1848 Whig National Convention

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.

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

There were 280 individuals seated as delegates to the convention.

Presidential nomination

By 1847, General Zachary Taylor had emerged as a contender for the Whig nomination in the 1848 presidential election. 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. 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.". 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.

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

File:Zachary Taylor restored and cropped.jpg|General Zachary Taylor of Louisiana File:Clay 1848.jpg|Former Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky File:Winfield Scott 1849.jpg|General Winfield Scott of New York File:Daniel Webster - circa 1847.jpg|Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts File:John M. Clayton, U.S. Secretary of State (2277592664).jpg|Senator John M. Clayton of Delaware File:John McLean - History of Ohio.jpg|Associate Justice John McLean of Ohio

Nomination

Maps

File:1848 Whig National Convention 1st presidential ballot.svg|1st presidential ballot: results by state File:1848 Whig National Convention 2nd presidential ballot.svg|2nd presidential ballot: results by state File:1848 Whig National Convention 3rd presidential ballot.svg|3rd presidential ballot: results by state File:1848 Whig National Convention 4th presidential ballot.svg|4th presidential ballot: results by state

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. 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. Former congressman Solomon Foot of Vermont went to the convention as a supporter of Abbott Lawrence for vice president. As a key Taylor supporter, Lawrence expected to be nominated for vice president. Northern anti-slavery delegates perceived Lawrence as more accepting of slavery than Fillmore. 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. Lawrence's support eroded as other northern delegates followed Foot's lead, and on the first ballot, Fillmore had 115 votes and Lawrence 109. (Seward was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate for the term starting in March 1849.)

Image:Millard Fillmore crop.jpg|Comptroller Millard Fillmore of New York Image:Abbott Lawrence.jpg|Former Representative Abbott Lawrence of Massachusetts Image:Andrew Stewart (1791-1872, Pennsylvania Congressman).jpg|Representative Andrew Stewart of Pennsylvania Image:TMTMcK.jpg|Former Representative Thomas McKennan of Pennsylvania Image:Senator George Evans of Maine.jpg|Former Senator George Evans of Maine Image:Thomas Sully - John Sergeant - NPG.84.179 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg|Former Representative John Sergeant of Pennsylvania Image:John M. Clayton, U.S. Secretary of State (2277592664).jpg|Senator John M. Clayton of Delaware Image:Hamilton Fish Brady Edited.jpg|Lieutenant Governor Hamilton Fish of New York Image:New York Governor John Young.jpg|Governor John Young of New York Image:Thomas Ewing.png|Former Senator Thomas Ewing of Ohio Image:Robert Charles Winthrop.jpg|Speaker Robert C. Winthrop of Massachusetts Image:Thurlow Weed - Brady-Handy.jpg|Publisher Thurlow Weed of New York

Withdrawn

Image:William Seward 1851.png|Former Governor William H. Seward of New York Image:Thomas Butler King 3c09840r.jpg|Representative Thomas B. King of Georgia

Declined

Image:Daniel Webster - circa 1847.jpg|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.

File:1848WhigVicePresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|1st Vice Presidential Ballot File:1848WhigVicePresidentialNomination2ndBallot.png|2nd Vice Presidential Ballot

References

Bibliography

• 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. .

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

References

1. Havel, James T.. (1996). "U.S. Presidential Elections and the Candidates: A Biographical and Historical Guide". Simon & Schuster.
2. "1848 Whig National Convention". Philly.com.
3. (June 12, 1848). "The National Whig Convention". Daily National Intelligencer.
4. (2004). "The American Presidency". Houghton Mifflin.
5. Holt, Michael F.. (2003). "The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party". Oxford University Press.
6. Hoffer, Peter Charles. (2022). "Seward's Law: Country Lawyering, Relational Rights, and Slavery". Cornell University Press.