Constitutional Union Party: Policies And Principles

The Constitutional Union Party was a political party that stood in the 1860 United States elections. It was formed in 1859 by former Whigs and members of the Know-Nothing Party, and it nominated John Bell for president and Edward Everett for vice president. The party's platform was to recognize no political principle other than the Constitution of the country, the Union of the states, and the Enforcement of the Laws. In essence, they wanted to avoid secession over slavery and refused to align with either the Republican or Democratic Party, appealing particularly to border states. The party was short-lived and collapsed by the start of the Civil War, but it did succeed in dispersing the 1860 vote to ensure the election of Abraham Lincoln.

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The Constitutional Union Party was formed in 1859 by former Whigs and members of the Know-Nothing Party

The Constitutional Union Party was a political party that stood in the 1860 United States elections. It was formed in 1859 by former Whigs and members of the Know-Nothing Party. The Whigs were a nationalist party, supporting internal improvements and moral reforms, with a commitment to westward expansion. They were largely made up of Northern middle-class people, market-oriented farmers, and native-born skilled workers. The Know-Nothing Party, on the other hand, was a nativist party, characterised by anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant sentiments. They sought to lengthen the naturalization period, allow only citizens to vote, and restrict officeholders to native-born citizens.

The Constitutional Union Party was created in the context of growing conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the United States. The Whig Party had collapsed in the 1850s due to crises over slavery, with many former Whigs joining the new, anti-slavery Republican Party. However, some former Whigs were reluctant to embrace the Republican Party's platform, and so formed the Constitutional Union Party.

The party's platform was simple: "to recognize no political principle other than the Constitution of the country, the Union of the states, and the Enforcement of the Laws". They sought to rally support for the Union and the Constitution, ignoring sectional issues such as slavery. This appeal for adherence to the Constitution and the Union was particularly attractive to border states, where the party won 39 electoral votes.

The Constitutional Union Party was short-lived, collapsing by the start of the Civil War. However, it played a role in dispersing the 1860 vote, ultimately contributing to the election of Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate.

The party's platform was to recognize no political principle other than the Constitution, the Union, and the Enforcement of the Laws

The Constitutional Union Party was a political party that stood in the 1860 United States elections. It was formed in 1859 by former Whigs and members of the Know-Nothing Party. The party's platform was to "recognize no political principle other than the Constitution, the Union, and the Enforcement of the Laws". This meant that they sought to rally support for the Union and the Constitution without regard to sectional issues, particularly the issue of slavery, which was a major point of contention in the country at the time.

The party was made up mostly of conservative former Whigs from the Southern United States who wanted to avoid secession over slavery and refused to join either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. The Whig Party had collapsed in the 1850s due to a series of crises over slavery, and many former Whigs joined the new, anti-slavery Republican Party. However, some former Whigs, particularly those from the South, were opposed to slavery but did not want to vote for the Democratic Party, which supported it. These Southern Whigs, along with some Northern Whigs who felt that the Republicans were too radical, formed the Constitutional Union Party.

The party's platform, therefore, reflected its desire to appeal to a broad range of voters, particularly in the border states, by focusing on the Constitution, the Union, and the Enforcement of the Laws rather than taking a stand on the divisive issue of slavery. The party's leaders did not expect to win the election outright but hoped to win states in the Upper South and the Lower North, such as Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. They aimed to deny an electoral vote majority to any one candidate and force a contingent election in the House of Representatives, where they believed their candidate would be seen as a moderate alternative to the more extreme candidates of the other parties.

The Constitutional Union Party was short-lived, collapsing by the start of the Civil War. However, it played a role in the outcome of the 1860 election by helping to disperse the vote sufficiently to ensure the election of the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, many Constitutional Unionists, including the party's leader John Bell, supported the Confederacy, while others, such as Crittenden and Everett, remained loyal to the Union.

The party nominated John Bell for president and Edward Everett for vice president in the 1860 election

The Constitutional Union Party was a political party that stood in the 1860 United States elections. It was formed in 1859 by former Whigs and members of the Know-Nothing Party. The party nominated John Bell for president and Edward Everett for vice president in the 1860 election.

Bell and Everett were both former Whigs. Bell was a former senator from Tennessee and had established a reputation as a moderate on the slavery issue, opposing both the Mexican-American War and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He was one of the few Southern politicians to oppose the expansion of slavery to the territories in the 1850s and campaigned against secession in the years leading up to the Civil War. Everett, on the other hand, was a former congressman and newspaper editor from Tennessee. He had also served as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom and as President of Harvard University.

