Barnburners and Hunkers

The Barnburners and Hunkers were the names of two opposing factions of the New York Democratic Party in the mid-19th century.

The term barnburner was derived from a folktale about a Dutch farmer who burned down his own barn in order to get rid of a rat infestation.

[1] In this case it was applied to men who were thought to be willing to destroy all banks and corporations, in order to root out their abuses.

They also stood for local control[vague] by the Albany Regency, as against the Polk political machine which the new administration was trying to build up in New York.

They opposed the Barnburners, and favored state banks, internal improvements, and minimizing the slavery issue.