The Barnburners and Hunkers were the names of two opposing

factions Faction or factionalism may refer to: * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * The Faction, an American punk rock band * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planescape'' * Faction (literatu ...

of the New York Democratic Party in the mid-19th century. The main issue dividing the two factions was that of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, with the Barnburners being the

anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

faction. While this division occurred within the context of New York politics, it reflected the national divisions in the Democratic Party and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

broadly in the years preceding the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Barnburners

The Barnburners were the

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

faction. The term ''barnburner'' was derived from a folktale about a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

farmer who burned down his own

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...

in order to get rid of a

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

infestation. 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. The Barnburners opposed expanding the

public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occu ...

, and were opposed to the power of large state-established

corporations A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

. They also generally came to oppose the extension of

. They also stood for local control by the

Albany Regency The Albany Regency was a group of politicians who controlled the New York state government between 1822 and 1838. Originally called the "Holy Alliance", it was instituted by Martin Van Buren, who remained its dominating spirit for many years. The ...

, as against the

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...

which the new administration was trying to build up in New York. At the 1848 presidential election, the Barnburners left the Democratic Party, refusing to support presidential nominee

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was a United States Army officer and politician. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1 ...

. They joined with other anti-slavery groups, predominantly the abolitionist Liberty Party and some anti-slavery Conscience Whigs from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and the

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, to form the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. The party was focused o ...

. This group nominated former President Van Buren to run again for the presidency. Their vote divided Democratic strength.

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

, the Whig nominee, was elected to office. After the

Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that temporarily defused tensions between slave and free states during the years leading up to the American Civil War. Designe ...

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

John Adams Dix John Adams Dix (July 24, 1798 – April 21, 1879) was an American politician and military officer who was Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of New York and Union major general during the Civil War. He was notable for arresting the pro-Southe ...

, U.S. Senator (184549) *

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

, 8th President of the United States (183741) *

Silas Wright Silas Wright Jr. (May 24, 1795 – August 27, 1847) was an American attorney and Democratic politician. A member of the Albany Regency, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, New York State Comptroller, United Stat ...

, Governor of New York (184647) and U.S. Senator (183344)

Hunkers

The Hunkers were the relatively pro-government faction. They opposed the Barnburners, and favored state banks,

internal improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, can ...

, and minimizing the slavery issue.

Notable Hunkers

* 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 (184451) *

William L. Marcy William Learned Marcy (December 12, 1786July 4, 1857) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as U.S. Senator, the eleventh Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of War and the twenty-first U.S. Secretary of State. In the la ...

, U.S. Secretary of State (185357), U.S. Secretary of War (184549), Governor of New York (183338) and U.S. Senator (183133) *

Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as the eighteenth Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and again from 1863 to 1864. He was the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Pa ...

, Governor of New York (1853–54 and 1863–64) and Democratic nominee for President in

1868 Events January * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsu ...

Hards and Softs

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.

Notes

References and further reading

* Donovan, Herbert D. ''The Barnburners'' (New York University Press, 1926) * * * 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
* Meredith, Mamie. " 'Hards' and 'Softs' in American Politics." ''American Speech'' 5.5 (1930): 408–413
online
* * {{Martin Van Buren Democratic Party (United States) organizations Factions in the Democratic Party (United States) Political history of New York (state)