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THE FREE SOIL CAMPAIGN OF 1848 - Page 2

© John S. Cooper

Van Buren had been defeated for re-election in 1840. When he tried to make a comeback in 1844, he was defeated for the Democratic nomination by James K. Polk who had gone on to win the election. In 1848, Van Buren, long known for “fence-sitting” and trying to please all factions by compromise, had announced his strong opposition to slavery. This made him a very attractive candidate for the anti-slavery Free Soil Party.

Van Buren ran a strong, active campaign and took over 10% of the total popular vote. Although he did not win any electoral votes, he did have a profound effect on the voting in New York. As the most popular Democrat in the state, and with his many contacts among political leaders, Van Buren’s presence on the ticket split the majority Democratic vote in New York. Van Buren took 26.4% (120,497 votes) of the votes in New York. Cass, the regular Democratic candidate, took 25.1% (114,319 votes) of the vote in New York. Taylor, the Whig candidate, took 47.9% (218,583 votes), and won the state by a plurality, and with it the 36 electoral votes that made him the next President of the United States.

Had Van Buren not been on the ballot, most if not all of his votes would have gone to Cass, and Cass would have won New York’s electoral votes and the election. As it is, Van Buren actually took more votes than Cass in the state. With the Democratic majority split, Taylor won the state and the election.

Van Buren had a similar effect on the outcome in three other states: Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. In all three states, Van Buren split the Democratic majority, giving the Whigs a plurality victory and all of the electoral votes from those states. In Massachusetts and Vermont, he again took more votes than Cass. It is safe to say that Van Buren took the election from fellow-Democrat Cass and gave it to the Whig candidate, Zachary Taylor.

Senator Lewis Cass must have felt much like former Vice President Gore did, only more so. Gore has every right to feel that Ralph Nader cost him the election. For Cass, it must have been even more frustrating in that Van Buren was a member of his own Democratic Party and a former leader of the party. Our electoral system limits the effect of third parties. Third parties rarely influence elections to this degree, but it has happened in the past, and as we saw in this past election, can always happen again.

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