United States presidential election, 1856 (AMPU)

The United States Presidential Election of 1856 was the eighteenth quadrennial presidential election to select the President and Vice President of the United States. The election was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1856. In a four-way contest, no candidate won a majority of the electoral vote, necessitating a contingent election in the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On January 3, 1857, the House of Representatives elected Robert E. Lee as president. The election of Lee served as the primary catalyst of the Second American Revolution.