1852 Democratic National Convention
1852 presidential election | |
![]() ![]() Nominees Pierce and King | |
Convention | |
---|---|
Date(s) | June 1–5, 1852 |
City | Baltimore, Maryland |
Venue | Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts |
Candidates | |
Presidential nominee | Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire |
Vice presidential nominee | William R. King of Alabama |
The 1852 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 1 to June 5 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1852 election. The convention selected former Senator Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire for president and Senator William R. King of Alabama for vice president.
Four major candidates vied for the presidential nomination- Lewis Cass of Michigan, the nominee in 1848, who had the backing of northerners in support of the Compromise of 1850; James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, popular in the South as well as in his home state; Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, candidate of the expansionists and the railroad interests; and William L. Marcy of New York, whose strength was centered in his home state. Cass led on the first nineteen ballots of the convention, but was unable to win the necessary two-thirds majority. Buchanan pulled ahead on the twentieth ballot, but he too was unable to win a two-thirds majority. Pierce won votes for the first time on the 35th ballot, and was nominated almost unanimously on the 49th ballot.
King was nominated on the second vice presidential ballot, defeating Senator Solomon W. Downs and several other candidates. The Democratic ticket went on to win the 1852 election, defeating the Whig ticket of Winfield Scott and William Alexander Graham.
Call to order[]
The convention took place at the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts and was called to order by Democratic National Committee chairman Benjamin F. Hallett.[1] Romulus M. Saunders served as the temporary convention chairman and John W. Davis served as the permanent convention president.[2]
Presidential nomination[]
Dark Horse candidates[]
Former Senator
Franklin Pierce
of New HampshireFormer Representative
Henry C. Murphy
of New York
Major Presidential candidates[]
Senator
Lewis Cass
of MichiganFormer Secretary of State
James Buchanan
of PennsylvaniaFormer Secretary of War
William L. Marcy
of New YorkSenator
Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois
Minor Presidential candidates[]
Former Representative
William O. Butler
of KentuckyHouse Delegate
Joseph Lane
of OregonSenator
Sam Houston
of TexasSenator
Henry Dodge
of Wisconsin
Declined[]
Former Senator
Daniel S. Dickinson
of New York
(Endorsed Cass)
Balloting[]
As Democrats convened in Baltimore in June 1852, four major candidates vied for the nomination - Lewis Cass of Michigan, the nominee in 1848, who had the backing of northerners in support of the Compromise of 1850; James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, popular in the South as well as in his home state; Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, candidate of the expansionists and the railroad interests; and William L. Marcy of New York, whose strength was centered in his home state. Throughout the balloting, numerous favorite son candidates received a few votes.
With a two-thirds majority required to win, Cass led on the first 19 ballots, with Buchanan second and Douglas and Marcy exchanging third and fourth places. Buchanan took the lead on the 20th ballot and retained it on each of the next nine tallies. Douglas managed a narrow lead on the 30th and 31st ballots. Cass then recaptured first place through the 44th ballot. Marcy carried the next four ballots.
Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire, a former Congressman and Senator, did not get on the board until the 35th ballot, when the Virginia delegation brought him forward as a compromise choice, selecting Pierce as their dark horse by one vote over former New York Congressman and Brooklyn Mayor Henry C. Murphy, and then supporting him as a unit.[3] After being nominated by the Virginia delegation, Pierce's support remained steady until the 46th ballot, when it began to increase at Cass's expense. Pierce's support was consolidated in subsequent voting, and he was nominated nearly unanimously on the 49th ballot.[4]
According to Edward Stanwood, there was "no doubt that the nomination of General Pierce was carefully planned before the convention met. The originator of the scheme was James W. Bradbury, then a senator from Maine, a college mate and lifelong friend of Pierce."[5]
Presidential Ballot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th | |
Cass | 116 | 118 | 119 | 115 | 114 | 114 | 113 | 113 | 112 | 111 | 101 | 98 | 98 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 96 | 89 | 81 | 60 | 43 | 37 | 33 | 34 |
Buchanan | 93 | 95 | 94 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 85 | 85 | 92 | 102 | 104 | 103 | 103 | 101 |
Marcy | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
Douglas | 20 | 23 | 21 | 31 | 34 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 39 | 40 | 50 | 52 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 50 | 56 | 63 | 64 | 64 | 77 | 78 | 80 | 79 |
