1860 Constitutional Union Convention

1860 Constitutional Union National Convention

1860 presidential election
Nominees Bell and Everett
Convention
Date(s)	May 9–10, 1860
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Candidates
Presidential nominee	John Bell of Tennessee
Vice Presidential nominee	Edward Everett of Massachusetts

The 1860 Constitutional Union National Convention met in Baltimore's Eastside District Courthouse, nominating John Bell of Tennessee for president over Governor Sam Houston of Texas on the second ballot. Edward Everett was nominated for vice-president at the convention on May 9, 1860, one week before Lincoln.

As the Republican Party strengthened and the Democratic Party fractured, many former Whigs and Know Nothings founded the Constitutional Union Party. who hoped to stave off the danger of secession by avoiding the slavery issue.

Constitutional Union candidates:

John Bell was a former Whig who had opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the Lecompton Constitution. Edward Everett had been president of Harvard University and Secretary of State in the Fillmore administration. The party platform advocated compromise to save the Union, with the slogan: "The Union as it is, and the Constitution as it is."

Everett was nominated by voice vote.