1848 Whig National Convention

1848 Whig National Convention

1848 presidential election
Nominees Taylor and Fillmore
Convention
Date(s)	June 7–9, 1848
City	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Venue	Chinese Museum Building
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Zachary Taylor of Louisiana
Vice-presidential nominee	Millard Fillmore of New York
Voting
Total delegates	280
Votes needed for nomination	140
Results (president)	Taylor (LA): 171 (61.07%) Scott (NY): 63 (22.5%) Clay (KY): 32 (11.43%) Webster (MA): 14 (5%)
Ballots	4
‹  1844  ·  1852  ›

The 1848 Whig National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held from June 7 to 9 in Philadelphia. It nominated the Whig Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1848 election. The convention selected General Zachary Taylor of Louisiana for president and former Representative Millard Fillmore of New York for vice president.

Taylor and General Winfield Scott had both emerged as contenders for the Whig presidential nomination after serving in the Mexican–American War, while two long-time party leaders, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky and Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, also commanded support in the party. With Southern delegates united around his candidacy, Taylor took the lead on the first ballot. Clay finished a strong second to Taylor on the first ballot of the convention, but his support faded on subsequent ballots and Taylor took the nomination on the fourth ballot.

After Webster declined the vice presidential nomination, Fillmore and businessman Abbott Lawrence of Massachusetts emerged as the top choices for vice president. Fillmore clinched the nomination on the second ballot. The Whig ticket went on to win the 1848 presidential election, defeating the Democratic ticket of Lewis Cass and William O. Butler.

The Convention

Illustration of the convention

Illustration of the Chinese Museum Building, the venue of the convention

The convention was held from June 7 to 9 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Every state was represented except for Texas. It was chaired by John A. Collier and John M. Morehead. Taylor had been courted by both the Democrats and the Whigs, but ultimately declared himself a Whig. The platform adopted largely consisted of praise for Taylor, with less attention paid to specific policies. ^[1]

The venue for the convention was the Chinese Museum Building. The building since was destroyed by fire in 1854. ^[2]

There were 280 individuals seated as delegates to the convention. ^[2]

Presidential nomination

By 1847, General Zachary Taylor had emerged as a contender for the Whig nomination in the 1848 presidential election. ^[3] Despite Taylor's largely unknown political views, many Whigs believed he was the party's strongest possible candidate due to his martial accomplishments in the Mexican–American War. ^[4] Henry Clay initially told his allies that he would not run in the 1848 presidential election, but he was unwilling to support Taylor, a "mere military man.". ^[5] Although Daniel Webster and General Winfield Scott each commanded a limited base of support in the party, Taylor and Clay each saw the other as their lone serious rival for the Whig nomination. ^[6]

Taylor led on the first ballot and grew his lead on subsequent ballots. On the fourth ballot, he secured 171 votes and won the presidential nomination.

Candidates

• 
  General Zachary Taylor of Louisiana
• 
  Former Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky
• 
  General Winfield Scott of New York
• 
  Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts
• 
  Senator John M. Clayton of Delaware
• 
  Associate Justice John McLean of Ohio

Presidential Ballot
Ballot	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Taylor	111	118	133	171
Clay	97	86	74	32
Scott	43	49	54	63
Webster	22	22	17	14
Clayton	4	4	1	0
McLean	2	0	0	0
Blanks	11	11	11	10

• 
  1st Presidential Ballot
• 
  2nd Presidential Ballot
• 
  3rd Presidential Ballot
• 
  4th Presidential Ballot

