South Carolina's at-large congressional seat

South Carolina was readmitted to Congress in 1868, after passage of the 14th Amendment. That amendment ended the three-fifths rule effectively raising the population of states that once had slavery. As a result, South Carolina and other slave states tried to seat extra members of Congress. South Carolina choose two additional congress members during an at-large election in 1870. In one of those, Johann Peter Martin Epping defeated Lucius W. Wimbush by 61 votes: 71803-71742. But the House refused to seat him and the other at-large winner. "A number of southern states upon readmission claimed that since their slaves were emancipated, they were entitled to larger delegations in the House. Epping's election falls in this category. The claims were rejected by the House."[1][2][3][4]

South Carolina's at-largeth congressional district
Obsolete district
Created1870
Eliminated1875
Years active1873–1875

In 1873, South Carolina's apportionment in the United States House of Representatives was officially increased from 4 to 5 members. From 1873 to 1875, therefore, the state elected its fifth member at-large statewide. In 1875, the state redistricted its seats and the at-large seat was eliminated.

The at-large representative was Republican Richard H. Cain.

List of member representing the district
Member
(Residence)		 Party Years Cong
ress		 Electoral history
District established March 4, 1873

Richard H. Cain
(Charleston)		 Republican March 4, 1873 –
March 3, 1875		 43rd Elected in 1872.
Retired.
District dissolved March 3, 1875

References
  1. Press, C. Q.; inc, Congressional Quarterly (2005). Guide to U.S. elections. CQ Press. ISBN 9781568029818. epping 71803 wimbush 71742. {{cite book}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  2. Kalb, Deborah (December 24, 2015). Guide to U.S. Elections. CQ Press. ISBN 9781483380384.
  3. "Reports and resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly. 1870-71". HathiTrust. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  4. "The Daily Phoenix from Columbia, South Carolina on November 10, 1870 · Page 3". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
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