As the 1852 presidential election approached , the Democrats were divided by the slavery issue , though most of the " Barnburners " who had left the party with Van Buren to form the Free Soil Party had returned . It was widely expected that the 1852 Democratic National Convention would result in deadlock , with no major candidate able to win the necessary two-thirds majority . New Hampshire Democrats , including Pierce , supported his old teacher , Levi Woodbury , by then an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court , as a compromise candidate , but Woodbury 's death in September 1851 opened up an opportunity for Pierce 's allies to present him as a potential dark horse in the mold of Polk . New Hampshire Democrats felt that , as the state in which their party had most consistently gained Democratic majorities , they should supply the presidential candidate . Other possible standard-bearers included Douglas , Cass , William Marcy of New York , James Buchanan of Pennsylvania , Sam Houston of Texas , and Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri
1852 Democratic National Convention
1852 Democratic National Convention
Franklin Pierce