The Constitutional Union Party campaigned on a simple platform: "to recognize no political principle other than the Constitution of the country, the Union of the states, and the Enforcement of the Laws". The party sought to rally support for the Union and the Constitution without regard to sectional issues, particularly appealing to border states. However, Bell had little support south of the border states, and his advanced age may have been a factor in the youth's lack of support for him.

The party did not expect to win the election outright but sought to win states in the Upper South and Lower North, such as Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. They hoped to deny an electoral vote majority to any one candidate and force a contingent election in the House of Representatives, where they believed their candidate would be chosen as a compromise. Ultimately, the Constitutional Union Party was short-lived and collapsed by the start of the Civil War.

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The Constitutional Union Party was a short-lived vehicle for moderates that collapsed by the start of the Civil War

The Constitutional Union Party was a political party that stood in the 1860 United States elections. It was formed in 1859, a year before the election, and was short-lived, collapsing by the start of the Civil War. The party was made up mostly of conservative former Whigs from the Southern United States who wanted to avoid secession over slavery. The Whig Party had collapsed in the 1850s due to a series of crises over slavery. Many former Whigs joined the new, anti-slavery Republican Party, while others joined the nativist American Party. However, the American Party declined after the 1856 elections, and the Constitutional Union Party was formed by former Whigs for the 1860 elections.

The Constitutional Union Party was an anti-extremist party, absorbing Southern Whigs who didn't want to vote Democrat and Northern Whigs who felt the Republicans were too radical. The party's platform was to recognize no political principle other than the Constitution of the country, the Union of the states, and the Enforcement of the Laws. The party did not want to address the issue of slavery, and this stance appealed particularly to the border states. The party won 39 electoral votes from these states.

The Constitutional Union Party was not expected to win the election. Instead, the party aimed to win states in the Upper South and the Lower North, including Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The party hoped to deny an electoral vote majority to any one candidate, thereby forcing a contingent election in the House of Representatives. The party's nominee for president was John Bell, and Edward Everett was the vice-presidential nominee.

The Constitutional Union Party was short-lived, and it collapsed by the start of the Civil War. The party's only lasting impact was to help disperse the 1860 vote sufficiently to ensure the election of the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln called for volunteers in response to the Battle of Fort Sumter, Bell declared his support for the Confederacy. This decision by Bell helped convince many other Constitutional Unionists and Southern moderates to support the Confederacy during the Civil War. However, some party leaders, including Crittenden and Everett, remained loyal to the Union.

The party was influential in the Wheeling Convention, which led to the creation of the Union loyalist state of West Virginia

The Constitutional Union Party was a political party that stood in the 1860 United States elections. It was formed in 1859 by former Whigs and members of the Know-Nothing Party. The party's platform was to "recognize no political principle other than the Constitution, the Union, and the Enforcement of the Laws". The party sought to win states in the Upper South and the Lower North, particularly Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

The Constitutional Union Party was influential in the Wheeling Convention, which played a crucial role in the creation of the Union loyalist state of West Virginia. The First Wheeling Convention took place in Washington Hall, Wheeling, in May 1861. Delegates from counties in western and northern Virginia met to discuss the Ordinance of Secession, which had been approved by Virginia voters on May 23, 1861, leading to the secession of the state from the Union. The delegates at the First Wheeling Convention rejected the creation of a new state and agreed to work to defeat the Ordinance of Secession. They also called for a Second Wheeling Convention to be held if the Ordinance was passed, which it was.

The Second Wheeling Convention met on June 11, 1861, with delegates from 34 counties, mostly western counties, but also including some eastern counties. Sentiment for creating a new state was strong, but the convention adopted a Declaration of Rights of the People of Virginia, calling for the reorganization of Virginia as a state loyal to the Union. During the convention, delegates passed an Ordinance for the Reorganization of the State Government, declaring all state offices vacated by Virginia Confederates and reorganizing the state government. On June 20, 1861, Francis Pierpont was elected governor of the Restored state government, which was recognized by President Lincoln and Congress as the legitimate government of Virginia. The Second Wheeling Convention adjourned on June 25 and reassembled on August 6, with members of the Committee on a Division of the State drafting and approving an ordinance to form a new state, originally named Kanawha, consisting of 48 western counties.

Thus, the Constitutional Union Party, through its influence in the Wheeling Convention, played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the time and contributing to the creation of the Union loyalist state of West Virginia.

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