Winfield Scott

:This article is about the general and presidential candidate. There was also a songwriter named Winfield Scott.

Politics

In the 1852 presidential election, the Whig Party declined to nominate its incumbent president, Millard Fillmore, who had succeeded to the presidency on the death of Mexican War hero General Zachary Taylor. Seeking to repeat their electoral success, the Whigs pushed Fillmore aside and nominated Scott, who faced Democrat Franklin Pierce. Scott's anti-slavery reputation undermined his support in the South, while the Party's pro-slavery platform depressed turnout in the North, and Scott's opponent was a Mexican War veteran as well. Pierce was elected in an overwhelming win, leaving Scott with the electoral votes of only four states.

Related Topics:
1852 presidential election - Whig Party - Millard Fillmore - Zachary Taylor - Democrat - Franklin Pierce

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Despite his faltering in the election, Scott was still a wildly popular national hero. In 1855, by a special act of Congress, Scott was given a brevet promotion to the rank of lieutenant general, making him only the second person in American history, after George Washington, ever to hold that rank.

Related Topics:
1855 - Lieutenant general - George Washington

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