The division between Northern and Southern Whigs over the Kansas-Nebraska Act doomed the party , with Northern Whigs shifting to the new Republican Party . In early September 1856 , he was selected to be a delegate to the 1856 National Whig Convention The convention nominated former president Millard Fillmore , who had already been nominated by the American Party , or " Know Nothings . " While he campaigned for Know Nothing candidates , Bell did not endorse many of the party 's more controversial positions , such as its anti-Catholic stance . Various newspapers , including Brownlow 's '' Knoxville Whig '' , the New Orleans '' Delta '' , and the St. Louis '' Intelligencer '' , endorsed Bell as the American Party 's presidential candidate , but the party 's nomination went to Millard Fillmore
1856 National Whig Convention
1856 Whig National Convention
John Bell (Tennessee politician)