1852 Democratic National Convention

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.

Convention proceedings

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. Romulus M. Saunders served as the temporary convention chairman and John W. Davis served as the permanent convention president. Delegates at the convention approved a platform that largely mimicked the one adopted in 1848. Two notable additions were the denouncement of a national bank and an endorsement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Presidential nomination

Dark horse candidates

File:George Peter Alexander Healy - Franklin Pierce - Google Art Project.jpg|Former Senator Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire

Image:Henry Cruse Murphy.jpg|Former Representative Henry C. Murphy of New York

</gallery>

Major presidential candidates

File:Lewis Cass crop.jpg|Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan

File:JamesBuchanan_crop.jpg|Former Secretary of State James Buchanan of Pennsylvania

File:William Learned Marcy.jpg|Former Secretary of War William L. Marcy of New York

File:BradyHandy-StephenADouglas restored.jpg|Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois

</gallery>

Minor presidential candidates

Image:WilliamOButler.jpg|Former Representative William O. Butler of Kentucky

Image:JosephLane.png|House Delegate Joseph Lane of Oregon

Image:SHouston 2.jpg|Senator Sam Houston of Texas

Image:Henry Dodge portrait.jpg|Senator Henry Dodge of Wisconsin

</gallery>

Declined

Image:Daniel Dickinson NY.jpg|Former Senator Daniel S. Dickinson of New York (Endorsed Cass)

</gallery>

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. 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.

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."

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="26" | 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

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|116

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|118

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|119

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|115

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|114

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|113

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|112

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|111

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|101

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|98

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|99

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|96

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|89

|style="background:#82caff"|81

|style="background:#c2dfff"|60

|style="background:#c2dfff"|43

|style="background:#c2dfff"|37

|style="background:#c2dfff"|33

|style="background:#c2dfff"|34

!Buchanan

|style="background:#82caff"|93

|style="background:#82caff"|95

|style="background:#82caff"|94

|style="background:#82caff"|89

|style="background:#82caff"|88

|style="background:#82caff"|87

|style="background:#82caff"|86

|style="background:#82caff"|87

|style="background:#82caff"|88

|style="background:#82caff"|87

|style="background:#82caff"|85

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|92

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|102

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|104

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|103

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|101

!Marcy

|style="background:#c2dfff"|27

|style="background:#c2dfff"|26

||25

||26

||27

||26

||25

||26

!Douglas

||20

||23

||21

|style="background:#c2dfff"|31

|style="background:#c2dfff"|33

|style="background:#c2dfff"|34

|style="background:#c2dfff"|39

|style="background:#c2dfff"|40

|style="background:#c2dfff"|50

|style="background:#c2dfff"|51

|style="background:#c2dfff"|56

|style="background:#c2dfff"|63

|style="background:#c2dfff"|64

|style="background:#82caff"|64

|style="background:#82caff"|77

|style="background:#82caff"|78

|style="background:#82caff"|80

|style="background:#82caff"|79

!Butler

||2

||1

||13

||15

||20

||23

||24

!Dickinson

||1

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

||1

!Lane

||13

||14

||13

!Houston

||8

||6

||7

||8

||9

||8

||9

||10

||9

||11

||9

||10

||9

||10

||9

||10

!Weller

||4

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Dodge

||3

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

||3

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Blank

||9

||12

||8

||11

||8

||9

||8

||9

||8

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="34" | 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

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

||15

||30

||29

|style="background:#c2dfff"|44

|style="background:#c2dfff"|49

|style="background:#c2dfff"|55

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|282

!Cass

|style="background:#c2dfff"|33

|style="background:#c2dfff"|32

|style="background:#c2dfff"|28

|style="background:#c2dfff"|27

|style="background:#c2dfff"|33

|style="background:#c2dfff"|65

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|98

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|123

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|130

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|131

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|122

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|120

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|107

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|106

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|107

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|101

|style="background:#82caff"|96

|style="background:#82caff"|78

|style="background:#82caff"|75

|style="background:#82caff"|72

||2

!Buchanan

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|101

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|98

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|96

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|93

|style="background:#82caff"|91

|style="background:#82caff"|78

|style="background:#c2dfff"|74

|style="background:#82caff"|72

|style="background:#c2dfff"|49

||39

||28

||27

||28

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Marcy

||26

||25

||33

|style="background:#c2dfff"|44

|style="background:#82caff"|58

|style="background:#82caff"|70

|style="background:#82caff"|84

|style="background:#82caff"|85

|style="background:#82caff"|91

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|97

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|98

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|95

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|89

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Douglas

|style="background:#82caff"|80

|style="background:#82caff"|85

|style="background:#82caff"|88

|style="background:#82caff"|91

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|92

|style="background:#82caff"|80

|style="background:#c2dfff"|60

|style="background:#82caff"|53

|style="background:#82caff"|52

|style="background:#c2dfff"|43

|style="background:#c2dfff"|34

|style="background:#c2dfff"|33

|style="background:#c2dfff"|32

||32

||33

||2

!Butler

||24

||25

||20

||17

||1

!Dickinson

||1

||16

||1

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Lane

||13

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Houston

||10

||9

||11

||12

||9

||8

||6

||5

||6

||1

!Boyd

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

||1

||2

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!King

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

||1

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Ingersoll

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

||1

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Blank

||8

||9

||8

Source:

