Slavery Divides The House

In 1820, the House of Representatives needed to select a new Speaker, after the departure of Speaker Henry Clay. However, the House (like the nation as a whole) had become increasingly divided over the issue of slavery. This disagreement had two important consequences for the office of the Speaker:

1. Speakers were very weak. In addition to being the leader of the entire House, the Speaker is also the leader of his own political party. In order to be effective, the Speaker's party must be relatively united. However, because the issue of slavery had divided the two major political parties of the day into many small factions, it became very difficult for any Speaker to control them.
2. There were many long, bitter elections for the Speaker. In order to be elected Speaker, an individual must be elected by a majority of the members of the House. During this period, however, the House was so hopelessly divided that it was often difficult for one candidate to receive a majority of the votes. For example, in 1849, there were eleven candidates for Speaker. It took three weeks and 63 separate votes to elect a Speaker. Things got even worse in 1855, when the House experienced the longest, most contested election for Speaker in American history. Twenty-one individuals ran for Speaker. The House devoted more than two months and took an astonishing 133 votes to elect a Speaker.