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.

1852 Democratic National Convention
1852 presidential election
Nominees
Pierce and King
Convention
Date(s)June 1–5, 1852
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueMaryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts
Candidates
Presidential nomineeFranklin Pierce of New Hampshire
Vice presidential nomineeWilliam R. King of Alabama

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.[1] Romulus M. Saunders served as the temporary convention chairman and John W. Davis served as the permanent convention president.[2] 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.[3]

Presidential nomination

Dark Horse candidates

Major Presidential candidates

Minor Presidential candidates

Declined

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.[4] 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.[5]

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."[6]

Presidential Ballot
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21st22nd23rd24th25th
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 33 34 34 34 39 40 50 51 51 51 51 51 51 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 8 11 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 8 9 8 8 8 8 8 8
Presidential Ballot
26th27th28th29th30th31st32nd33rd34th35th36th37th38th39th40th41st42nd43rd44th45th46th47th48th49th
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
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 78 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 8 8 8 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Source:[7]


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

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

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

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Vice Presidential nomination

Vice Presidential candidates

Declined
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."

Vice Presidential Ballot[8]
1st2nd
King 125 277
Downs 30 0
Weller 28 0
Atchison 25 0
Pillow 25 0
Strange 23 0
Butler 13 0
Rusk 13 0
Davis 2 11
Cobb 2 0
Not Voting 2 0
Not Represented 8 8
  • 1st Vice Presidential Ballot
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  • 2nd Vice Presidential Ballot
    2nd Vice Presidential Ballot

See also

References
  1. 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.
  2. Proceedings, pp. 3, 7.
  3. Havel, James T. (1996). U.S. Presidential Elections and the Candidates: A Biographical and Historical Guide. Vol. 2: The Elections, 1789–1992. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 26. ISBN 0-02-864623-1.
  4. 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.
  5. William DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Gramercy 1997
  6. Stanwood, Edward (1898). A History of the Presidency: From 1788 to 1897. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 248.
  7. Proceedings, pp. 28–50.
  8. Proceedings, pp. 66–67.
Preceded by
1848
Baltimore, Maryland		 Democratic National Conventions Succeeded by
1856
Cincinnati, Ohio
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