1852 United States presidential election (PSUS History)

''Disclaimer: This is a fictional scenario that is not claiming itself to be factual any sense of the word. Do not take any scenario presented here for factual information''

The 1856 United States presidential election was the 17th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1852. Senator q|James K. Polk defeated incumbent President q|Aurelius P. Harrison in a contingent race, despite Harrison receiving a majority of the popular vote. This was the only Presidential Election in history where both candidates received the same number of electoral votes.

In 1849, the supreme court sided with then-Vice President James K. Polk in the case q|Polk V. Van Buren, q|overturning the Election of 1848 in a controversial ruling. The three candidates permitted to be on the ballot in this special election were President Martin Van Buren, Vice President James K. Polk, and Senator Aurelius P. Harrison, the top three contenders in the 1848 election. Due to an electoral vote split between Van Buren and Polk, q|Federalist-Republican Senator Harrison won the Presidency.

The Democratic Party, suffering greatly from their defeat in q|1849, elected to renominate the still popular James K. Polk. Polk’s nomination was opposed by former Governor q|William Rockefeller, who also ran. Rockefeller, however, dropped this attempt when promised the position of Ambassador to Britain. q|John Tyler would once again join Polk on the ticket.

The Federalist-Republican Party, celebrating their victory in 1849, easily renominated President Harrison for a second term. Vice President Abraham Lincoln was also easily renominated. With Harrison remaining popular with the majority of Americans, the party assumed victory would come with ease in the general election.

In the general election, Harrison held a huge lead in the popular vote and electoral college over Polk, having received 133 of the required 134 to win by the morning of the final day of ballot counting with all but the states of q|Pennsylvania and q|Tippecanoe called, states in which Harrison held a narrow lead. However, on the afternoon of November the 5th, 1852, the state of Tippecanoe was called for Senator Polk. In the evening, the state of Pennsylvania was called for Senator Polk. With the election tied, the q|5th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted. The electoral college met on December the 1st, 1852, to revote and decide the electors. 134 supported Polk, with 132 supporting Harrison. Polk was declared the victor of the Election of 1852.

The Federalist-Republican Party continued to accuse the Democratic Party of fraud in the 1852 Election up until the q|dissolution of the party in q|1872.