Past Campaigns: The 1848 Democratic Party Race
Incumbent Democratic Party President James K. Polk had promised to serve only one term in the White House and true to his word, Polk did not seek re-election in 1848. It is difficult to say whether he would have won a second term. On the one hand he was popular because of all that had been accomplished during his tenure, most notably the gains in territory, both in land obtained from the British in Oregon through negotiation and in the land obtained from Mexico in the southwest by war. But the war was unpopular in many segments of the country, especially in the free states where there was fear that slavery would be expanded throughout the new territories. The acquisition of the newly acquired land would accelerate the conflict over slavery that would ultimately be decided by civil war less than two decades later.
For now, Polk was in no shape to serve a second term. His health had deteriorated due to rampant workaholism and micro-managing, and he would not live much beyond the end of his term. The job of being president had aged Polk more so perhaps than any other president. He would die on June 15, 1849 (167 years ago today), only 103 days after leaving office, at the age of 53.
But as Polk spent his final year in office, a number of members of his party vied for his job. In those days candidates did not campaign openly as they do today, but all were working behind the scenes, putting organization together and finding campaign surrogates who would put their name in nomination at the party convention in May of 1848.
The most sought after candidate was General Zachary Taylor, who had won a series of military victories in Mexico despite facing a Mexican Army superior in numbers. Polk was so afraid of Taylor's rising popularity that near the end of the war, he siphoned off most of Taylor's army and gave those soldiers to General Winfield Scott who attacked the Mexicans at Veracruz and later at the final battle of the war in Mexico City. Even when the Mexicans learned that Taylor had lost most of his army and had attacked him with a much larger force, Taylor managed to eke out a victory, enhancing his legend, his popularity and his electability in 1848.
The problem was that no one knew what party Taylor belonged to. He had never declared himself to be a Whig or a Democrat, and according to some, he had never even voted. As a career soldier, Taylor believed that a general loyally served which ever president was his commander in chief, no matter what party that president came from. After the war, both parties tried to recruit Taylor as their candidate. Taylor decided that he was a Whig, and not a Democrat, forcing Polk's party to look elsewhere for a candidate.
Many believed that the next Democratic candidate would be former President Martin Van Buren. He had lost his bid for re-election in 1840, hampered by a poor economy that was likely the result of the banking policy of his mentor, Andrew Jackson. Van Buren sought his party's nomination in 1844, but lost to Polk because he did not support the annexation of Texas, something that made him unpopular among southern Democrats. He tried again in 1848, but a split in the Democratic Party in his home state of New York hurt his chances. The New York Democrats were divided between the Barnburner faction (Van Buren's faction, made up of opponents of the expansion of slavery) and the Hunkers (the conservative faction, who wanted to say as little as possible about slavery). When the Democratic Convention met in Baltimore on May 22, 1848, both New York factions sent delegates to the convention and a decision had to be made about which delegates would be recognized. It was a thorny problem because New York was an important state. The convention compromised on the issue. By a very narrow vote of 126 to 125, they decided to split the thirty-six votes between the pro-Van Buren faction and the Hunkers that opposed them. The pro-Van Burenite Barnburners did not like this resolution and they withdrew from the convention, and the remaining New Yorkers refused to vote. This essentially ended Van Buren's chances for a comeback.
With Van Buren out of the race, that meant that the major contenders for the nomination were Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan, Secretary of State James Buchanan from Pennsylvania, and Supreme Court Justice Levi Woodbury from New Hampshire. Cass had been a general in the War of 1812, and the Democrats believed that a military man was needed to run against Taylor. On the first ballot Cass held the lead with 125 of the 290 delegate votes with Buchanan and Woodbury trailing with 55 and 53 votes respectively. On the next two ballots Cass's total went up while the other candidates began to fall. With 179 votes out of 255 actually voting on the fourth ballot, Cass won the nomination, passing the two-thirds majority of 170 votes.
Just in case there weren't enough soldiers on the ticket, the convention picked General William O. Butler of Kentucky as Cass's running mate.
Cass was a leading supporter of the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which held that the people who lived in a territory should decide whether or not to permit slavery there. His nomination caused a split in the Democratic Party, and many antislavery Northern Democrats joined the Free Soil Party, which nominated Van Buren as their candidate.
Whig campaigners included future presidents Abraham Lincoln and Rutherford B. Hayes. Taylor was a slave-holder, but in the north Taylor's surrogates promoted Taylor's opposition to the the spoils system. In the South, they stressed that he was a Louisiana slaveholder and therefore someone likely to share their values. Cass's campaigners campaigned on their opposition to a national bank, high tariffs, and federal subsidies for local improvements. The Free Soil party called both major parties lackeys of the Slave Power and said that the rich planters controlled the agenda of both parties. They appealed for the vote of the ordinary man. This was seen as disingenuous because of Van Buren's history of compromising with Andrew Jackson over the issue of slavery.
The Whigs had the advantage of Taylor's military glory. Taylor remained vague on the issues, and the campaign was dominated by personalities and personal attacks. Democrats calling Taylor uneducated and unqualified for the presidency, while the Whigs attacking Cass for dishonesty. The division of the Democrats over slavery allowed Taylor to win states in the Northeast.
On election day, the Whigs won their second and final victory in a Presidential election. Taylor won the electoral college by capturing 163 of the 290 electoral votes. The popular vote was much closer. Although Taylor out-polled Cass in the popular vote by 138,000 votes, he fell 79,000 votes shy of a majority, winning the election with 47% of the popular vote. As one historian later noted, it was ironic that a Whig General would win an election for successfully prosecuting a Democratic President's war.
