The 1860 United States House of Representatives election in Florida was held on Monday, October 1, 1860 to elect the single

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, one from the state's single at-large congressional district, to represent Florida in the 37th Congress. The election coincided with the elections of other offices, including the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, and various state and local elections. The winning candidate would serve a two-year term in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from March 4, 1861, to March 4, 1863. Hilton was never seated in Congress, however, as Florida had seceded from the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

before his term began.

Candidates

Democratic

Nominee

Robert Benjamin Hilton Robert Benjamin Hilton (' Smith; 1821 – January 10, 1894) was an American lawyer, newspaper editor, soldier, and Confederate politician who served in the Congress of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. Biography Hilton was bo ...

, clerk of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

Eliminated at party convention

* William Dilworth, former state representative *

James Gettis James Gettis (May 4, 1816 – December 14, 1867) was a lawyer and judge in Tampa, Florida. He was the second lawyer in Tampa. Gettis was also a city councilman, and state representative, and the first town clerk. Originally from Pennsylva ...

, former state representative * Barton C. Pope, former state representative * J. Carraway Smith, former state representative * Frederick L. Villepigue,

secretary of state of Florida The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...

* C. C. Younge, lawyer

Opposition

Nominee

* Benjamin F. Allen, former state representative

Campaign

By 1860, the secession of the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

from the

was nearly inevitable. Both Hilton and Allen were secessionists; the only question that remained was what ideology would an independent Florida prefer: the

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

or the

Whiggism Whiggism (in North America sometimes spelled Whigism) is a political philosophy that grew out of the Parliamentarian faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–1651). The Whigs' key policy positions were the supremacy of Parliament (as ...

of the

Opposition Party Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

. Due to Hilton's close ties with Vice President

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

, the Democratic nominee for president, it was all but guaranteed that he would ride on Breckinridge's

coattails The coattail effect or down-ballot effect is the tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election. For example, in the United States, the party of a victorious presidential cand ...

. Hilton soundly defeated Allen in the general election, receiving 60% of the vote to Allen's 40%.

General election

Results

Results by County

Aftermath

Florida seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, meaning Hilton was not able to take his seat in Congress. However, Hilton won election to the

Confederate States House of Representatives The Confederate States Congress was both the Provisional government, provisional and permanent Legislature, legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned w ...

later in 1861, representing

Florida's 2nd congressional district Florida's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. The district consists of the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle along with much of the Big Bend region along the Emerald Coast. It straddles both ...

.{{Cite journal, last=McConville, first=Michael Paul, date=2012, title=The Politics Of Slavery And Secession In Antebellum Florida, 1845-1861, url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3221&context=etd, journal=

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, pages=75, access-date=November 7, 2020, via=STARS

References

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

Candidates

Democratic

Nominee

Eliminated at party convention

Opposition

Nominee

Campaign

General election

Results

Results by County

Aftermath

See also

References