| 1852 presidential election | |
  Nominees Pierce and King | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | June 1–5, 1852 |
| City | Baltimore,Maryland |
| Venue | Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Franklin Pierce ofNew Hampshire |
| Vice-presidential nominee | William R. King ofAlabama |
| ‹ 1848 · 1856 › | |
The1852 Democratic National Convention was apresidential nominating convention that met from June 1 to June 5 inBaltimore,Maryland. It was held to nominate theDemocratic Party's candidates forpresident andvice president in the1852 election. The convention selected former SenatorFranklin Pierce of New Hampshire for president and SenatorWilliam R. King of Alabama for vice president.
Four major candidates vied for the presidential nomination –Lewis Cass of Michigan, the nominee in1848, who had the backing of northerners in support of theCompromise of 1850;James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, popular in theSouth as well as in his home state;Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, candidate of the expansionists and the railroad interests; andWilliam 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 SenatorSolomon W. Downs and several other candidates. The Democratic ticket went on to win the 1852 election, defeating theWhig ticket ofWinfield Scott andWilliam Alexander Graham.
The convention took place at theMaryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts and was called to order byDemocratic National Committee chairmanBenjamin F. Hallett.[1]Romulus M. Saunders served as the temporary convention chairman andJohn 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 theFugitive Slave Act of 1850.[3]
As Democrats convened inBaltimore in June 1852, four major candidates vied for the nomination –Lewis Cass of Michigan, the nominee in1848, who had the backing of northerners in support of theCompromise of 1850;James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, popular in theSouth as well as in his home state;Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, candidate of the expansionists and the railroad interests; andWilliam 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 theirdark horse by one vote over former New York Congressman andBrooklyn MayorHenry 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 wasJames W. Bradbury, then a senator fromMaine, a college mate and lifelong friend of Pierce."[6]
| Presidential 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 | |
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th | 37th | 38th | 39th | 40th | 41st | 42nd | 43rd | 44th | 45th | 46th | 47th | 48th | 49th | ||||||||||
| 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)
2nd Day of Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (June 4, 1852)
3rd Day of Presidential Balloting / 5th Day of Convention (June 5, 1852)
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 SenatorWilliam R. King, to whom Pierce had no objections. King won the nomination on the second ballot. During the ensuing campaign, King'stuberculosis, which he believed he had contracted while living inParis, 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] | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | |
| 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 |
| Preceded by 1848 Baltimore, Maryland | Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1856 Cincinnati, Ohio |
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