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Fifteenth American presidential election of 1844

Cg-realms (current)AndyHogan14 (original), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Dates

The 1844 election took place from Friday, November 1 - Wednesday, December 4, 1844. It was the last election that took place for several days.

Candidates

• James Polk, former governor of Tennessee (winner)
• Martin Van Buren, former president
• James Buchanan, Senator from Pennsylvania
• Lewis Cass, former US Ambassador to France

• Henry Clay, previous presidential candidate (winner)

• James Birney, former mayor of Huntsville, Alabama (winner)
• Thomas Morris, former Senator from Ohio
• William Jay, jurist from New York

Final tickets

• James Polk (P) & George Dallas (VP)

• Henry Clay (P) & Theodore Frelinghuysen (VP)

• James Birney (P) & Thomas Morris (VP)

Campaining & major issues

Just one month after William Henry Harrison became president, he died. He was the first president to die and served the shortest presidency in history. His vice president, John Tyler, was unpopular with both the Whig party and the Democratic Party. He tried to run in this election but dropped out and supported James Polk. The big issue was over the Texas Annexation. Polk believed in "Manifest Destiny", the belief that America should expand whenever and wherever possible. However, Henry Clay was against it, and he thought he was more popular as he was supported by Northerners who didn't want slavery to expand into Texas and southerners who thought the new state would make their slaves less valuable. Polk is known as being the first notable Dark Horse candidate, meaning that before the election, he wasn't well known.

Electoral college & turn-out

The electoral college decreased to 275 electoral votes; 138 needed to win. 2,703,659 people voted.

Results

First place (winner): James Polk & George Dallas

170/275 electoral votes

49.54% of the popular vote

Second place: Henry Clay & Theodore Frelinghuysen

105/275 electoral votes

48.08% of the popular vote

Third place: James Birney & Thomas Morris

No electoral votes

2.3% of the popular vote

Other attributions

Democratic banner: Nathaniel Currier firm, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Whig banner: Nathaniel Currier, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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