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

The Constitutional Union party, which ignored slavery in its platform, declaring that it recognized no political principles other than "the Constitution of the country, the Union of the States, and the enforcement of the laws."

From The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Nicolay, Helen

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

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

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

The Whigs were defunct, the Americans were a dwindling fraction; the "Constitutional Union" party held a number who sought peace above all things; but the great mass divided between the Republicans and the Democrats.

From The Negro and the Nation A History of American Slavery and Enfranchisement by Merriam, George Spring