Constitutional Union Party (United States)
- Constitutional Union Party (United States)
-
Not to be confused with Constitution Party (United States).
Constitutional Union Party Founded 1859 Dissolved 1860 Preceded by Whig Party (part), Know-Nothing Party or American Party Succeeded by National Union Party Ideology American nationalism, gag rule Political position Centrism Official colors Orange Politics of United States
Political parties
Elections
A Constitutional Union campaign poster for the 1860 election. Shown are John Bell (left), the presidential nominee, and Edward Everett, the vice presidential nominee.
The Constitutional Union Party (also known as the Bell-Everett Party in California) was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue. These former Whigs (some of whom had been under the banner of the Opposition Party in 1854-58) teamed up with former Know-Nothings and a few Southern Democrats who were against disunion to form the Constitutional Union Party. Its name comes from its extremely simple platform, a simple resolution "to recognize no political principle other than the Constitution...the Union...and the Enforcement of the Laws." They hoped that by failing to take a firm stand either for or against slavery or its expansion, the issue could be pushed aside.
Contents
Beginnings
The Constitutional Union Party united Whigs and Know-Nothings who were unwilling to join Democrats or the Republicans. Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, Henry Clay's successor in border-state Whiggery, set up a meeting among fifty conservative, pro-compromise congressmen in December 1859, which led to a convention in Baltimore the week of May 9, 1860, one week before the Republican Party convention.
1860 presidential election
The convention nominated John Bell of Tennessee for President and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for Vice President.
In the 1860 election, the Constitutional Unionists received the great majority of their votes from former southern Whigs or Know-Nothings. A few of their votes were cast by former Democrats who were against secession. Although the party did not get 50% of the popular vote in any state, they won the electoral votes of three states, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, largely due to the split in Democratic votes between Stephen A. Douglas in the North and John C. Breckinridge in the South. California and Everett's home state of Massachusetts were the only non-slave states in which the party received more than 5% of the popular vote.
After 1860
The party and its purpose disappeared after 1860 as the southern states began to secede. Bell and many other Constitutional Unionists later supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, but backers of the party from north of the Carolinas tended to remain supporters of the Union. Constitutional Unionists were influential in the Wheeling Convention, which led to the creation of the Union loyalist state of West Virginia, as well as in the declaration of the Kentucky State Legislature for the Union and winning Congressional elections in Kentucky and Maryland in June. In Missouri, many of the party joined the new Unconditional Union Party headed by Francis P. Blair, Jr. and remained active in that state's efforts to remain in the Union by overthrowing the elected government of Claiborne Jackson.
See also
External links
Categories:- Political parties established in 1860
- Defunct political parties in the United States
- American Civil War political groups
- Conservative parties in the United States
- Centrist political advocacy groups in the United States
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
United States — a republic in the N Western Hemisphere comprising 48 conterminous states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the N Pacific. 267,954,767; conterminous United States, 3,022,387 sq. mi. (7,827,982 sq. km); with… … Universalium
Constitutional Convention Party — The Constitutional Convention Party (Partido Convención Constitucional) was a Costa Rican political party. It was formed in 1868 to oppose the presidential candidacy of Volio Julian Llorente. This article about a South American political party is … Wikipedia
Constitutional Union Party — There have been at least three political parties named the Constitutional Union Party. The Constitutional Union Party (United States) was a party that was active in the United States on a national level in 1860. The first Constitutional Union… … Wikipedia
National Union Party (United States) — National Union Party Founded 1864 Dissolved 1868 … Wikipedia
President of the United States — POTUS redirects here. For political talk radio, see P.O.T.U.S. (Sirius XM). For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). For a list, see List of Presidents of the United States. President of the United States of America … Wikipedia
Opposition Party (United States) — This article is about a particular political group in the 19th century. For the generic term Opposition party , see Opposition (parliamentary). The Opposition Party in the United States is a label with two different applications in Congressional… … Wikipedia
Human rights in the United States — In 1776, Thomas Jefferson proposed a philosophy of human rights inherent to all people in the Declaration of Independence, asserting that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that… … Wikipedia
Reconstruction Era of the United States — In the history of the United States, the term Reconstruction Era has two senses: the first covers the entire nation in the period 1865–1877 following the Civil War; the second one, used in this article, covers the transformation of the Southern… … Wikipedia
Southern United States — The Southern United States mdash;commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South mdash;constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south central United States. Because of the region s unique cultural and… … Wikipedia
Democratic Party (United States) — Democratic Party … Wikipedia
