratic | 1 | |||||
| William C. Bouck | Democratic | 1 |
Fish took his seat on December 1, 1851, and remained in office until March 3, 1857.
