The Barnburners were the more radical

Radicalism (historical)

The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...

 faction of the New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 state Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 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

Rat

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

 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

History of slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States was a form of slave labor which existed as a legal institution in North America for more than a century before the founding of the United States in 1776, and continued mostly in the South until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in...

. 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

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

. When the Democratic party divided in 1824, most of them followed Van Buren in supporting Jackson. But by the 1848 presidential election

United States presidential election, 1848

The United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race. President James K. Polk, having achieved all of his major objectives in one term and suffering from declining health that would take his life less than four months after leaving office, kept his promise not to seek re-election.The...

 they bolted from the party, refusing to support presidential nominee Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...

, and instead joining with other anti-slavery groups, predominantly the Abolitionist Liberty Party

Liberty Party (1840s)

The Liberty Party was a minor political party in the United States in the 1840s . The party was an early advocate of the abolitionist cause...

 and some anti-slavery Whigs in New England and the Midwest, to form the Free Soil Party

Free Soil Party

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...

, which nominated the elderly Van Buren to return to the presidency. Their chief speaker was his eldest son, John Van Buren

John Van Buren

John Van Buren was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He was the second son of President Martin Van Buren and graduated from Yale College in 1828. In 1831, when his father was appointed U.S. Minister to Britain, he accompanied him as secretary of the American Legation in London...

, 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.
Their opponents, the conservative Hunkers, favored state banks, internal improvements

Internal improvements

Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canals, harbors and navigation 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

William L. Marcy

William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...

, favoring reconciliation, and the Hards, led by Daniel S. Dickinson

Daniel S. Dickinson

Daniel Stevens Dickinson was a New York politician, most notable as a United States Senator from 1844 to 1851.-Biography:...

, 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

Horatio Seymour

Horatio Seymour was an American politician. He was the 18th Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the presidential election of 1868, but lost the election to Republican and former Union General of...

 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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the years preceding the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

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

Southern Democrats

Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the American South. In the 19th century, they were the definitive pro-slavery wing of the party, opposed to both the anti-slavery Republicans and the more liberal Northern Democrats.Eventually "Redemption" was finalized in...

.

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

Conscience Whigs

The "Conscience" Whigs were a faction of the Whig Party in the state of Massachusetts noted for their moral opposition to slavery. They were noted as opponents of the more conservative "Cotton" Whigs who dominated the state party, led by such figures as Edward Everett, Robert C...

and the Free Soil Party.