Background
Although Zachary Taylor won the preceding presidential election on the Whig Ticket, the Democrats remained strong in Congress. They had a majority of the Senate and a plurality in the House. The Democrats were emboldened after Millard Fillmore ascended to the presidency, replacing the deceased Zachary Taylor. The Compromise of 1850, a major Whig victory in Congress, was not well received by the voters, who increased the Demcoratic representation in both chambers, giving the Democrats full control of the House.
Pre-Convention Maneuvering
Throughout the year 1851, a number of contenders began to marshal their forces for the state Democratic conventions. The first official candidate was Joseph Lane, who was placed in contention by the Indiana State Democratic Convention on 1/26/1851. The New Hampshire convention placed Levi Woodbury in contention on 6/11/1851. When the Democratic National Committee met in New York City on New Year's Day of 1852 to make the final plans for the national convention, they reported that Samuel Houston was the favorite at that time.
Delegates to the national convention were chosen throughout the fall of 1851 and winter of 1852. On 1/21/1852, the newspaper the Farmer's Cabinet reported that Democratic members of Congress generally favored Lewis Cass, who "has been gaining ground, and now stands a very fair chance." The second choice in Congress was William O. Butler, who was neutral on the Compromise of 1850; other candidates, limited to favorite son status, were Buchanan, Marcy, and Douglas.
On the eve of the convention, the newspaper the Barre Gazette gave its projection of the first ballot vote as Cass 91, Buchanan 76, Douglas 28, Marcy 24, Butler 24, Houston 14, Lane 13, Allen 11, Pierce 5, and Dodge 2.
Organizing the Convention
The 6th Democratic National Convention assembled in the Maryland Institute Hall in Baltimore MD. The convention met in a long room measuring 52 feet by 300 feet, with a gallery running around the entire room. The delegates sat on a platform on the south end of the room, with a second platform for the convention's officials. In front of the stage was an area roped off for invited guests. As it turned out, not enough chairs were provided for the delegates, because several states sent more delegates than the number of delegate votes allotted (for example, Virginia sent 120 delegates to cast 15 votes) [New York Times, 6/2/1852]. Benjamin F. Hallett MA, the first Democratic National Chairman, called the convention to order. Hallett made an executive decision at the beginning of the session which set the precedent for all future conventions. Since some states sent more delegates than they had votes, Hallett announced that the states would be able to seat only that number of delegates assigned before the convention.
Temporary Chairman: Romulus M. Saunders NC
Permanent Chairman: John W. Davis IN
On the first day, the convention appointed a credentials committee to settle a dispute which led to two full delegations being appointed from Georgia. The convention also appointed a rules committee and one to appoint officers.
The Rules Committee reported first. It recommended retaining the rules of the 1848 national convention, including the provision for the 2/3 rule for nominations. When a delegate recommended dropping the 2/3 rule, the delegates took a vote without debate; the 2/3 rule was upheld by a vote of 269-13, with all negative votes coming from New York and Ohio.
After dealing with the report of the Rules Committee, the convention asked for a report from the Resolutions Committee (or the platform committee). It was not ready to report, and a lengthy debate ensued which led nowhere.
On the second day of the convention, the Credentials Committee reported. It considered challenges to the entire state of Georgia and South Carolina and challenges to portions of the delegations of ME, MA, and VT. The recommendations of the committee, including the decision to reject the sole delegate appearing from South Carolina, were endorsed on a roll call by the vote of 194-83. Centers of opposition on this roll call were New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey.
The convention then discussed whether to continue waiting for the Resolutions Committee (platform committee) or to go ahead with the nominations. The convention decided to proceed with the nominations.
The Presidential Roll Calls
Franklin Pierce was nominated for President on the 49th ballot. Prior to 1852, the most ballots cast at a Democratic National Convention was nine (1844).
Lewis Cass led on the first ballot in a slightly sectional result. He placed first in the North and West and second in the South. Northern states (free states east of Ohio) voted Cass 46, Buchanan 32 (27 of which were from Pennsylvania), Marcy 27, and others 4. Slave states voted Buchanan 59, Cass 44, and others 7. Western States (free states beginning with Ohio) voted Cass 26, Douglas 13, and others 27.
