U.S. Presidential Election- The 1848 Election

[PBrunsel]

No hindsight.

In 1848 the nation held its first vote since it had spread from sea to shining sea. The major issue was slavery. This was also the first election all states voted on the same day.

The Whig Ticket

General Zachary Taylor was President Polk's greatest fear when it came to political ambitions. After defeating the Mexicans in battle after battle, Polk took away most of his force in 1847, and gave them to General Winfield Scott (who would run in 1852). With but 5,000 men, Taylor defeated General Antonio Lopez Santa Anna’s force of 12,000 men at Buena Vista. This catapulted him into the Whig Nomination for President, but he didn’t accept the letter informing him of his nomination because he didn’t want to pay the $3.00 postage fee.

Despite anger by men like Henry Clay and Daniel Webster over his nomination, Taylor was chosen easily on the 3rd Ballot defeating men like Webster for the nomination. He was pared with Governor Millard Fillmore of New York so that that important swing state would vote the way of the Whigs (as it had failed to do in 1844, denying Clay the Presidency).

Being the Whigs, they decided to take two sides on slavery, they opposed it’s expansion, unless the states voted on it.

The Democratic Ticket


The Democrats had high spirits for the 1848 Campaign, They had been able to keep Congress in their hands in 1846 and with a popular Polk in power, they felt the Oval Office was theirs for the asking.

At their convention in Baltimore, the party nominated long time Democratic workhorse Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan and paired him with General William Orlando Butler, to try to offset the Taylor nomination.

Cass himself favored popular sovereignty, where territories chose the question of free or slave through a popular vote. Cass himself was seen as pro-slavery, seeing how his running mate was a slave owner and he had been nominated by prominent slave holding Senator Jefferson F. Davis.

The Free State Democrats marched out of the convention declaring they would form no, “pact with slaveholders.”

The Free Soil Ticket[/u]


The Free Soil Party met in Toledo to nominate a Democratic Ticket that would oppose slavery. Senator John P. Hale and former President Martin Van Buren were the frontrunners for the Free Soil Party nomination. In the end Van Buren was made their nominee with Charles Francis Adams as his running mate.

The Free Soil Party declared there would be no slavery in the territories. It called for the [passage of an amendment that would outlaw all slavery in the territories won under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
 

[A18]

I would definitely vote for Cass, but not because of the slavery issue. Wouldn't want to risk revival of the national bank.

[Yates]

I would have voted for Zachary Taylor.

[PBrunsel]

I voted ofr Van Buren simply because he was the most preferable over the other, especially Taylor.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I vote for O.K

[Speed of Sound]

Van buren would definetly get my vote, because of the slavery issue.

[Emsworth]

I would definitely vote for Cass, but not because of the slavery issue. Wouldn't want to risk revival of the national bank.

^^^

[minionofmidas]

Van! Van! Van!

[Virginian87]

Taylor, despite the fact that my historical opinion of him is rather low.  With hindsight, probably would have voted for Cass.

[Erc]

Cass--I like Van Buren, but electing him would have been disastrous.

[jokerman]

Cass

[Bono]

Cass