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1852 Democratic National Convention1852 Presidential Election

NomineesPierce and King

Convention

Date(s) June 1-June 5, 1852

City Baltimore, Maryland

Venue Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic

Arts [above Centre ("Marsh") Market]

Candidates

Presidential

nominee

Franklin Pierce of

New Hampshire

Vice

Presidential

nominee

William R. King of Alabama

1852 Democratic National ConventionFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1852 Democratic National Convention was held at the Maryland Institute in the eastern downtown businessdistrict of Baltimore, Maryland, just two weeks before the opposing Whig Party met in the same hall for theirnominating convention. The Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, then an academicinstitution founded 1825-1826 with a variety of curriculums including mechanical arts along with visual art anddesign, was located on the second floor of their recently constructed 1851 landmark structure with two clocktowers at each end of the long structure set atop arched, stone and brick piers which covered the ancient "CentreMarket", founded in the 1760s as the original main marketplace of old Baltimore Town. Located at Market Place(formerly Harrison Street) and South Frederick Street between East Baltimore Street on the north and Water Street(old colonial shoreline) to the south. It was also known as "Marsh Market" because of the old colonial marsh ofThomas Harrison then located along the western bank of the Jones Falls stream which flowed through downtownBaltimore to the Harbor), and east of "The Basin" (today's "Inner Harbor re-developed entertainment, commercialand hotel area) along the northern shore of the Patapsco River's Northwest Branch. 16th President AbrahamLincoln spoke at the Institute a decade later with his "Liberty Address" or "Baltimore Address" during the SanitaryFair to raise money to benefit orphans and widows of Union Army soldiers and sailors, held by the United StatesSanitary Commission in April 1864. Old Maryland Institute and the Centre Market buildings perished in the GreatBaltimore Fire of February 1904. The Institute's buildings were rebuilt with three new parallel structures here forthe marketplace and the second floors for the M.I.'s mechanical arts along with another "Main Building" at MountRoyal Avenue in northwestern city in 1906. They were razed in the 1980s for an entranceway into the newBaltimore "Metro" subway system, and one building (the old "Fish Market") was renovated as the "Port Discovery"children's museum, part of the new "Power Plant Live!" entertainment complex of the 1990s.

This convention was notable for the hostility between several groups of the party, divided over the "Compromise of1850". The convention was called to order by Democratic National Committee chairman Benjamin F. Hallett.Romulus M. Saunders served as the temporary convention chairman and John W. Davis served as the permanentconvention president.

Contents

1 Presidential Candidates1.1 Withdrew During Balloting

2 The Convention3 Ballots

3.1 Presidential Ballots3.2 Vice Presidential Ballots

4 See also5 References6 External links

Presidential Candidates

Former SenatorFranklin Pierce ofNew Hampshire

Senator Lewis Cass ofMichigan

Former Secretary ofState James Buchananof Pennsylvania

Delegate Joseph Laneof Oregon

Senator Sam Houstonof Texas

Associate Justice LeviWoodbury of NewHampshire (DiedBefore Convention)

Former Congressmenand General WilliamO. Butler of Kentucky

Senator Daniel S.Dickinson of NewYork

Governor Philip Allenof Rhode Island

Senator Henry Dodgeof Wisconsin

Withdrew During Balloting

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DemocraticPierce/Kingcampaign poster

Henry C.Murphy of NewYork,considered as adark horsecandidate byVirginiadelegates beforethey decided tosupport FranklinPierce.

Former Secretary ofWar William L. Marcyof New York

Senator Stephen A.Douglas of Illinois

The ConventionAs Democrats convened in Baltimore in June 1852, four major candidates vied for the nomination- Lewis Cass of Michigan,the nominee in 1848, who had the backing of northerners in support of the Compromise of 1850; James Buchanan ofPennsylvania, popular in the South as well as in his home state; Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, candidate of the expansionistsand the railroad interests; and William L. Marcy of New York, whose strength was centered in his home state. Throughout theballoting, numerous favorite son candidates received a few votes.

