Election of 1852 

**The Election of 1852**

 

•     The Compromise of 1850 was a major topic in the election.

•     Northern Whigs thought the Compromise favored the South too much; Southern Whigs the opposite. Despite having the incumbent president (Millard Fillmore,) General Winfield Scott was nominated.

○  They also campaigned against the Fugitive Slave Act.

•     The Democrats were more divided, with 4 major candidates tied to different issues nationally. Their nominee, Franklin Pierce, was not nominated until the 49th ballot.

○  The divided party chose an Alabama native as their VP choice, who worked to convince fellow southerners that Pierce was a "northern man with southern principles."

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Why Don't We Just Not Talk About It, and It Might Not Be A Problem Anymore?

 

•     The Democratic platform adopted in 1852 opposed any further "agitation" over the issue of slavery, and endorsed the Compromise of 1850.

•     It also supported states' rights.

Signs of Larger Problems-Other Parties Running Candidates in 1852

 

•     Free Soil Party

○  Argued the extension of slavery into western territories harmed the white working class and business owners.

○  Supported mostly in New York

○  Made up of anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats

•     Some Southern Democrats and Whigs also splintered into two other groups

○  The Union Party wanted to remain in the Union

○  The Southern Rights Party wanted to secede.

Results of the 1852 Election

 

•     Pierce (Dem.) won handily, attracted unified Democratic votes and those of Southern Whigs opposed to the nationalistic Scott.

•     As a northerner with southern sympathies, he would become known as a "doughface."

Domestic Policy Under Pierce

 

•     The Pierce administration presided over no new state admissions, and he named 1 Supreme Court justice in his 1 term.

•     Things were largely calm internally, until 1854…