United States Presidential Election of 1848
Zachary Taylor defeated Lewis Cass 163 to 127 as the Free Soil Party drew 10 percent.
Overview
The first election held on a single November day nationwide matched war hero Taylor, a slaveholding Whig with no political record, against Michigan's Cass, father of popular sovereignty. Taylor won 163 to 127, with Martin Van Buren's Free Soil ticket, opposing slavery's expansion, taking 10 percent of the popular vote but no electors. The Free Soil showing, strongest in New York and the antislavery North, previewed the collapse of the old parties as the territorial question overwhelmed every other issue.
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