Barnburners And Hunkers - Wikipedia

New York political rivalry For a person who hunkers, see squatting position. "Barnburner" redirects here. For a definition of that term, see the Wiktionary entry barnburner.

The Barnburners and Hunkers were the names of two opposing factions of the New York Democratic Party in the 1840s and early 1850s. The main issue dividing the two factions was that of slavery, with the Barnburners being the anti-slavery faction. While this division occurred within the context of New York politics, it reflected the national divisions in the Democratic Party in the years preceding the American Civil War.[1][2]

Barnburners

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The Barnburners were the radical faction. The term barnburner was derived from a folktale about a Dutch farmer who burned down his own barn in order to get rid of a rat infestation.[3] In this case it was applied to men who were thought to be willing to destroy all banks and corporations in order to root out their abuses.[4]

The Barnburners opposed expanding the public debt, and were opposed to the power of large state-established corporations. They also generally came to oppose the extension of slavery. They also stood for local control[vague] by the Albany Regency, as against the Polk political machine which the new administration was trying to build up in New York.[vague]

At the 1848 presidential election, the Barnburners left the Democratic Party, refusing to support presidential nominee Lewis Cass. They joined with other anti-slavery groups, predominantly the abolitionist Liberty Party and some anti-slavery Conscience Whigs from New England and the Midwest, to form the Free Soil Party. This group nominated former President Van Buren to run again for the presidency. Their vote divided Democratic strength. Zachary Taylor, the Whig nominee, was elected to office.[citation needed]

After the Compromise of 1850 temporarily neutralized the issue of slavery and undercut the party's no-compromise position, most Barnburners who had joined the Free Soil Party returned to the Democratic Party. In 1854, some Barnburners helped to form the Republican Party.

Notable Barnburners

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• John Adams Dix, U.S. Senator (1845–49)
• Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States (1837–41)
• Walt Whitman, journalist and poet. His publisher, a Hunker, fired Whitman for his Barnburner editorials as editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.[5]
• Silas Wright, Governor of New York (1846–47) and U.S. Senator (1833–44)

Hunkers

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The Hunkers were the relatively pro-government faction. They opposed the Barnburners, and favored state banks, internal improvements, and minimizing the slavery issue. A defining characteristic of the Hunkers was their willingness to compromise on the issue of slavery to maintain political unity and the continuation of the Democratic Party. They generally opposed the anti-slavery agitation of the Barnburners. : Hunkers typically supported state-funded internal improvements. They represented a more traditional element within the Democratic Party, tracing their roots back to Martin Van Buren's political machine.[6]

Notable Hunkers

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• Samuel Beardsley, U.S. Representative from Utica and New York Supreme Court justice
• Edwin Croswell, publisher of the Albany Argus
• Daniel S. Dickinson, U.S. Senator (1844–51)
• William L. Marcy, U.S. Secretary of State (1853–57), U.S. Secretary of War (1845–49), Governor of New York (1833–38) and U.S. Senator (1831–33)
• Horatio Seymour, Governor of New York (1853–54 and 1863–64) and Democratic nominee for President in 1868

Hards and Softs

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Following the 1848 election, the Hunkers themselves split over the question of reconciliation with the Barnburners, with the Softs, led by Marcy, favoring reconciliation, and the Hards, led by Dickinson, opposing it. This split would be exacerbated following the 1852 presidential election, when disputes over patronage led to an even broader split between Hards and Softs and helped lead to the defeat of the Soft governor, Horatio Seymour, running for re-election in 1854.[7]

Notes

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1. ^ Herbert D. Donovan, The Barnburners: a study of the internal movements in the political history of New York State and of the resulting changes in political affiliation, 1830-1852 (New York University Press, 1926).
2. ^ Alan Morton Kraut, "The Liberty Men of New York: Political Abolitionism in New York State,1840– 1848" (PhD Dissertation,  Cornell University; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1975. 7608141).
3. ^ McPherson, James (February 25, 1988). Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195038637.
4. ^ OED, citing the NYTribune of 1848.
5. ^ Charles B. Green, "Hunkers" The Walt Whitman Archive (2025) online;
6. ^ Max M. Mintz, "The Political Ideas of Martin Van Buren." New York History 30.4 (1949): 422-448.
7. ^ Mamie Meredith, " 'Hards' and 'Softs' in American Politics." American Speech 5.5 (1930): 408-413.

