Constitutional Union Party

Constitutional Union Party, in United States history, short-lived political party formed chiefly of the remnants of the Know-Nothings, the southern wing of the Whig Party, and other southern groups. At the founding convention, held in Baltimore, Maryland, in May 1860, the party nominated former U.S. Senator John Bell of Tennessee for president and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for vice president. The formation of the party was prompted by the desire to muster popular sentiment in favor of the Union and against southern secession. The platform adopted by the party advocated support for “the Constitution of the country, the union of the States, and the enforcement of the laws,” but took no stand on the slavery issue. In the 1860 election the party carried Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, polled a popular vote of about 600,000, and received 39 electoral votes. The strength of the Constitutional Union Party, coupled with the split between the northern and southern sections of the Democratic Party, contributed to the victory of Abraham Lincoln, the Republican presidential candidate. Following the 1860 campaign the Constitutional Union Party was dissolved.