Vice Presidential nomination

Vice Presidential candidates

Whig Party leader Thurlow Weed hoped to secure the vice presidency for former New York governor William H. Seward, a vocal opponent of slavery, or to have him appointed U.S. Secretary of State. ^[7] New Yorkers opposed to Seward promoted Millard Fillmore, the New York State Comptroller, for vice president; under the conventions of the time, two top positions could not go to individuals from the same state. ^[8] Former congressman Solomon Foot of Vermont went to the convention as a supporter of Abbott Lawrence for vice president. ^[9] As a key Taylor supporter, Lawrence expected to be nominated for vice president. ^[10] Northern anti-slavery delegates perceived Lawrence as more accepting of slavery than Fillmore. ^[10] Recognizing that the Whigs would likely collapse if Lawrence was nominated and the northern anti-slavery delegates left the party, or if southern delegates left following a Seward nomination, Foot agreed to shift his support to Fillmore. ^{[8] [10]} Lawrence's support eroded as other northern delegates followed Foot's lead, and on the first ballot, Fillmore had 115 votes and Lawrence 109. ^{[8] [10]} (Seward was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate for the term starting in March 1849.) ^[11]

• 
  Comptroller
  Millard Fillmore
  of New York
• 
  Former Representative
  Abbott Lawrence
  of Massachusetts
• 
  Representative
  Andrew Stewart
  of Pennsylvania
• 
  Former Representative
  Thomas McKennan
  of Pennsylvania
• 
  Former Senator
  George Evans
  of Maine
• 
  Former Representative
  John Sergeant
  of Pennsylvania
• 
  Senator
  John M. Clayton
  of Delaware
• 
  Lieutenant Governor
  Hamilton Fish
  of New York
• 
  Governor
  John Young
  of New York
• 
  Former Senator
  Thomas Ewing
  of Ohio
• 
  Speaker
  Robert C. Winthrop
  of Massachusetts
• 
  Publisher
  Thurlow Weed
  of New York

Withdrawn

• 
  Former Governor
  William H. Seward
  of New York
• 
  Representative
  Thomas B. King
  of Georgia

Declined

• 
  Senator
  Daniel Webster
  of Massachusetts

Balloting

Webster was offered the vice presidential spot on the ticket, but declined. Former New York Representative Millard Fillmore was chosen as the vice presidential candidate on the second ballot.

Convention Vice Presidential vote

Ballots	1	2
Millard Fillmore	115	173
Abbott Lawrence	109	87
Not Voting	16	24
Andrew Stewart	14	0
Thomas M.T. McKennan	13	0
George Evans	6	2
John Sergeant	6	1
John M. Clayton	3	3
Hamilton Fish	2	0
Thomas Ewing Sr.	1	0
Thomas B. King	1	0
John Young	1	0
Rufus Choate	1	0
Solomon Foot	1	0
George Lunt	1	0

• 
  1st Vice Presidential Ballot
• 
  2nd Vice Presidential Ballot

See also

• U.S. presidential nomination convention
• 1848 United States presidential election
• 1848 Democratic National Convention

References

1. Havel, James T. (1996). U.S. Presidential Elections and the Candidates: A Biographical and Historical Guide. Vol. 2: The Elections, 1789–1992. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 24. ISBN   0-02-864623-1.
2. "1848 Whig National Convention". data.philly.com. Philly.com. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
3. Klotter 2018, pp. 337–338.
4. Heidler & Heidler 2010, pp. 420–421.
5. Klotter 2018, pp. 342–345.
6. Klotter 2018, pp. 345–346.
7. Brinkley, Alan; Dyer, Davis (2004). The American Presidency. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin. p. 146. ISBN   978-0-6183-8273-6 – via Google Books.
8. Brinkley, Dyer, p. 146.
9. Holt, Michael F. (2003). The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 327–329. ISBN   978-0-1951-6104-5 – via Google Books.
10. Holt, pp. 327–329.
11. Hoffer, Peter Charles (2022). Seward's Law: Country Lawyering, Relational Rights, and Slavery. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp. 60–61. ISBN   978-1-5017-6734-0 – via Google Books.

Bibliography

• Heidler, David S.; Heidler, Jeanne T. (2010). Henry Clay: The Essential American . Random House. ISBN   978-1-58836-995-6.
• Holt, Michael F. (1999). The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War. Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-505544-6.
• Klotter, James C. (2018). Henry Clay: The Man Who Would Be President. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780190498047.

Primary sources

• Chester, Edward W A guide to political platforms (1977) online
• Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. National party platforms, 1840-1964 (1965) online 1840-1956

External links

• <http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=58512> Accessed: June 11, 2016