Tilden helped to found the " Barnburners " , an anti-slavery faction of the New York Democratic Party that arose in the midst of the debate over the Wilmot Proviso . Like other Barnburners , Tilden sought to prevent the spread of slavery into the land acquired from Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . He helped organize the 1848 Free Soil Convention , which nominated Van Buren for president . Van Buren 's candidacy in the 1848 presidential election may have played a role in the victory of Whig nominee Zachary Taylor over Democratic nominee Lewis Cass . Unlike many other anti-slavery Democrats , Tilden did not join the Republican Party in the 1850s , but he did not have close relations with Democratic presidents Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan . In 1855 , Tilden was the unsuccessful state attorney general candidate of the " Soft " faction of Barnburners , which favored compromise and reconciliation with the Democratic Party . In 1859 , after he lost an election to serve as New York City 's corporation counsel , Tilden announced that he was " out of politics . " In the 1860 presidential election , Tilden strongly opposed the candidacy of Republican presidential nominee Abraham Lincoln . He warned that the election of Lincoln could lead to the secession of the South and a subsequent civil war . Tilden initially opposed using force to prevent secession , but he supported the Union after the outbreak of the American Civil War . Tilden served as the manager of Horatio Seymour 's successful 1862 campaign for governor , and played a key role in securing the nomination of George B. McClellan at the 1864 Democratic National Convention
1864 Democratic National Convention
1864 Democratic National Convention
Samuel J. Tilden