- Date:
- November 4, 1856
- Location:
- United States
United States presidential election of 1856
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What was the United States presidential election of 1856?
In the United States presidential election of 1856, Democrat James Buchanan defeated Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing candidate Millard Fillmore. Buchanan won with 174 electoral votes, Frémont with 114, and Fillmore with 8.
The election took place during a period of political realignment and tension over slavery, exacerbated by events like Bleeding Kansas. The Democrats nominated Buchanan, while the Republicans rallied around Frémont. Fillmore ran as the Know-Nothing nominee, with the Whigs uniting behind him. With the Democrats citing the possible dissolution of the Union should antislavery sentiments prevail, Buchanan was able to win key Northern states, securing the White House.
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Who were the main candidates in the 1856 presidential election?
The main candidates in the 1856 presidential election were James Buchanan of the Democratic Party, John C. Frémont representing the Republican Party, and Millard Fillmore of the American (Know-Nothing) Party. Buchanan won the election with 174 electoral votes, followed by Frémont with 114, and Fillmore with 8.
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Why was this election important in American history?
The United States presidential election of 1856 occurred during a period of significant political realignment and rising tensions over slavery. The election highlighted the growing divide between the North and South, with the Republican Party, running its first presidential campaign, vehemently opposing slavery.
The Democrats, aware of the divisive climate, nominated James Buchanan, who had distanced himself from the controversies of the time. Buchanan's victory demonstrated the Democrats' ability to win key Northern states by warning that antislavery sentiments could dissolve the Union. The election of 1856 revealed the increasing polarization of American politics along sectional lines, foreshadowing the Civil War.
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What new political party played a big role in the 1856 election?
In the United States presidential election of 1856, the new Republican Party played a significant role. Formed in 1854, it opposed the extension of slavery into the Kansas and Nebraska territories. The Republican Party nominated John C. Frémont, who received a majority of the votes in the free states.
Another party, known as the Know-Nothing party (or the American Party), also played a role in the 1856 election. This party arose from anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiments. Millard Fillmore ran as their candidate and finished third behind James Buchanan (Democrat) and John C. Frémont (Republican).
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What issues, like slavery, influenced voters during this election?
In the United States presidential election of 1856, several significant issues influenced voters, most notably slavery and immigration.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed popular sovereignty to decide on slavery in the Nebraska territory, intensified tensions and led to violence in what became known as Bleeding Kansas. The Republican Party adopted a firm antislavery position, attracting voters in most Northern states. Meanwhile, the Know-Nothing Party, an anti-immigration group, aimed to decrease the political influence of immigrants. The Democrats, warning of the Union's potential dissolution, secured key Northern states, enabling James Buchanan to win the presidency.
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How did the results of the 1856 election affect the future of the United States?
The 1856 election highlighted the growing divide over slavery in the United States. Though James Buchanan, a Democrat, won the election, the Republican candidate John C. Frémont, garnered most of the votes in the free states. The election revealed that the country was increasingly polarized along sectional lines.
The results of the election exposed the depth of the sectional chasm within the United States and foreshadowed the coming secession and Civil War. The Dred Scott decision, which further stoked abolitionist sentiments, and the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, ultimately led to the secession of Southern states and the outbreak of war.
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United States presidential election of 1856, American presidential election held on November 4, 1856, in which Democrat James Buchanan defeated Republican John C. Frémont with 174 electoral votes to Frémont’s 114. Whig and former president Millard Fillmore, who ran on the Know-Nothing ticket, garnered only 8 electoral votes.
At a glance: the election of 1856
Slavery and popular sovereignty
The period leading up to the presidential election of 1856 saw the political factions that drove the country’s policies in the midst of a massive realignment. The once-dominant Whigs, enervated by a series of defeats and internecine conflicts, were in a state of collapse, with many members defecting to the splinter parties that formed in the wake of the 1854 passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The act, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, established popular sovereignty as the means by which the Nebraska territory would decide whether to enter the Union as a slave or a free state, thus reviving tensions over slavery that had ostensibly been put to rest by the Compromise of 1850 (which had allowed popular sovereignty to decide the issue in Utah and New Mexico and created California as a free state). The new act claimed that the former provision of the 1850 legislation nullified the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had established the northern boundary beyond which slavery was not permitted. Northerners were outraged, and the midterm election of 1854 saw the ouster of many Democrats from Congress. Following the shake-up, the former Democrats and Whigs who had engineered the purge gravitated to one of two new parties: the Know-Nothings, an anti-immigration party formed in 1849 that aimed to curtail the political clout of a recent wave of German and Irish Catholic immigrants, and the recently established Republican Party, which opposed slavery.
Campaign and results
This fraught climate—exacerbated by Bleeding Kansas, a series of violent episodes that broke out after allegations of voter fraud in the new state—led the remaining Democrats to reject incumbent Franklin Pierce as their nominee, fearing that association with the controversial act would alienate voters. Though Pierce allied with Douglas in an attempt to block the nomination of James Buchanan, who had been chosen because of his distance from the controversies of the day, Douglas ultimately reneged on their agreement and withdrew himself from the running, allowing Buchanan to take the nomination. John C. Breckinridge, a former U.S. senator and representative from Kentucky with ties to Douglas, received the vice presidential nomination. Republicans rallied around John C. Frémont, a U.S. senator from California, with William L. Dayton, a former U.S. senator from New Jersey as his running mate. Former president Millard Fillmore served as the Know-Nothing nominee, with Andrew J. Donelson of Tennessee as his running mate; the Whigs united behind Fillmore rather than proposing their own candidate.
During the campaign, the Know-Nothings adopted a more moderate platform that downplayed the party’s opposition to immigration and advocated a rapprochement between the two sides of the slavery issue. The Republicans maintained a vehement antislavery stance, a position that garnered them the votes of most northern states. The Democrats, however, citing the possible dissolution of the Union should antislavery sentiments prevail, managed to win several key northern states, enabling Buchanan to win the White House.
For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1852. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1860.
Results of the 1856 election
The results of the 1856 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.
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| presidential candidate | political party | electoral votes | popular votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sources: Electoral and popular vote totals based on data from the United States Office of the Federal Register and Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, 4th ed. (2001). | |||
| James Buchanan | Democratic | 174 | 1,838,169 |
| John C. Frémont | Republican | 114 | 1,341,264 |
| Millard Fillmore | American (Know-Nothing) | 8 | 873,053 |