United States House of Representatives elections, 1882

United States House of Representatives elections, 1882

← 1880 November 7, 1882 1884 →
All 325 seats to the United States House of Representatives 163 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John G. Carlisle J. Warren Keifer Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat Kentucky-6th Ohio-4th Last election 131 seats 151 seats Seats won 199 118 Seat change 59 29   Third party Fourth party   Leader John S. Wise Luman Hamlin Weller Party Readjuster Greenback Leader's seat Virginia-AL Iowa-4th Last election 0 seats 10 seats Seats won 4 2 Seat change 4 8
Speaker before election Joseph Keifer Republican Elected Speaker John Carlisle Democratic Party (United States) Map of U.S. House elections results from 1882 elections for 48th Congress

Joseph Keifer
Republican

John Carlisle
Democratic Party (United States)

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1882 for the 48th Congress, during President Chester A. Arthur's term.

Arthur's Republican Party was badly defeated, losing its majority to the opposition Democratic Party after a campaign that focused on the resistance of Republican leaders to reforming the Spoils system under which government jobs were handed to supporters of winning candidates. After the election, Arthur agreed with the Democrats to pass the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing a professional civil service. However, his actions were too late, as the image of the Republican Party as corrupt was already engrained in the minds of voters. This election also saw the decline of the pro-paper money Greenback Party, and the pick up of several Virginian seats by the Readjuster Party which promoted fiscal responsibility and shunned elitism, though the Virginia-based Readjuster Party all but disappeared following this election.

Following the 1880 Census, 32 new seats were apportioned. Three States lost 1 seat each, 13 States had no change in apportionment, 14 States gained 1 seat each, 6 States gained 2 seats, 1 State gained 4 seats, and 1 State gained 5 seats. Several States that gained one or more seats did not redistrict immediately, electing the new Representatives at-large, while one state (Maine) which lost a Representative also delayed redistricting, electing all of its Representatives at-large for this Congress only.