Skip to Main Content

Presidential Election of 1852: A Resource Guide

Franklin Pierce defeated Winfield Scott in the 1852 presidential election. This guide provides access to digital materials at the Library of Congress, links to external websites, and a print bibliography related to the election.

Introduction

Democrat Franklin Pierce defeated Whig Winfield Scott in the 1852 presidential election. Pierce, a former U.S. senator and representative from New Hampshire, prevailed in the popular vote in 27 of 31 states and easily won the Electoral College vote. In defeat, General Winfield Scott, a hero of the Mexican-American War, became the last Whig Party candidate to run for president.

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with the presidential election of 1852, including government documents, broadsides, prints, political cartoons, sheet music, and newspaper articles. This guide compiles links to digital materials related to the presidential election of 1852 that are available throughout the Library of Congress website. In addition, it provides links to external websites focusing on the 1852 election and a selected bibliography.


1852 Presidential Election Results [1]


Political Party Presidential Nominee VP Nominee Electoral College Popular Vote
Democratic Franklin Pierce William R. King 254 1,607,510
Whig Winfield Scott William Graham 42 1,386,942

Notes

1. Presidential Elections, 1789-2008. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2010), 132, 222.