Cass led on the first 19 ballots, with Buchanan second, and Douglas and Marcy exchanging third and fourth places. Buchanantook the lead on the 20th ballot and retained it on each of the next nine tallies. Douglas managed a narrow lead on the 30thand 31st ballots. Cass then recaptured first placed through the 44th ballot. Marcy carried the next four ballots. Franklin Pierceof New Hampshire, a former Congressman and Senator, did not get on the board until the 35th ballot, when the Virginiadelegation brought him forward as a compromise choice, selecting Pierce as their dark horse by one vote over former NewYork Congressman and Brooklyn Mayor Henry C. Murphy.[1] After being nominated by the Virginia delegation, Pierceconsolidated his support in subsequent voting and was nominated nearly unanimously on the 49th ballot.[2]

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 theywould select Alabama Senator William R. King, to whom Pierce had no objections. On the second ballot, with only minor opposition, King finallyobtained the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination. During the ensuing campaign, King's tuberculosis, which he believed he had contractedwhile living in Paris, denied him the active behind-the-scenes role that he might otherwise have played, although he worked hard to assure hisregion's voters with the statement that New Hampshire's Pierce was a "northern man with southern principles."

BallotsPresidential Ballots

Presidential BallotBallot 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th

FranklinPierce 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

LewisCass 116 118 119 115 114 114 113 113 112 111 101 98 98 99 99 99 99 96 89 81 60 43 37 33

JamesBuchanan 93 95 94 89 88 88 88 88 87 86 87 88 88 87 87 87 87 85 85 92 102 104 104 103

WilliamL. Marcy 27 27 26 25 26 26 26 26 27 27 27 27 26 26 26 26 26 25 26 26 26 26 27 26

StephenA.

Douglas20 23 21 33 34 34 34 34 39 40 50 51 51 51 51 51 50 56 63 64 64 77 78 80

Others 40 33 36 34 34 34 35 35 31 32 31 32 33 33 33 33 34 34 33 33 44 46 50 54

Presidential BallotBallot 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th

FranklinPierce 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 30 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 44 49 55

LewisCass 33 32 28 27 33 65 93 123 130 131 122 120 107 106 107 107 101 101 101 96 78 75 72

JamesBuchanan 101 98 96 98 91 83 74 72 49 39 28 28 28 28 27 27 27 27 27 27 28 28 28

WilliamL. Marcy 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 25 33 34 58 70 84 85 85 85 91 91 91 97 98 95 89

StephenA.

Douglas80 85 88 91 92 92 80 60 53 52 43 34 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 32 32 33 33

Others 56 55 58 54 54 30 23 16 31 25 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 19

Source: US President - D Convention (http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=58094). Our Campaigns (http://www.ourcampaigns.com). (August 24,2009).

Vice Presidential Ballots

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Vice Presidential BallotBallot 1st 2nd

William R. King 125 277Solomon W. Downs 30 0

John B. Weller 28 0David R. Atchison 25 0Gideon J. Pillow 25 0Robert Strange 23 0

William O. Butler 13 0Thomas J. Rusk 13 0Jefferson Davis 2 11Howell Cobb 2 0Abstaining 2 0

Source: US Vice President - D Convention (http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=59697). Our Campaigns (http://www.ourcampaigns.com).(August 25, 2009).

See also

Democratic National Convention

References

External links

Proceedings of the Democratic national convention held at Baltimore, June 1-5, 1852 (https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofde00demo)

Precededby1848 Democratic National Conventions

Succeededby1856

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Categories: United States presidential election, 1852 Democratic National Conventions History of Baltimore, MarylandPolitical conventions in Baltimore, Maryland 1852 in Maryland

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1. Stiles, Henry Reed (1883). Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D., of Brooklyn, N.Y. (https://books.google.com/books?id=GZkyAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA14&dq=%22henry+c+murphy%22+1852+convention&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BAOsVI6RComogwTAyoL4CA&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22henry%20c%20murphy%22%201852%20convention&f=false) The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volumes 13-14. p.14.

2. William DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Gramercy 1997