The convention took seven additional ballots that day, with very little change in the results. The 6th ballot was the first in convention history in which no delegate changed his vote from the prior ballot. On the first 16 ballots, 249 of the 288 delegates voted the same way on all ballots. The only real movement was in the west, where Douglas took Missouri from Cass and Arkansas from Buchanan. Douglas also gained scattered delegates throughout the nation on these ballots, moving to third place on the 4th ballot and moving up to 51 votes on the 12th ballot. The results of the 14th, 15th, and 16th ballots was the same.
| Presidential Balloting (Ballots 1-16), DNC 1852 |
| Candidate: Ballot | 1st | 2d | 3d | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th
|
| Lewis Cass | 116 | 118 | 119 | 115 | 114 | 114 | 113 | 113 | 112 | 111 | 101 | 98 | 98 | 99 | 99 | 99
|
| James Buchanan | 93 | 95 | 94 | 89 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 87
|
| Stephen A. Douglas | 20 | 23 | 21 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 39 | 40 | 50 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51
|
| William L. Marcy | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26
|
| Joseph Lane | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13
|
| Samuel Houston | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10
|
| Scattering | 11 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2
|
The middle third of the balloting was much more fluid, with 1/3 of the delegates (95 of 288) voting for different men on the 16 ballots. On the first three of these 16 ballots, the biggest shift was in New England, where Douglas took nine votes from Cass (including the Rhode Island delegation) and two from Buchanan. Beginning with the 20th ballot, Cass was in freefall; by the 29th ballot he had just 27 votes. Buchanan took NJ and gained in three other states to take the lead on the 20th ballot. He peaked at 104 votes on the 22d and 23d ballots and retained the lead while losing delegates for six ballots. Douglas gained throughout the nation, slowly rising into first place on the 30th ballot. The remainder of Cass's losses went to William O. Butler. Buchanan began to slip noticeably beginning with the 30th ballot; by the 32d, he had lost 30 votes from his high. With it clear that Buchanan could not win, Cass returned to contention, regaining his lead on the 32d ballot by resuming his former support in the North and Northwest and absorbing the votes of Lane, who had withdrawn.
| Presidential Balloting (Ballots 17-32), DNC 1852 |
| Candidate: Ballot | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22d | 23d | 24th | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32d
|
| James Buchanan | 87 | 85 | 85 | 92 | 102 | 104 | 104 | 103 | 101 | 101 | 98 | 96 | 98 | 91 | 83 | 74
|
| Lewis Cass | 99 | 96 | 89 | 81 | 60 | 43 | 37 | 33 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 28 | 27 | 33 | 65 | 93
|
| Stephen A. Douglas | 50 | 56 | 63 | 64 | 64 | 77 | 78 | 80 | 79 | 80 | 85 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 80
|
| William L. Marcy | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26
|
| William O. Butler | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 1
|
| Joseph Lane | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | -- | --
|
| Samuel Houston | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 6
|
| Daniel S. Dickinson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1
|
The last third of the balloting was marked by the continued push by the Cass forces. On the 33d ballot, he surged past the earlier highest vote of the convention - his own vote on the 3d ballot - and reached a new high of 131 on the 35th ballot. Cass now had 45% of the vote and led in all three regions (67% in the northwest, 42% in the South, and 40% in the Northeast). Buchanan was out of true contention; by the 36th ballot, the South had abandoned him and was experimenting with other contenders. Virginia looked to fresh faces, supporting Dickinson on the 34th and then switching to Franklin Pierce on the 35th. When it became clear that Cass had hit a new ceiling, the most popular fresh face was Marcy. Now that he had switched to the Barnburner faction of the party in New York State, Marcy was acceptable to the South. His vote increased gradually beginning with the 34th ballot, and on the 45th ballot he placed first with a highly sectional vote (a plurality in the South, but half of his remainder was from New York). On the 46th ballot, Marcy's exertions only gained him one delegate vote; the only other major change was a shift by Kentucky to Pierce. On the 48th ballot, Pierce moved into third place with 55 votes with almost no other candidate gaining.
