The '''United States presidential election of 1852''' was held on Tuesday, November 2, 1852, and featured a contest between [[Democratic]] candidate [[Franklin Pierce]] of [[New Hampshire]] and General [[Winfield Scott]] of [[Virginia]] on the [[Whig Party|Whig]] ticket. Pierce won a lopsided victory over Scott in the Electoral College, although the popular vote was much more evenly split.
The incumbent (Whig) President, [[Millard Fillmore]], was not sufficiently popular within the party, due to his support for and enforcement of the [[Compromise of 1850]], which anti-slavery Whigs opposed; both Scott and Pierce were chosen in the hope that they could appeal to the Northern and Southern wings of their respective parties. Prior to the election, neither man had been especially noteworthy politically, nor had they been strongly associated with either side in the sectional conflicts of the day.<ref>Clare Gibson, [[A Pictoral History of the U.S. Presidents]], Gramercy Books, 2001.</ref>
The election was the last in which the Whig Party was a serious contender in national politics, as sectional disputes over the westward extension of slavery would soon cause it to break apart. It was also the last presidential election before the appearance of the [[Republican Party]]. For this reason, American political historians often mark 1852 as the end of the "Second Party System," which had begun in 1828 with the election of [[Andrew Jackson]].
==General Election==
===Fall Campaign===
Most observers predicted early on that the general election would end in a Democratic victory. Though the nomination contests had revealed a lack of decisive leadership in both parties, the Democrats had mostly overcome their internal divisions over slavery and the Compromise of 1850, and united behind Pierce; the party machinery, including his rivals for the nomination, campaigned effectively on his behalf throughout the country, and successfully appealed to the large contingents of recent Irish and German immigrants. Pierce also refrained from committing himself on such controversial issues as slavery, the tariff, and homestead legislation.
This disunity doomed any chance Scott might have had of winning the election. His speech-making was considered effective, and he was able to win over some industrial workers with his position on the tariff issue; but these factors were not sufficient to alter the outcome, and anti-immigration statements he had made in the past were used against him. Attacks on Pierce as a drunkard, though they gained credence later, were likewise ineffective.
===Results===
The results of the election, held on November 2, were as follows:
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Scott's 42 electoral votes came from four states: [[Kentucky]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Tennessee]], and [[Vermont]]. All other states gave their electoral votes to Pierce. The extent of Pierce's victory in the Electoral College gave an inflated view of his real popularity, as his margin of the popular vote compared to Scott was actually rather narrow in many states; in seven states, it was less than 5%. Democratic victory was more a reflection of the strength of their party, and the weakness of the Whigs. The Free Soil Party received no electoral votes, but did win nearly 5% of all ballots cast; had its voters remained with the Whigs, Scott would have won [[Connecticut]], [[Delaware]], and [[Ohio]], and an extra 32 electoral votes.<ref>[[A Pictoral History Walter Dean Burnham, ''Presidential Ballots, 1836-1892'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1955), p. 247-57.</ref> ==Analysis== The most obvious, and significant, result of the Uelection was the rapid disintegration of the Whig Party.SBeyond its lopsided defeat in the presidential contest, it suffered serious losses in the congressional races, with the Democrats now holding decisive majorities in both houses; and it was more divided than ever into Northern and Southern wings. Presidents[[Indiana]]Whig politician [[Schuyler Colfax]] wrote after the election that his party "seems almost annihilated, by Clare Gibson" and one New York Whig remarked that "There may be no political future for us..." Politicians identifying as Whigs would be active in national affairs for some time to come, Gramercy Booksand the party officially existed until 1856; but it ceased to be an effective organization after this time.<ref>Allan Nevins, 2001''Ordeal of the Union: A House Divided, 1852-1857'' (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947), p. 36.</ref> On the surface, Pierce and the Democrats appeared to have won an overwhelming victory. Despite the temporary unity they had achieved, though, tensions between Northern and Southern members continued here as well, with radical abolitionists and States' Rights advocates refusing to compromise and demanding that the party be bent to their will. This was the prelude to an internal crisis over the slavery question, and the organization of the Republican Party, in the mid-1850s.
==References==
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[[Category:United States Presidential Elections]]