Butler | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 23 | 24 |
Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lane | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Houston | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
Weller | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dodge | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Blank | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Presidential Ballot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th | 37th | 38th | 39th | 40th | 41st | 42nd | 43rd | 44th | 45th | 46th | 47th | 48th | 49th | ||||||||||
Pierce | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 44 | 49 | 55 | 283 | |||||||||
Cass | 33 | 32 | 28 | 27 | 33 | 65 | 98 | 123 | 130 | 131 | 122 | 120 | 107 | 106 | 107 | 107 | 101 | 101 | 101 | 96 | 78 | 75 | 72 | 2 | |||||||||
Buchanan | 101 | 98 | 96 | 93 | 91 | 83 | 74 | 72 | 49 | 39 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 0 | |||||||||
Marcy | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 33 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 97 | 98 | 95 | 89 | 0 | |||||||||
Douglas | 80 | 85 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 80 | 60 | 53 | 52 | 43 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 2 | |||||||||
Butler | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
Lane | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
Houston | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | |||||||||
Boyd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||
King | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
Ingersoll | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
Blank | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
Source:[6]
1st Ballot
(Peak of Dodge & Weller)10th Ballot
(Lane's Peak)22nd Ballot
(Buchanan's Peak)28th Ballot
(Butler's Peak)29th Ballot
(Houston's Peak)30th Ballot
(Douglas' Peak)34th Ballot
(Dickinson's Peak)35th Ballot
(Cass' Peak)46th Ballot
(Peak of King & Marcy)48th Ballot
(Peak of Boyd & Ingersoll)49th Ballot
(Pierce Nominated)
Vice Presidential nomination[]
Vice Presidential candidates[]
Senator
William R. King
of AlabamaSenator
Solomon W. Downs
of LouisianaSenator
John B. Weller
of CaliforniaSenator
David Rice Atchison
of MissouriMajor General
Gideon J. Pillow
of TennesseeFormer Senator
Robert Strange
of North Carolina
Declined[]
Former Representative
William O. Butler
of KentuckySenator
Thomas J. Rusk
of TexasFormer Senator
Jefferson Davis
of MississippiFormer Speaker
Howell Cobb
of Georgia
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/1852DemocraticPoster.png/250px-1852DemocraticPoster.png)
In a peace gesture to the Buchanan wing of the party, Pierce's supporters allowed Buchanan's allies to fill the second position, knowing that they would select Alabama Senator William R. King, to whom Pierce had no objections. King won the nomination on the second ballot. During the ensuing campaign, King's tuberculosis, which he believed he had contracted while living in Paris, denied him the active behind-the-scenes role that he might otherwise have played, although he worked hard to assure his region's voters with the statement that New Hampshire's Pierce was a "northern man with southern principles."
Vice Presidential Ballot | ||
Ballot | 1st | 2nd |
---|---|---|
William R. King | 125 | 277 |
Solomon W. Downs | 30 | 0 |
John B. Weller | 28 | 0 |
David R. Atchison | 25 | 0 |
Gideon J. Pillow | 25 | 0 |
Robert Strange | 23 | 0 |
William O. Butler | 13 | 0 |
Thomas J. Rusk | 13 | 0 |
Jefferson Davis | 2 | 11 |
Howell Cobb | 2 | 0 |
Abstaining | 2 | 0 |
Source: US Vice President - D Convention. Our Campaigns. (August 25, 2009).
1st Vice Presidential Ballot 2nd Vice Presidential Ballot
See also[]
- History of the Democratic Party (United States)
- 1852 Whig National Convention
- List of Democratic National Conventions
- U.S. presidential nomination convention
- 1852 United States presidential election
References[]
- ^ Johnson, Charles W. (1852). Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention Held at Baltimore, June 1-5, 1852. Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong. p. 3 – via HathiTrust.
- ^ Proceedings, pp. 3, 7.
- ^ Stiles, Henry Reed (1883). Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D., of Brooklyn, N.Y. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volumes 13-14. p. 14.
- ^ William DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Gramercy 1997
- ^ Stanwood, Edward (1898). A History of the Presidency: From 1788 to 1897. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 248.
- ^ Proceedings, pp. 28–50.
External links[]
- Democratic Party Platform of 1852 at The American Presidency Project
Preceded by 1848 Baltimore, Maryland |
Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1856 Cincinnati, Ohio |
- 1852 United States presidential election
- 1852 in Maryland
- 19th century in Baltimore
- Political conventions in Baltimore
- Maryland Democratic Party
- Political events in Maryland
- Democratic National Conventions
- 1852 conferences
- June 1852 events