1856 Whig National Convention

1856 Whig National Convention

1856 presidential election
Nominees Fillmore and Donelson
Convention
Date(s)	September 17–18, 1856
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Venue	Maryland Institute
Chair	Edward Bates
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Millard Fillmore of New York
Vice Presidential nominee	Andrew Donelson of Tennessee
Voting
Total delegates	150
Votes needed for nomination	76
Results (President)	Fillmore (NY): 150 (100%)
Ballots	1
‹ 1852  ·  1860 ›

The 1856 Whig National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nomination convention of the Whig Party. The convention was held at the 1851 landmark Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts over the old Centre ("Marsh") Market in Market Place (formerly Harrison Street) between East Baltimore Street and Water Street along South Gay Street and the west bank of the Jones Falls stream through downtown Baltimore, in Maryland on September 17 and September 18, 1856. Same site as the previous 1852 Convention. Former President Millard Fillmore was nominated as the party's candidate for President, four years after a failed bid to win the nomination in 1852. Andrew J. Donelson, nephew of the late President Andrew Jackson, was nominated as the party's candidate for Vice President. The convention was the last for the Whig party, which had floundered after losing a total of 37 seats in the Congress in the 1850 and 1852 elections. The Democratic candidates James Buchanan and John C. Breckinridge, won the 1856 presidential election.

The Whig party had been declining in power for some time before its last national convention in 1856. In the 1850 midterm elections, Democrats strengthened their majority as the Whigs lost 23 seats in the House and 2 seats in the Senate. In 1852, the Whigs lost another 14 House seats and one Senate seat. Furthermore, they lost the 1852 presidential election, their third loss in five campaigns.