1856 Democratic National Convention
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1856 presidential election |
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Nominees
Buchanan and Breckinridge |
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| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | June 2–6, 1856 |
| City | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Venue | Smith and Nixon's Hall |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee |
James Buchanan of Pennsylvania |
| Vice Presidential nominee |
John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky |
The 1856 Democratic National Convention was the seventh political convention of the United States Democratic Party. Held from June 2 to June 6, 1856, prior to the November elections, at Smith & Nixon's Hall in Cincinnati, on the Ohio River in Ohio, it was the first national party nominating convention outside the original thirteen states. The party nominated James Buchanan, U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, for President (denying re-nomination to incumbent President Franklin Pierce), and former Representative John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for Vice President.
The Democratic Party faced continued North-South sectional division over slavery-related issues, especially the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 and subsequent violence known as "Bleeding Kansas" from the civil strife in the Kansas Territory during its campaign for statehood. Two notable Democratic politicians, President Pierce and Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, were seen as being at the center of the controversies, which led many party members to look elsewhere for a new compromise candidate for president.
Called to order at noon on Monday, June 2, by the National Committee chair Robert Milligan McLane, Samuel Medary was made the temporary president. The first day, the convention did little more than appoint committees on credentials, organization, and resolutions (writing a "platform").
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