Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1856 Election

While Democrat James Buchanan swept almost all counties in Virginia and Pennsylvania, including his home county of Franklin, the influence of staunch Whigs in Augusta, lead by such men as Alexander H. H. Stuart, helped win the county for Know-Nothing candidate Millard Fillmore. The Republicans won several counties in northern Pennsylvania, establishing themselves in the state and foreshadowing their strength in the next presidental election. The party lines of the 1856 election continued to hold into the gubernatorial and presidential elections years later.

This map was generated using The Great American History Machine: An Interactive Atlas of the 19th and 20th Century United States Social and Political History CD-ROM developed by Chad McDaniel and David Miller in collaboration with the University of Maryland Academic Software Development Group.

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Edward L. Ayers and William G. Thomas, III,
Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1856 Election
2001

"In Franklin, Democratic and Republican activists were strikingly similar in their relative household wealth, farm size, and farm values, but had different occupational and social profiles, with the Republicans appearing more 'respectable.' "

"In Augusta, Democratic and Whig activists had different occupational and social profiles, with the Whigs appearing more 'respectable.'"