Barnburners

Barnburners, radical, antislavery faction of the New York State Democratic Party in the 1840s. When the 1847 State Democratic convention defeated their resolution opposing the extension of slavery into the western territories, the Barnburners left the party and later joined with the Free Soil Party, of which Martin van Buren was the unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1848. The Barnburners then disbanded, but in the 1850s many members joined the new, antislavery Republican Party.

See also: Free Soil Party.