Electoral Odyssey / Interactive election atlas

1856 Presidential Election

See which candidate won each state and how those wins added up to the Electoral College result.

Electoral College · 1789–2024County popular vote · 2000–2024

Election rules

Modern Electoral College

Electoral result

174 EV · James Buchanan

Map dated

1856-11-04

Electoral College result

How the states voted

Display

View

Election-date state boundaries colored by exact stored electoral recipients. Split allocations use multiple colors.

This 1856 result uses the 2020 poll-closing chronology as a cinematic reference sequence, not historical 1856 polling or call timing.

Timing source: The Green Papers 2020 poll-closing chronology

Reference poll-close stream

Electoral Token Board

Token width reflects stored electoral votes

  1. VA
  2. IN
  3. KY
  4. GA
  5. SC
  6. VT
  7. OH
  8. NC
  9. PA
  10. MA
  11. TN
  12. IL
  13. AL
  14. MO
  15. MD
  16. ME
  17. MS
  18. NJ
  19. CT
  20. NH
  21. RI
  22. DE
  23. FL
  24. AR
  25. NY
  26. LA
  27. MI
  28. WI
  29. TX
  30. IA
  31. CA

1789—2024

Sixty elections, one continuous record

Swipe or scroll through the record. Arrow keys move from a focused year.

  1. 1789First election
  2. 1792Founding Rules
  3. 1796Founding Rules
  4. 1800Founding Rules
  5. 1804Separate offices
  6. 1808Electoral record
  7. 1812Electoral record
  8. 1816Electoral record
  9. 1820Electoral record
  10. 1824Electoral record
  11. 1828Electoral record
  12. 1832Electoral record
  13. 1836Electoral record
  14. 1840Electoral record
  15. 1844Electoral record
  16. 1848Electoral record
  17. 1852Electoral record
  18. 1856Electoral record
  19. 1860Electoral record
  20. 1864Electoral record
  21. 1868Electoral record
  22. 1872Electoral record
  23. 1876Electoral record
  24. 1880Electoral record
  25. 1884Electoral record
  26. 1888Electoral record
  27. 1892Electoral record
  28. 1896Electoral record
  29. 1900Electoral record
  30. 1904Electoral record
  31. 1908Electoral record
  32. 1912Electoral record
  33. 1916Electoral record
  34. 1920Electoral record
  35. 1924Electoral record
  36. 1928Electoral record
  37. 1932Electoral record
  38. 1936Electoral record
  39. 1940Electoral record
  40. 1944Electoral record
  41. 1948Electoral record
  42. 1952Electoral record
  43. 1956Electoral record
  44. 1960Electoral record
  45. 1964Electoral record
  46. 1968Electoral record
  47. 1972Electoral record
  48. 1976Electoral record
  49. 1980Electoral record
  50. 1984Electoral record
  51. 1988Electoral record
  52. 1992Electoral record
  53. 1996Electoral record
  54. 2000County detail begins
  55. 2004Electoral record
  56. 2008Electoral record
  57. 2012Electoral record
  58. 2016Electoral record
  59. 2020Electoral record
  60. 2024Latest stored cycle

Official result

Election summary

President
James Buchanan [D]
Main opponent
John C. Frémont [R]

State-by-state result

Electoral votes by state

A state appears more than once when its electoral votes were split between candidates.

StateCandidateElectoral votes
ALABAMA ALJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania9
ARKANSAS ARJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania4
CALIFORNIA CAJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania4
CONNECTICUT CTJohn C. Frémont, of California6
DELAWARE DEJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania3
FLORIDA FLJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania3
GEORGIA GAJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania10
ILLINOIS ILJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania11
INDIANA INJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania13
IOWA IAJohn C. Frémont, of California4
KENTUCKY KYJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania12
LOUISIANA LAJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania6
MAINE MEJohn C. Frémont, of California8
MARYLAND MDMillard Fillmore, of New York8
MASSACHUSETTS MAJohn C. Frémont, of California13
MICHIGAN MIJohn C. Frémont, of California6
MISSISSIPPI MSJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania7
MISSOURI MOJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania9
NEW HAMPSHIRE NHJohn C. Frémont, of California5
NEW JERSEY NJJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania7
NEW YORK NYJohn C. Frémont, of California35
NORTH CAROLINA NCJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania10
OHIO OHJohn C. Frémont, of California23
PENNSYLVANIA PAJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania27
RHODE ISLAND RIJohn C. Frémont, of California4
SOUTH CAROLINA SCJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania8
TENNESSEE TNJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania12
TEXAS TXJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania4
VERMONT VTJohn C. Frémont, of California5
VIRGINIA VAJames Buchanan, of Pennsylvania15
WISCONSIN WIJohn C. Frémont, of California5

Data X-Ray v1

Trace the scene

The display layer never replaces the observed NARA label or the checksum-pinned geometry identity.

Candidate identities
James Buchanan
Observed: James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania
John C. Frémont
Observed: John C. Frémont, of California
Millard Fillmore
Observed: Millard Fillmore, of New York
Geometry build
Version
labs-election-states:1856:overview
Reference date
1856-11-04
Artifact SHA-256
0bd5cb10e729351134128ce4e797dfbde5969ed51f65f8daea121043b21dd49e
Office and import semantics

separate_president_vice_president · labs-elections:6dbf3e52c41a13254056a211 · 15 validation checks passed · 0 failed

Coverage and interpretation notes

  • Historical geometry is independently versioned

    The map uses a checksum-pinned, election-date geometry build while Electoral College allocations remain traced to the NARA fact tables.

  • County detail begins in 2000

    County-level popular-vote detail is available only for 2000 through 2024. This election has state-level Electoral College coverage.

Traceable facts

Sources and provenance

Data version
labs-elections:6dbf3e52c41a13254056a211
Import validation
15 passed · 10 documented warnings · 0 failures