1848 Whig National Convention

U.S. political event held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 2022 1848 Whig WP1848.png 125 WV1848.png 125 Nominees Taylor and Fillmore June 7–9, 1848 Chinese Museum Building Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Zachary Taylor of Louisiana Millard Fillmore of New York 280 140 4 Taylor (LA): 171 (61.07%)Scott (NY): 63 (22.5%)Clay (KY): 32 (11.43%)Webster (MA): 14 (5%) 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 thumb|Illustration of the convention thumb|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.Havel James T. U.S. Presidential Elections and the Candidates: A Biographical and Historical Guide Simon & Schuster 1996 0-02-864623-1 2: The Elections, 1789-1992 New York 24 The venue for the convention was the Chinese Museum Building. The building since was destroyed by fire in 1854.1848 Whig National Convention https://data.philly.com/conventions/1848.html data.philly.com Philly.com 17 July 2022 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.Klotter 2018 337–338 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.Heidler Heidler 2010 420-421 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.".Klotter 2018 342–345 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.Klotter 2018 345–346 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 Nomination + Presidential nominationThe National Whig Convention https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83026172/1848-06-12/ed-1/?sp=1 Daily National Intelligencer June 12, 1848 Candidate 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Zachary Taylor of Louisiana 111 118 133 171 Henry Clay of Kentucky 97 86 74 32 Winfield Scott of New York 43 49 54 63 Daniel Webster of Massachusetts 22 22 17 14 John M. Clayton of Delaware 4 4 1 John McLean of Ohio 2 Total 279 279 279 280 Majority 140 140 140 141 Not voting 1 1 1 Maps 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.Brinkley Alan Dyer Davis 2004 The American Presidency https://books.google.com/books?id=3djEYV3R7oIC New York, NY Houghton Mifflin 978-0-6183-8273-6 146 Google Books Brinkley, Dyer 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.Brinkley, Dyer 146 Former congressman Solomon Foot of Vermont went to the convention as a supporter of Abbott Lawrence for vice president.Holt Michael F. 2003 The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party https://books.google.com/books?id=5aGyVFn3VnMC New York, NY Oxford University Press 978-0-1951-6104-5 327–329 Google Books Holt As a key Taylor supporter, Lawrence expected to be nominated.Holt 327–329 Northern anti-slavery delegates perceived Lawrence as more accepting of slavery than Fillmore.Holt 327–329 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.Brinkley, Dyer 146Holt 327–329 Lawrence's support eroded as other northern delegates followed Foot's lead, and on the first ballot, Fillmore had 115 votes and Lawrence 109.Brinkley, Dyer 146Holt 327–329 (Seward was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate for the term starting in March 1849.)Hoffer Peter Charles 2022 Seward's Law: Country Lawyering, Relational Rights, and Slavery https://books.google.com/books?id=35xtEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 Ithaca, NY Cornell University Press 60–61 978-1-5017-6734-0 Google Books Withdrawn Declined 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 See also U.S. presidential nomination convention 1848 United States presidential election 1848 Democratic National Convention References 2 Bibliography Bibliography of Zachary Taylor Bibliography of Millard Fillmore Heidler David S. Heidler Jeanne T. 2010 Henry Clay: The Essential American https://archive.org/details/henryclayessenti00heid_0 registration Random House 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. 0-19-505544-6. Klotter James C. Henry Clay: The Man Who Would Be President 2018 Oxford University Press 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 US President - W Convention www.ourcampaigns.com June 11, 2016 Whig Category:Whig National Conventions Category:United States presidential nominating conventions in Philadelphia Category:1848 in Pennsylvania Whig National Convention Category:19th-century political conferences