1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

← 1800 (special)

February 5, 1803

40 members of the Massachusetts Senate
396 members of the Massachusetts House
Majority vote of each house needed to win


Nominee	John Quincy Adams	Thompson Skinner
Party	Federalist	Democratic-Republican
Senate	86	70
Percentage	60.53%	36.84%

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.

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v t e Federal elections in Massachusetts
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"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)
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 family Quincy family	Louisa Adams (wife) George W. Adams (son) Charles 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 family Abigail Adams Smith (sister) Charles Adams (brother) Thomas Boylston Adams (brother) John Adams Sr. (paternal grandfather) Susanna Boylston (paternal grandmother) Elihu Adams (paternal uncle) John Quincy (great-grandfather)
Related	National Republican Party Republicanism Quincy Patriot
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