The Northern Democratic Party and the Congressional Elections of 1858

The Northern Democratic Party and the Congressional Elections of 1858 David E. Meerse Whatever their disagreements on other points, historians of die antebellum decade have displayed a remarkable unanimity in their analyses of die northern congressional elections of 1858. In his Pulitzerprize winning Disruption of American Democracy, Roy F. Nichols calls it "truly die most significant congressional election in die history of die Democratic party" and, pointing to die net loss of eighteen of dieir forty-nine congressional seats, terms die result a "Democratic debacle." Don E. Fehrenbacher asserts diat die elections were "a Democratic disaster in die free states and especially in Pennsylvania," which latter state he declares underwent "a political revolution." Allan Nevins, in his monumental The Emergence of Lincoln, proclaims die elections a "slaughter heavy enough to choke Scamander" for die Democrats.1 Although diese historians disagree to some extent about die role of peripheral issues like the homestead and die tariff in producing this result , diey are in basic agreement concerning what Nevins calls die "central impulse" of die election: nordiern condemnation of the pro-slave Lecompton constitution for Kansas and die English bill. This latter measure resubmitted die Lecompton constitution to die people of Kansas with a proviso that should they reject admission under diat constitution diey could not again seek statehood until they had population sufficient to entide diem to one representative in die lower house of Congress. Support for die primacy of Administration Kansas policy as a causal factor in die election outcome is based upon die following considerations : (1) die re-election of Democratic congressional opponents of die English bill, such as "die President's arch enemy" John B. Haskin of New York, who, according to Nevins, "won a smashing victory." (2) Repudiation of diat part of die English bill which Nevins calls die "population test." Repudiation took a variety of forms, but generally consisted of a Democratic candidate's pledge to vote for die admission of Kansas under a new constitution regardless of die number of inhabi1 Roy F. Nichols, The Disruption of American Democracy (New York, 1967), p. 223. Don E. Fehrenbacher, comment on "Why the Republican Party Came to Power" in George H. Knowles (ed.), The Crisis of the Union, 1860-1861 (Baton Rouge, 1965), p. 28. Allan Nevins, The Emergence of Lincoln (New York, 1950), I, 402. For other examples, see Philip Klein, President James Buchanan: A Biography (University Park, 1962), pp. 328-331, and Damon Wells, Stephen Douglas: The Last Years 1857-1861 (Austin, 1971), pp. 132-133, 137. 119 120CIVIL WAR history tants. Nevins holds it "significant that nearly all Northern Congressmen who supported the [English] bill . . . had run pell-mell for cover as soon as diey faced die voters," and asserts diat "almost every . . . Democratic candidate in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York" repudiated die test. (3) The failure of Administration supporters to gain renomination. Nevins points to die "two . . . Lecompton Representatives " from Pennsylvania who failed of renomination, while Nichols singles out Ohio's William Lawrence to epitomize tiiose who "avoided defeat only by not running." (4) Finally, sizeable accretions to Republican ranks of voters determined to rebuke Democratic policies at die polls. Fehrenbacher points to massive voter shifts in Pennsylvania while Nichols declares diat die Democracy diere was "engulfed." Nevins speaks of "a passionate revolt of die voters" against J. Glancy Jones of Pennsylvania and a "Republican upsurge" in Ohio. He finds diat die Republicans "swept Maine and Vermont," and diat diat party had a "decisive plurality" in New York. "Not only did Buchanan's policies fail to command a majority of the [Northern] electorate," concludes Douglas ' biographer George F. Milton, "but the Democratic rank and file had no heart in their defense." Any attempt to re-examine the impact of die congressional elections of 1858 on the Northern Democratic party must deal with diese four criteria.2 A re-evaluation of voter performance in the election could well begin with a division of die northern constituencies into "metropolitan" and "rural," on the assumption tiiat botii die political structures and the interests of the two types of constituencies create different voter responses .3 Also, such re-evaluation must take into consideration the factor of...