The 1852 Democratic National Convention was held at Maryland Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. This convention is notable for the hostility between groups of the party, divided over the Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850

The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...

. The convention was called to order by Democratic National Committee

Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...

 chairman Benjamin F. Hallett

Benjamin F. Hallett

Benjamin Franklin Hallett was a Massachusetts lawyer and Democratic Party activist, most notable as the first chairman of the Democratic National Committee....

. Romulus M. Saunders served as the temporary convention chairman and John W. Davis

John Wesley Davis

John Wesley Davis was a doctor and a prominent U.S. politician during the 1840s.-Early life and education:...

 served as the permanent convention president.

The Convention

As Democrats convened in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

 in June 1852, four major candidates vied for the nomination- Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...

 of Michigan, the nominee in 1848

United States presidential election, 1848

The United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race. President James K. Polk, having achieved all of his major objectives in one term and suffering from declining health that would take his life less than four months after leaving office, kept his promise not to seek re-election.The...

, who had the backing of northerners in support of the Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850

The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...

; James Buchanan

James Buchanan

James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....

 of Pennsylvania, popular in the South

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

 as well as in his home state; Stephen A. Douglas

Stephen A. Douglas

Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...

 of Illinois, candidate of the expansionists and the railroad interests; and William L. Marcy

William L. Marcy

William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...

 of New York, whose strength was centered in his home state. Throughout the balloting, numerous favorite son candidates received a few votes.

Cass led on the first 19 ballots, with Buchanan second, and Douglas and Marcy exchanging third and fourth places. Buchanan took the lead on the 20th ballot and retained it on each of the next nine tallies. Douglas managed a narrow lead on the 30th and 31st ballots. Cass then recaptured first placed through the 44th ballot. Marcy carried the next four ballots. Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...

 of New Hampshire, a former Congressman and Senator, did not get on the board until the 35th ballot, when the Virginia delegation brought him forward as a compromise choice. He consolidated his support in subsequent voting and was nominated nearly unanimously on the 49th ballot.

In a peace gesture to the Buchanan wing of the party, Pierce's supporters allowed Buchanan's allies to fill the second position, knowing that they would select Alabama Senator William R. King

William R. King

William Rufus DeVane King was the 13th Vice President of the United States for about six weeks , and earlier a U.S. Representative from North Carolina, Minister to France, and a Senator from Alabama...

. On the second ballot, with only minor opposition, King finally obtained the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination. During the ensuing campaign, King's tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

, which he believed he had contracted while in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, denied him the active behind-the-scenes role that he might otherwise have played, although he worked hard to assure his region's voters that New Hampshire's Pierce was a "northern man with southern principles."

Presidential Ballots

Presidential Ballot
Ballot	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lewis Cass Lewis Cass Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...	116	118	119	115	114	114	113	113	112	111	101	98	98	99	99	99	99	96	89	81	60	43	37	33	34
James Buchanan James Buchanan James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....	93	95	94	89	88	88	88	88	87	86	87	88	88	87	87	87	87	85	85	92	102	104	104	103	101
William L. Marcy William L. Marcy William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...	27	27	26	25	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	25	26	26	26	26	27	26	26
Stephen A. Douglas Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...	20	23	21	33	34	34	34	34	39	40	50	51	51	51	51	51	50	56	63	64	64	77	78	80	79
Others	40	33	36	34	34	34	35	35	31	32	31	32	33	33	33	33	34	34	33	33	44	46	50	54	56

Presidential Ballot
Ballot	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th	31st	32nd	33rd	34th	35th	36th	37th	38th	39th	40th	41st	42nd	43rd	44th	45th	46th	47th	48th	49th
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	30	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	44	49	55	282
Lewis Cass Lewis Cass Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...	33	32	28	27	33	65	93	123	130	131	122	120	107	106	107	107	101	101	101	96	78	75	72	2
James Buchanan James Buchanan James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....	101	98	96	98	91	83	74	72	49	39	28	28	28	28	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	28	28	0
William L. Marcy William L. Marcy William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	25	33	34	58	70	84	85	85	85	91	91	91	97	98	95	89	0
Stephen A. Douglas Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...	80	85	88	91	92	92	80	60	53	52	43	34	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	32	32	33	33	2
Others	56	55	58	54	54	30	23	16	31	25	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	19	10

Source: US President - D Convention. Our Campaigns. (August 24, 2009).

Vice Presidential Ballots

Vice Presidential Ballot
Ballot	1st	2nd
William R. King William R. King William Rufus DeVane King was the 13th Vice President of the United States for about six weeks , and earlier a U.S. Representative from North Carolina, Minister to France, and a Senator from Alabama...	125	277
Solomon W. Downs Solomon W. Downs Solomon Weathersbee Downs was a United States Senator from Louisiana. Born in Montgomery County, Tennessee, he pursued classical studies and graduated from the Transylvania University in 1823. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1826 and commenced practice in Bayou Sara, Louisiana...	30	0
John B. Weller John B. Weller John B. Weller was the fifth Governor of California from January 8, 1858 to January 9, 1860 and a Congressman from Ohio, U.S. senator from California, and minister to Mexico.-Life:...	28	0
David R. Atchison	25	0
Gideon J. Pillow	25	0
Robert Strange Robert Strange Robert Strange was a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1836 and 1840.Strange was born in Manchester, Virginia. He attended New Oxford Academy and Washington College in Lexington, Virginia...	23	0
William O. Butler	13	0
Thomas J. Rusk	13	0
Jefferson Davis Jefferson Davis Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...	2	11
Howell Cobb Howell Cobb Howell Cobb was an American political figure. A Southern Democrat, Cobb was a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives and Speaker of the House from 1849 to 1851...	2	0
Abstaining	2	0

Source: US Vice President - D Convention. Our Campaigns. (August 25, 2009).