The 1856 Democratic National Convention was the seventh political convention of the United States Democratic Party. Held from June 2 to June 6, 1856, prior to the November elections, at Smith & Nixon's Hall in Cincinnati, on the Ohio River in Ohio, it was the first national party nominating convention outside the original thirteen states. The party nominated James Buchanan, U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, for President (denying re-nomination to incumbent President Franklin Pierce), and former Representative John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for Vice President.