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Main Idea
In the mid-1850s, the issue of slavery and other factors split political parties and led to the birth of new ones.
Why It Matters Now
The Republican and Democratic parties remain the major political forces in the United States today.
"[The Republicans have] the heart, the conscience and the understanding of the people with them... All that is noble, all that is true, all that is pure, all that is manly, and estimable in human character, goes to swell the power of the anti-slavery party of the North. That party... now embraces every Northern man who does not want to see the government converted into a huge engine for the spread of slavery over the whole continent, every man... opposed to... the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill."
- Horace Greeley
Slavery Divides Whigs
Divisions in the Whig party divided in 1852 when Gen. