The Panic of 1837 and consequent economic downturn drove Whig Party gains.

Van Buren's Democratic Party had lost popularity and Whig policies of economic nationalism appealed to a larger number of voters.

When Congress first Convened on December 3, 1839, two contingents of New Jersey representatives-elect, one composed of Democrats and the other of Whigs, arrived and both requested to be seated as members.

[1] Massachusetts Representative John Quincy Adams presided as "chairman" of the House after the clerk lost control.

Connecticut elected its six members April 1, 1839, flipping all six seats from Democratic to Whig.

Seargent Smith Prentiss, a Vicksburg lawyer and Whig, unexpectedly launched a vigorous, partisan campaign.

Claiborne and Gholson then argued that the July result entitled them to serve full terms.

With the Whig Party newly organizing, the closely divided House, in which Anti-Masons, Nullifiers, and the Independent tended to align more with Whigs and to oppose Democrats, agreed to hear Prentiss.

He spoke for nine hours over three days, packing the gallery, drawing Senators, and earning a national reputation for oratory and public admiration from leading Whigs including Senators Clay and Webster.