The events in Kansas provide a backdrop to the election campaign of 1856.
Ever since the raucous race of 1840 — with both Harrison and Van Buren “stumping” in person to the electorate –candidates have assumed the traditional posture of staying above the chase. Thereby the “dignity” of the highest office in the land is preserved by having the presidency seek the candidate and not vice versa.
Buchanan, Fremont and Fillmore all stay home and leave their fate in the hands of strategists using the available marketing tactics of the day. Some of these are straight-forward attempts to showcase key elements in the party platform, using billboards (“broadsides”) posted around towns, and lengthy editorials appearing in “party-backed” newspapers. Thus a piece in Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune will be unabashedly pro-Fremont, while John Forney’s Pennsylvanian is sure to tout James Buchanan.