Barnburners and Hunkers

1848 cartoon satirizing the Barnburners / Free Soil Party

The Barnburners were the more radical faction of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid 19th century. The term barnburner was derived from the idea of someone who would burn down his own barn to get rid of a rat infestation, in this case those who would destroy all banks and corporations, to root out their abuses.

The Barnburners opposed expanding the public debt, and the power of the large corporations; they also generally came to oppose the extension of slavery. A long-standing faction in the Democratic politics of the state of New York, they were led by party boss (and eventual President) Martin Van Buren. When the Democratic party divided in 1824, most of them followed Van Buren in supporting Jackson. But by the 1848 presidential election they bolted from the party, refusing to support presidential nominee Lewis Cass, and instead joining with other anti-slavery groups, predominantly the Abolitionist Liberty Party and some anti-slavery Whigs in New England and the Midwest, to form the Free Soil Party, which nominated the elderly Van Buren to return to the presidency. Their chief speaker was his eldest son, John Van Buren, and after proposals to have him "stump", or campaign in, various states, they passed a resolution that John Van Buren be invited to stump the world.

"The Modern Gilpins" - rivalry between the Hunkers and anti-slavery democrats

Their opponents, the conservative Hunkers, favored state banks, internal improvements, and minimizing the slavery issue. The term hunker was derived from someone who "hunkers" (hankers) after a political office. Following the 1848 election, the Hunkers themselves split over the question of reconciliation with the Barnburners, with the Softs, led by William L. Marcy, favoring reconciliation, and the Hards, led by Daniel S. 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.

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.

The Hunkers wanted the status quo within the party in terms of the party's relationship between government and business. They supported the Southern Democrats.

The Barnburners were the reform faction because they were not in control of the party. They wanted to reform the system of party patronage. They broke with the Hunkers and supported the abolitionists. Eventually they abandoned the party and joined the Conscience Whigs and the Free Soil Party.