References and further reading

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• Donovan, Herbert D. The Barnburners: a study of the internal movements in the political history of New York State and of the resulting changes in political affiliation, 1830-1852 (New York University Press, 1926) online
• Eyal, Yonatan. "The 'Party Period' Framework and the Election of 1848." Reviews in American History 38.1 (2010): 80-86.

• Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Barnburners" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
• Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Hunkers" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
• Ginsberg, Judah B. "Barnburners, Free Soilers, and the New York Republican Party." New York History 57.4 (1976): 475–500. online
• Harp, Gillis J. "The Character of Party Dialogue: Democrats and Whigs in New York State, 1844-1852." Essays in History 26 (1982). online

• Kraut, Alan Morton. "The Liberty Men of New York: Political Abolitionism in New York State,1840– 1848" (PhD Dissertation,  Cornell University; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1975. 7608141).

• Meredith, Mamie. " 'Hards' and 'Softs' in American Politics." American Speech 5.5 (1930): 408–413. online
• Rayback, Joseph G. "Martin Van Buren's Break with James K. Polk: the Record." New York History 36.1 (1955): 51-62. JSTOR 23154365

• Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Hunkers" . Encyclopedia Americana.
• Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Barnburners" . Encyclopedia Americana.
• Trimble, William. "Diverging tendencies in New York Democracy in the period of the Locofocos." American Historical Review 24.3 (1919): 396-421. JSTOR 835776

v t e Historical anti-slavery parties in the United States
Presidential tickets	Liberty Party James G. Birney/Thomas Earle (1840) James G. Birney/Thomas Morris (1844) Gerrit Smith/Charles C. Foote (1848) William Goodell/S. M. Bell (1852) Gerrit Smith/Samuel McFarland (1856 1860) Free Soil Party Martin Van Buren/Charles Francis Adams Sr. (1848) John P. Hale/George W. Julian (1852) Republican Party John C. Frémont/William L. Dayton (1856) Abraham Lincoln/Hannibal Hamlin (1860) National Union Party Abraham Lincoln/Andrew Johnson (1864)
National conventions	1848 Free Soil 1856 Republican 1860 Republican 1864 National Union
Other party leaders	Salmon P. Chase Charles Sumner Thaddeus Stevens William H. Seward Simon Cameron Edward Bates Francis Preston Blair
Related groups	American Anti-Slavery Society Anti-Nebraska movement Barnburners Conscience Whigs North American Party Radical Abolitionist Party Radical Democratic Party

v t e Martin Van Buren
8th President of the United States (1837–1841) 8th Vice President of the United States (1833–1837) U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom (1831–1832) 10th United States Secretary of State (1829–1831) 9th Governor of New York (1829) U.S. Senator from New York (1821–1828) Attorney General of New York (1815–1819)
Life	Bucktails Albany Regency Tammany Hall 1821 United States Senate election in New York United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Tariff of Abominations Democratic Party History 1828 New York gubernatorial election Petticoat affair Kitchen Cabinet 1832 Democratic National Convention 1832 United States presidential election 1836 United States presidential election 1835 Democratic National Convention Second Party System Seven Buildings Martin Van Buren National Historic Site 1844 Democratic National Convention Barnburners and Hunkers 1848 Democratic National Convention Free Soil Party 1848 United States presidential election Reformed Dutch Church
Presidency	Inauguration of Martin Van Buren Panic of 1837 Specie Circular Independent Treasury Treaty of New Echota Emerson's letter to Martin Van Buren United States v. The Amistad List of federal judges appointed by Martin Van Buren Gold Spoon Oration 1840 United States presidential election 1840 Democratic National Convention
Writings	Papers of Martin Van Buren
Public image	List of memorials to Martin Van Buren Mount Van Buren USS Van Buren (1839) Burr Amistad "The Van Buren Boys"
Family	Family of Martin Van Buren Abraham Van Buren (son) John Van Buren (son) Abraham Van Buren (father) James I. Van Alen (maternal half-brother) Angelica Singleton Van Buren (daughter-in-law)
Historiography	Bibliography of Martin Van Buren
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