Elected President The 1856 United States presidential election was the 18th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 1856. In a three-way election, Democrat James Buchanan defeated Republican nominee John C. Frémont, and Know Nothing nominee and former President Millard Fillmore.

Pierce won on the 49th ballot of the 1852 Democratic National Convention, defeating 1848 nominee Lewis Cass, former Secretary of State James Buchanan, former Secretary of War William L. Scott was the last Whig presidential candidate, as the party collapsed during the 1850s.

On May 30, 1854, President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which was designed to solve the issue of expanding slavery into the territories. However, it failed miserably; the Kansas-Nebraska Act was one of the key political events that led to the American Civil War.

Fillmore had become president on July 9, 1850 upon the death of his predecessor, Zachary Taylor. Members of the 32nd United States Congress were chosen in this election. Democrats kept control of both houses of Congress. In the House, Democrats won several seats from the Whigs, building on their control of the chamber.

Millard Fillmore

Following the incident at Fort Sumter, Lincoln calls for 75,000 militiamen (volunteer troops) to put down the rebellion. He declares that an “insurrection” exists, marking the official beginning of the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln is generally considered the greatest president for his leadership during the American Civil War and his eloquence in speeches such as the Gettysburg Address. James Buchanan, Lincoln’s predecessor, is generally considered the worst president for his leadership in the build-up to the Civil War.

: a prolonged high-pitched yell often uttered by Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War.

Billy Idol

Steve Stevens

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