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United States presidential election, 1848
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Everything about United States Presidential Election 1848 totally explainedThe United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race. President James Polk, having achieved virtually all of his objectives in one term and suffering from declining health that would take his life less than four months after leaving office, kept his promise not to seek re-election.
The Whigs in 1846-47 had focused all their energies on condemning Polk's war policies. They had to quickly reverse course. In February 1848 Polk surprised everyone with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the war and gave the U.S. vast new territories (including California and most of Arizona and New Mexico). The Whigs in the Senate voted 2-1 to approve the treaty. Then in the summer the Whigs nominated the hero of the war, Zachary Taylor. While he did promise no more future wars, he didn't condemn the war or criticize Polk, and Whigs had to follow his lead. They shifted their attention to the new issue of whether slavery could be banned from the new territories. The choice of Taylor was almost in desperation--he wasn't clearly committed to Whig principles, but he was popular for leading the war effort. The Democrats had a record of victory, peace, prosperity, and the acquisition of both Oregon and the Southwest; they appeared almost certain winners unless the Whigs picked Taylor. "It is doubtful whether we can beat the scoundrels next Pres. Election," complained one Whig leader (John Defrees). "The war will have been ended -- and an immense acquisition of Land will be pointed to as the result of Democracy -- the Land stealing, even among our best Christians, is popular!" [Holtp. 312] Taylor's victory made him one of only two Whigs to be elected President before the party ceased to exist in the 1850's, the other Whig to be elected President was William Henry Harrison, who had also been a general and war hero.
Nominations
Whig Party nomination
Whig candidates
Candidates gallery
Image:Henry Clay.JPG|Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky
Image:John Clayton.jpg |Senator John M. Clayton of Delaware
Image:JohnMcLean.jpg |Associate Justice of the Supreme Court John McLean of Ohio
Image:Winfield Scott.jpg|General Winfield Scott of New Jersey
Image:Zachary Taylor.jpeg|General Zachary Taylor of Louisiana
Image:DanielWebster.jpg |Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts
Mexican-American War General Zachary Taylor of Louisiana, spurred by his successes on the battlefield but who had never voted in an election himself, was openly courted by both the Democratic and Whig parties. Taylor ultimately declared himself a Whig, and easily took their nomination, receiving 171 delegate votes to defeat Henry Clay, Winfield Scott, Daniel Webster and others. After Webster turned down the vice presidential candidacy, Millard Fillmore received the party's nomination for Vice President.
Democratic Party nomination
Democratic candidates
James Buchanan, Secretary of State from Pennsylvania
William O. Butler, former U.S. representative from Kentucky
John C. Calhoun, U.S. senator from South Carolina
Lewis Cass, former U.S. senator from Michigan
George M. Dallas, Vice President from New York
Levi Woodbury, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice from New Hampshire
Candidates gallery
Image:James Buchanan.jpg|Secretary of State James Buchanan of Pennsylvania
Image:William Orlando Butler - Brady-Handy.jpg|Former Representative William O. Butler of Kentucky
Image:John C. Calhoun.jpeg|Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina
Image:Cass standing-right.jpg|Former Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan
Image:George Mifflin Dallas.jpg|Vice President George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania
Image:JdgLWoodbury.jpg|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Levi Woodbury of New Hampshire
The Democrats countered by nominating Lewis Cass, who had served as Governor and Senator for Michigan, as well as Secretary of War under Andrew Jackson, and from 1836-1842 as ambassador to France. General William Orlando Butler was nominated to join Cass on the ticket, garnering 169 delegate votes to defeat five other candidates, including future Vice President William Rufus deVane King and future Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The Democrats chose a platform that remained silent on slavery, and with Cass suspected of pro-slavery leanings, many anti-slavery Democrats walked out of the Baltimore convention to begin the Free Soil party.
Free Soil Party nomination
A third party, the Free Soil Party, was organized for the 1848 election to oppose further expansion of slavery into the western territories. Led by Salmon P. Chase and John Parker Hale former President Martin Van Buren defeated Hale by a 154-129 delegate count to capture their nomination, while Charles Francis Adams, the son and grandson of two other presidents, was chosen as the vice presidential nominee.
Image:Martin Van Buren.jpg|Former President Martin Van Buren of New York
Image:JP-Hale.jpg|Senator John P. Hale of New Hampshire
Image:Joshua Reed Giddings - Brady-Handy.jpg|Representative Joshua R. Giddings of Ohio
Image:Charles Francis Adams.jpg|Former State Senator Charles Francis Adams, Sr. of Massachusetts
General election
CampaignResults
With the exception of South Carolina, which left the selection of electors to its legislature, the election of 1848 marked the first time in which every state in the union voted for President and Vice President on the same day: November 7, 1848. Taylor won election over Cass, capturing 163 of the 290 electoral votes cast. However, Taylor won barely more than 47% of the popular vote.
Source (Popular Vote):
Source (Electoral Vote):
(a) The popular vote figures exclude South Carolina where the Electors were chosen by the state legislature rather than by popular vote.
Electoral college selection
* Massachusetts law provided that the state legislature would choose the Electors if no slate of Electors could command a majority of voters statewide. In 1848, this provision was triggered.Further Information
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