Jacob Broom (July 25, 1808 – November 28, 1864) was an American Party member of the U.S. House of Representatives from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Jacob Broom (who was the son of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

congressman James Madison Broom and grandson of Delaware politician

Jacob Broom Jacob Broom (October 17, 1752 – April 25, 1810) was an American Founding Father, businessman, and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. As a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, he was a signer of the United States Constitu ...

) was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

. He moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

with his parents in 1819. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1832 and started practicing in Philadelphia. He was appointed deputy auditor of the State in 1840, and clerk of the Philadelphia Orphans’ Court from 1848 to 1852.

Campaign for President

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

Broom ran for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

under unusual circumstances for the Native American Party, later known as the American Party and generally known as the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

s. Broom presided over the party's national convention, which nominated

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...

as its presidential candidate. When Webster died nine days before the election, Broom was hurriedly named as his replacement, with

Reynell Coates Reynell Coates (December 10, 1802 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – April 27, 1886 in Camden, New Jersey) was an American physician, scientist, teacher, poet and politician. Reynell Coates was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the youngest so ...

of New Jersey as his running mate. Broom received 2,566 popular votes (0.08%), finishing a poor fifth behind Webster (6,994 votes, 0.22%), who had also been nominated by the Union Party of Georgia. Neither Webster nor Broom received any electoral votes.

Congressional service

Broom was elected as a candidate of the American Party to the Thirty-fourth Congress in 1854. He served as chairman of the House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions during the Thirty-fourth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...

and for election to the Thirty-sixth Congress in 1858. He died in Washington, D.C. in 1864. Interment in

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

Sources

The Political Graveyard

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Broom, Jacob 1808 births 1864 deaths Politicians from Baltimore Pennsylvania Know Nothings Know-Nothing members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia Burials at the Congressional Cemetery 19th-century American politicians Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania