1852 Democratic National Convention

1852 Democratic National Convention
1852 Presidential Election
	; Nominees Pierce and King
Convention
Date(s)	June 1-June 5, 1852
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Venue	Maryland Institute
Candidates
Presidential Nominee	Franklin Pierce of; New Hampshire
Vice Presidential Nominee	William R. King of Alabama
	‹ 1848 · 1856 ›
	v • d • e

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The 1852 Democratic National Convention was held at Maryland Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. This convention is notable for the hostility between groups of the party, divided over the Compromise of 1850. The convention 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.

[edit] The Convention

Pierce/King campaign poster

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.

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 placed 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. He consolidated his support in subsequent voting and was nominated nearly unanimously on the 49th ballot.^[1]

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. On the second ballot, with only minor opposition, King finally obtained the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination. During the ensuing campaign, King's tuberculosis, which he believed he had contracted while 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 that New Hampshire's Pierce was a "northern man with southern principles."

[edit] Ballots

[edit] Presidential Ballots

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
Presidential Ballot
Franklin Pierce	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lewis 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
James Buchanan	93	95	94	89	88	88	88	88	87	86	87	88	88	87	87	87	87	85	85	92	102	104	104	103	101
William L. Marcy	27	27	26	25	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	25	26	26	26	26	27	26	26
Stephen A. Douglas	20	23	21	33	34	34	34	34	39	40	50	51	51	51	51	51	50	56	63	64	64	77	78	80	79
Others	40	33	36	34	34	34	35	35	31	32	31	32	33	33	33	33	34	34	33	33	44	46	50	54	56

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
Presidential Ballot
Franklin Pierce	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	30	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	44	49	55	282
Lewis Cass	33	32	28	27	33	65	93	123	130	131	122	120	107	106	107	107	101	101	101	96	78	75	72	2
James Buchanan	101	98	96	98	91	83	74	72	49	39	28	28	28	28	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	28	28	0
William L. Marcy	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	25	33	34	58	70	84	85	85	85	91	91	91	97	98	95	89	0
Stephen A. 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
Others	56	55	58	54	54	30	23	16	31	25	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	19	10

Source: US President - D Convention. Our Campaigns. (August 24, 2009).

[edit] Vice Presidential Ballots

Ballot	1st	2nd
Vice Presidential Ballot
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).

[edit] Candidates gallery

Former Senator Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire

Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan

Former Secretary of State James Buchanan of Pennsylvania

Former Secretary of War William L. Marcy of New York

Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois

[edit] See also

Democratic National Convention

[edit] References

Proceedings of the Democratic national convention held at Baltimore, June 1-5, 1852

[edit] References

^ William DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Gramercy 1997

Preceded by 1848	Democratic National Conventions	Succeeded by 1856

[0] William DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Gramercy 1997

[1]

1852 Democratic National Convention

Contents

[edit] The Convention

[edit] Ballots

[edit] Presidential Ballots

[edit] Vice Presidential Ballots

[edit] Candidates gallery

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] References

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1852 Presidential Election
Nominees Pierce and King
Convention
Date(s)	June 1-June 5, 1852
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Venue	Maryland Institute
Candidates
Presidential Nominee	Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire
Vice Presidential Nominee	William R. King of Alabama
‹ 1848 · 1856 ›
v • d • e