An excellent book about this election is Party Over Section: The Rough and Ready Presidential Election of 1848 by Joel H. Silbey, reviewed here in this community.
For now, Polk was in no shape to serve a second term. His health had deteriorated due to rampant workaholism and micro-managing, and he would not live much beyond the end of his term. The job of being president had aged Polk more so perhaps than any other president. He would die on June 15, 1849 (167 years ago today), only 103 days after leaving office, at the age of 53.
But as Polk spent his final year in office, a number of members of his party vied for his job. In those days candidates did not campaign openly as they do today, but all were working behind the scenes, putting organization together and finding campaign surrogates who would put their name in nomination at the party convention in May of 1848.
The most sought after candidate was General Zachary Taylor, who had won a series of military victories in Mexico despite facing a Mexican Army superior in numbers. Polk was so afraid of Taylor's rising popularity that near the end of the war, he siphoned off most of Taylor's army and gave those soldiers to General Winfield Scott who attacked the Mexicans at Veracruz and later at the final battle of the war in Mexico City. Even when the Mexicans learned that Taylor had lost most of his army and had attacked him with a much larger force, Taylor managed to eke out a victory, enhancing his legend, his popularity and his electability in 1848.
The problem was that no one knew what party Taylor belonged to. He had never declared himself to be a Whig or a Democrat, and according to some, he had never even voted. As a career soldier, Taylor believed that a general loyally served which ever president was his commander in chief, no matter what party that president came from. After the war, both parties tried to recruit Taylor as their candidate. Taylor decided that he was a Whig, and not a Democrat, forcing Polk's party to look elsewhere for a candidate.
Many believed that the next Democratic candidate would be former President Martin Van Buren. He had lost his bid for re-election in 1840, hampered by a poor economy that was likely the result of the banking policy of his mentor, Andrew Jackson. Van Buren sought his party's nomination in 1844, but lost to Polk because he did not support the annexation of Texas, something that made him unpopular among southern Democrats. He tried again in 1848, but a split in the Democratic Party in his home state of New York hurt his chances. The New York Democrats were divided between the Barnburner faction (Van Buren's faction, made up of opponents of the expansion of slavery) and the Hunkers (the conservative faction, who wanted to say as little as possible about slavery). When the Democratic Convention met in Baltimore on May 22, 1848, both New York factions sent delegates to the convention and a decision had to be made about which delegates would be recognized. It was a thorny problem because New York was an important state. The convention compromised on the issue. By a very narrow vote of 126 to 125, they decided to split the thirty-six votes between the pro-Van Buren faction and the Hunkers that opposed them. The pro-Van Burenite Barnburners did not like this resolution and they withdrew from the convention, and the remaining New Yorkers refused to vote. This essentially ended Van Buren's chances for a comeback.
With Van Buren out of the race, that meant that the major contenders for the nomination were Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan, Secretary of State James Buchanan from Pennsylvania, and Supreme Court Justice Levi Woodbury from New Hampshire. Cass had been a general in the War of 1812, and the Democrats believed that a military man was needed to run against Taylor. On the first ballot Cass held the lead with 125 of the 290 delegate votes with Buchanan and Woodbury trailing with 55 and 53 votes respectively. On the next two ballots Cass's total went up while the other candidates began to fall. With 179 votes out of 255 actually voting on the fourth ballot, Cass won the nomination, passing the two-thirds majority of 170 votes.
Just in case there weren't enough soldiers on the ticket, the convention picked General William O. Butler of Kentucky as Cass's running mate.
Cass was a leading supporter of the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which held that the people who lived in a territory should decide whether or not to permit slavery there. His nomination caused a split in the Democratic Party, and many antislavery Northern Democrats joined the Free Soil Party, which nominated Van Buren as their candidate.
Whig campaigners included future presidents Abraham Lincoln and Rutherford B. Hayes. Taylor was a slave-holder, but in the north Taylor's surrogates promoted Taylor's opposition to the the spoils system. In the South, they stressed that he was a Louisiana slaveholder and therefore someone likely to share their values. Cass's campaigners campaigned on their opposition to a national bank, high tariffs, and federal subsidies for local improvements. The Free Soil party called both major parties lackeys of the Slave Power and said that the rich planters controlled the agenda of both parties. They appealed for the vote of the ordinary man. This was seen as disingenuous because of Van Buren's history of compromising with Andrew Jackson over the issue of slavery.
The Whigs had the advantage of Taylor's military glory. Taylor remained vague on the issues, and the campaign was dominated by personalities and personal attacks. Democrats calling Taylor uneducated and unqualified for the presidency, while the Whigs attacking Cass for dishonesty. The division of the Democrats over slavery allowed Taylor to win states in the Northeast.
On election day, the Whigs won their second and final victory in a Presidential election. Taylor won the electoral college by capturing 163 of the 290 electoral votes. The popular vote was much closer. Although Taylor out-polled Cass in the popular vote by 138,000 votes, he fell 79,000 votes shy of a majority, winning the election with 47% of the popular vote. As one historian later noted, it was ironic that a Whig General would win an election for successfully prosecuting a Democratic President's war.
An excellent book about this election is Party Over Section: The Rough and Ready Presidential Election of 1848 by Joel H. Silbey, reviewed here in this community.