The 1852 Democratic National Convention nominated dark horse candidate Franklin Pierce , a Northerner sympathetic to the Southern view on slavery . Pierce had not held public office since 1842 , but had emerged as a compromise candidate partly because of his service under Scott in the Mexican – American War . The Democrats attacked Scott for various incidents from his long public career , including his court-martial in 1809 and the hanging of members of the Saint Patrick 's Battalion during the Mexican – American War . Scott proved to be a poor candidate who lacked popular appeal , and he suffered the worst defeat in Whig history . In the South , distrust and apathy towards Scott led many Southern Whigs to vote for Pierce or to sit out the election , and in the North , many anti-slavery Whigs voted for John P. Hale of the Free Soil Party . Scott won just four states and 44 percent of the popular vote , while Pierce won just under 51 percent of the popular vote and a large majority of the electoral vote
1852 Democratic National Convention
1852 Democratic National Convention
Winfield Scott