1856 Whig National Convention
| 1856 presidential election | |
  Nominees Fillmore and Donelson | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | September 17–18, 1856 |
| City | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Venue | Maryland Institute |
| Chair | Edward Bates |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Millard Fillmore of New York |
| Vice presidential nominee | Andrew J. Donelson of Tennessee |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 150 |
| Votes needed for nomination | 76 |
| Results (president) | Fillmore (NY): 150 (100%) |
| Ballots | 1 |
The 1856 Whig National Convention was a
Fall of the Whigs
The Whig party had been declining in power for some time before its last national convention in 1856. In the
A major reason for the Whig party's decline was a loss of its most influential leaders. Two of its most key founding members, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, had both died in 1852. Whig leaders from Southern slave states joined the Democratic party. Additionally, the Whigs' New York state convention in Syracuse voted to join with the newly formed Republican Party.
On March 10, 1856, the Whig National Committee met and voted to reject the New York Whigs' merger with the Republican party. Whig leaders from Kentucky met and held their state convention in April. There they voted to call a national convention.
In the months leading up to the national convention, Whigs met in convention in several states to select which delegates would be sent to Baltimore in September. Delegates to these state conventions debated several options for the upcoming general election: the party could choose former President Millard Fillmore as its candidate, nominate another Whig, or endorse the Democratic candidate James Buchanan. As the state conventions met, Fillmore emerged as the clear choice.
Convention site
The convention was held at the 1851 landmark
Convention
Twenty-six states out of thirty-one sent 150 delegates to the national convention in late September 1856. The convention met for only two days and on the second day (and only ballot) quickly nominated Fillmore for president, who had already been nominated for president by the
Among the delegates to the convention was John Bell of Tennessee.[2]
Results
| Candidates | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Name | Millard Fillmore |
| Party | Whig |
| Certified Votes | 150 (100.00%) |
| Margin | 0 (0.00%) |
References
- ^ Michael Holt, The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War (1999) pp 951–987.
- ^ "Old Lines Whig of Maury". Nashville Daily Patriot. Nashville, Tennessee. 3 September 1856. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
Further reading
- Holt, Michael (1999). The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-977203-2.
Primary sources
- Chester, Edward W A guide to political platforms (1977) online
- Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. National party platforms, 1840-1964 (1965) online 1840-1956
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