On the 49th ballot, the first 12 states cast their votes with very little change from the 48th ballot. When North Carolina was called, James C. Dobbin gave an impassioned plea for party unity and shifted the state's vote from Marcy to Pierce. Georgia followed suit, as did Mississippi. With Marcy's support evaporating in the South, New York announced that it wanted to temporarily withdraw from the convention to discuss whether to change its vote. Pennsylvania and Indiana followed suit (though the latter had not voted on the ballot yet). Amidst deafening cheering, Alabama switched its vote, previously cast for Marcy, to Pierce, and the Illinois delegation withdrew to consult. The landslide was in progress: VT and NJ shifted their previously cast votes to Pierce; Indiana voted for Pierce; Horatio Seymour withdrew Marcy from contention and shifted the New York Barnburner delegate vote to Pierce. At this point, Pierce was leading with 128 votes to 57 for all others. Gov. Porter shifted Pennsylvania's 27 votes, previously cast for Buchanan, to Pierce, but the cheering was so loud that little of what he said was heard. This vote put Pierce in the majority of the total delegate vote (155 of 288). Ohio then cast 17 of its 23 votes for Pierce; Illinois withdrew Douglas and supported Pierce. The excitement was electric as each following state voted unanimously for Pierce, and all but Ohio shifted votes for other candidates to him. When the balloting was finished, Pierce had all but the six scattering in Ohio and three blank delegate votes in Maryland.
| Presidential Balloting (Ballots 33-49), DNC 1852 |
| Candidate: Ballot | 33d | 34th | 35th | 36th | 37th | 38th | 39th | 40th | 41st | 42d | 43d | 44th | 45th | 46th | 47th | 48th | 49th |
| Franklin Pierce | 1 | -- | 15 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 44 | 49 | 55 | 282 |
| Lewis Cass | 123 | 130 | 131 | 122 | 120 | 107 | 106 | 107 | 107 | 101 | 101 | 101 | 96 | 78 | 75 | 72 | 2 |
| William L. Marcy | 25 | 33 | 34 | 58 | 70 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 97 | 98 | 95 | 89 | -- |
| James Buchanan | 72 | 49 | 39 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | -- |
| Stephen A. Douglas | 60 | 53 | 52 | 43 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 2 |
| Daniel S. Dickinson | 1 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| Samuel Houston | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Scattering | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Vice Presidential ballot
Delegates nominated William R.D. King for Vice President on the second ballot. His name was placed in nomination by the Maine delegation. On the first ballot, King led with 43% of the delegate votes. His nearest competitor had just 10%. The following table sets forth the interesting sectional results of the first ballot:
| Contender | North | South | West |
| William R.D. King | 73 | 52 | 0 |
| Others | 37 | 60 | 56 |
King was nominated on the second ballot nearly unanimously.
| Contender | First Ballot | 2d |
| William R.D. King AL | 125 | 277 |
| S.U. Downs | 30 | 0 |
| John B. Weller | 28 | 0 |
| David R. Atchison | 25 | 0 |
| Gideon J. Pillow | 25 | 0 |
| Robert Strange | 23 | 0 |
| William O. Butler | 13 | 0 |
| Thomas J. Rusk | 13 | 0 |
| Jefferson Davis | 2 | 11 |
| Others | 4 | 0 |
Other convention business
The Resolutions Committee reported after the vice presidential ballots. The platform opposed federal funding of internal improvements, was anti-protectionist, against the National Bank, and in favor of the Compromise of 1850.
After adoption of the platform, the convention voted 195-68 to allow each state two delegates per electoral vote in future conventions. All negative votes came from the South, where the vote was 28-68. The convention then adjourned sine die.
5th Democratic National Convention (1848)
7th Democratic National Convention (1856)
Popular Vote of 1852
Electoral Vote of 1852
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