1856 Presidential Election Interactive Map

149 electoral votes to win

Change history with the 1856 presidential election interactive map.

Update a state winner by clicking it to rotate through candidates. Alternately, select a candidate color in the Map Color Palette, then select states to apply. Use the edit button in the Palette to update candidate information.

Split electoral vote states - if any - are not interactive. Use the table below the map to make changes.

For full details, see the user guide.

Democrats
Republicans
no 1856 election
no 1856 election
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NJ
DE
MD
Buchanan
Fremont
Fillmore
Undecided
           
Edit

Split Electoral Votes

States shown here did not allocate all their available electoral votes to one candidate. The historical split can be edited in this table. You can also use the drop down menu to split other states.

Removing the split () will set the state to undecided and make it interactive on the map.

D R A Total   Remove

1856 Actual Election Results

Candidate Party Electoral Votes Popular Votes
✓
James Buchanan Democratic 174 1,838,169
John C. Fremont Republican 114 1,341,264
Millard Fillmore American 8 873,000

1856 Election Facts

  • Winner Buchanan received only about 45% of the popular vote
  • John C. Fremont is first candidate of new Republican Party, organized largely around the opposition to slavery
  • Issues of the Day: Slavery (Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas)
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