Constitutional Union party

American  

noun

U.S. History.

1. the political party formed in 1859 chiefly by former Whigs to rally moderates desirous of preserving the Union. In 1860 it nominated John Bell for president and Edward Everett for vice president.

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Constitutional Union party

Lincoln won election with just 39.8 percent 0f the vote, while a fourth candidate, John Bell, won 12.6 percent as head of the short-lived Constitutional Union party, a fragmentary Whig offshoot.

From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2016

Constitutional Union party, possibility of, 349; nominates Bell, 425;prospects, 428.

From Stephen A. Douglas A Study in American Politics by Johnson, Allen

Meanwhile, a Constitutional Union party had been formed in Georgia, and had elected delegates to a convention of that party in Baltimore.

From Robert Toombs Statesman, Speaker, Soldier, Sage by Stovall, Pleasant A.

The remnants of the former Whig and American parties, under the name of the Constitutional Union party, nominated Bell without any declaration of principles.

From American Eloquence, Volume 2 Studies In American Political History (1896) by Johnston, Alexander

But the Constitutional Union party was quite as likely to attract the remnant of the old Whig party of Clay and Webster.

From Stephen A. Douglas A Study in American Politics by Johnson, Allen