1st Day of Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (June 3, 1852)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|1st Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination2ndBallot.png|2nd Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination3rdBallot.png|3rd Ballot (Cass's 1st Peak)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination4thBallot.png|4th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination5thBallot.png|5th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination6thBallot.png|6th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination7th8thBallots.png|7th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination7th8thBallots.png|8th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination9thBallot.png|9th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination10thBallot.png|10th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination11thBallot.png|11th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination12thBallot.png|12th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination13thBallot.png|13th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination14th15th16thBallots.png|14th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination14th15th16thBallots.png|15th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination14th15th16thBallots.png|16th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination17thBallot.png|17th Ballot

</gallery>

2nd Day of Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (June 4, 1852)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination18thBallot.png|18th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination19thBallot.png|19th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination20thBallot.png|20th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination21stBallot.png|21st Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination22ndBallot.png|22nd Ballot (Buchanan's Peak)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination23rdBallot.png|23rd Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination24thBallot.png|24th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination25thBallot.png|25th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination26thBallot.png|26th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination27thBallot.png|27th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination28thBallot.png|28th Ballot (Butler's Peak)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination29thBallot.png|29th Ballot (Butler's Peak)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination30thBallot.png|30th Ballot (Douglas's Peak)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination31stBallot.png|31st Ballot (Douglas's Peak)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination32ndBallot.png|32nd Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination33rdBallot.png|33rd Ballot

</gallery>

3rd Day of Presidential Balloting / 5th Day of Convention (June 5, 1852)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination34thBallot.png|34th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination35thBallot.png|35th Ballot (Cass's 2nd Peak)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination36thBallot.png|36th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination37thBallot.png|37th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination38thBallot.png|38th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination39thBallot.png|39th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination40th41stBallots.png|40th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination40th41stBallots.png|41st Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination42nd43rd44thBallots.png|42nd Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination42nd43rd44thBallots.png|43rd Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination42nd43rd44thBallots.png|44th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination45thBallot.png|45th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination46thBallot.png|46th Ballot (Marcy's Peak)

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination47thBallot.png|47th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination48thBallot.png|48th Ballot

File:1852DemocraticPresidentialNomination49thBallot.png|49th Ballot

</gallery>

Vice presidential nomination

Vice presidential candidates

File:William Rufus DeVane King 1839 portrait.jpg|Senator William R. King of Alabama

Image:Solomon Weathersbee Downs.jpg|Senator Solomon W. Downs of Louisiana

Image:John B Weller by William F Cogswell, 1879.jpg|Senator John B. Weller of California

Image:David Rice Atchison by Mathew Brady March 1849.jpg|Senator David Rice Atchison of Missouri

Image:General Gideon Johnson Pillow.jpg|Major General Gideon J. Pillow of Tennessee

Image:NC-Congress-RogerStrange.jpg|Former Senator Robert Strange of North Carolina

</gallery>

Declined

File:WilliamOButler.jpg|Former Representative William O. Butler of Kentucky

File:TJRusk.jpg|Senator Thomas J. Rusk of Texas

File:President-Jefferson-Davis.jpg|Former Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi

File:Howell Cobb-crop.jpg|Governor Howell Cobb of Georgia

</gallery>

thumb|right|250px|Democratic Pierce/King campaign poster

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."

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="3" | Vice Presidential Ballot

!||1st || 2nd

!King

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|125

|style="background:#5cb3ff"|277

!Downs

|style="background:#82caff"|30

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Weller

|style="background:#c2dfff"|28

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Atchison

||25

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Pillow

||25

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Strange

||23

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Butler

||13

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Rusk

||13

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Davis

||2

|style="background:#82caff"|11

!Cobb

||2

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Not Voting

||2

|style="background:#d3d3d3"|0

!Not Represented

||8

File:1852DemocraticVicePresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|1st Vice Presidential Ballot

File:1852DemocraticVicePresidentialNomination2ndBallot.png|2nd Vice Presidential Ballot

</gallery>

References

External links

Democratic Party Platform of 1852 at The American Presidency Project

Convention proceedings

Presidential nomination

Dark horse candidates

Major presidential candidates

Minor presidential candidates

Declined

Balloting

Vice presidential nomination

Vice presidential candidates

Declined

See also

References

External links