| ←1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 → Presidential election year | |
| Election day | November 4 |
|---|---|
| Incumbent president | Franklin Pierce (Democratic) |
| Next Congress | 35th |
| Presidential election | |
| Partisan control | Democratic hold |
| Popular vote margin | Democratic +12.2% |
| Electoral vote | |
| James Buchanan (D) | 174 |
| John C. Frémont (R) | 114 |
| Millard Fillmore (A) | 8 |
 | |
| 1856 presidential election results.Red denotes states won by Frémont,blue denotes states won by Buchanan, andlilac denotes states won by Fillmore. Numbers indicate theelectoral votes won by each candidate. | |
| Senate elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic hold |
| Seats contested | 21 of 62 seats[1] |
| Net seat change | Republican +7[2] |
| House elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic gain |
| Seats contested | All 237 voting members |
| Net seat change | Democratic +51[2] |
Elections were held for the35th United States Congress and thepresidency of the United States, to serve from 1857 until 1861. The elections took place during a major national debate over slavery, with the issue of "Bleeding Kansas" taking center stage.[3] Along with the1854 elections, these elections occurred during the transitional period immediately preceding theThird Party System. Old party lines were broken; new party alignments along sectional lines were in the process of formation. TheRepublican Party absorbed the Northern anti-slavery representatives who had been elected in 1854 under the "Opposition Party" ticket (consisting largely of formerWhigs) as the second-most powerful party in Congress.Minnesota andOregon joined the union before the next election, and elected their respective congressional delegations to the 35th Congress.
In the presidential election,Democratic former Secretary of StateJames Buchanan defeated Republican GeneralJohn Fremont and theAmerican Party candidate, former PresidentMillard Fillmore.[4] Buchanan swept the South and split the North with Fremont, while Fillmore wonMaryland. Buchanan had defeated incumbent PresidentFranklin Pierce (the first elected president to lose his party's presidential nomination) and SenatorStephen A. Douglas of Illinois on the 17th ballot at the1856 Democratic National Convention. Fremont defeated Supreme Court JusticeJohn McLean at the1856 Republican National Convention to take the Republican nomination. Fillmore's third-party candidacy took over twenty percent of the popular vote,[4] the bestpopular vote showing by a third party untilTheodore Roosevelt's 1912 candidacy.
In theHouse, the Democratic Party won several seats to take the plurality, but narrowly missed taking the majority. The Republican Party established itself as the second-largest party in the House, replacing the Opposition Party. The American Party lost numerous seats, but continued to maintain a presence in the House.[5] DemocratJames Lawrence Orr won election asSpeaker of the House.
In theSenate, Democrats made minor gains, maintaining their commanding majority. The Republican Party replaced the Opposition Party as the second-largest party, while the American Party picked up a small number of seats.[6]
  | ThisAmerican elections-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |