The Broad Seal War was a controversy over the results of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

congressional elections in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in 1838. Following the closely contested elections of 1838, two contingents of the six New Jersey representatives-elect, one composed of Democrats and the other of Whigs, arrived at the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

on the opening day of the

26th Congress The 26th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1839 ...

in December 1839, requesting to be seated as members. While both held commissions bearing the great (broad) seal of the state, only the Whig commissions were legally executed and signed by the

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

William Pennington William Pennington (May 4, 1796 – February 16, 1862) was an American politician and lawyer. He was the 13th governor of New Jersey from 1837 to 1843. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, during which he served as ...

: charging their opponents with electoral fraud and facing loss of control of the House, the Democratic Party majority refused to seat five of the six Whigs. After it was proved that the

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

s in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

counties had suppressed the returns in certain townships that would have given the Democrats the majority, on February 28, 1840, the House officially seated the five Democratic claimants.

Sources

* * * 1838 in New Jersey 19th-century controversies in the United States Electoral fraud in the United States 26th United States Congress 1838 United States House of Representatives elections Riots and civil disorder in New Jersey Politics of New Jersey United States election controversies {{NewJersey-stub