page_title: Barnburners and Hunkers
section_title: Hunkers
hierarchical_section_title: Barnburners and Hunkers / Hunkers
caption_attribution_description: 'A parody of Democratic politics in the months preceding the party's 1848 national convention. Specifically, the artist ridicules the rivalry within the party between Free Soil or anti-slavery interests, which upheld the Wilmot Proviso, and regular, conservative Democrats or Hunkers." The "Gilpins" (named after the hero of William Cowper's 1785 "Diverting History of John Gilpin," who also loses control of his mount, to comic effect) are regular Democrats Lewis Cass, Thomas Hart Benton, and Levi Woodbury, who ride a giant sow down "Salt River Lane" away from the "Head Quarters of the Northern Democracy".' ("Salt River" is a symbol of political doom.)
context_page_description: The Barnburners and Hunkers were the names of two opposing factions of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid-19th century. The main issue dividing the two factions was that of slavery, with the Barnburners being the anti-slavery faction. While this division occurred within the context of New York politics, it reflected the national divisions in the United States in the years preceding the American Civil War.
context_section_description: The Hunkers were the relatively pro government faction. They opposed the Barnburners, and favored state banks, internal improvements, and minimizing the slavery issue. The Hunker's were named so because they were "hankering" for Federal office. Among the leaders of the Hunkers were Horatio Seymour, William L. Marcy, Samuel Beardsley, Edwin Croswell, and Daniel S. Dickinson.
  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, for re-election in 1854.
caption: "The Modern Gilpins" - rivalry between the Hunkers and anti-slavery Democrats
exif: {}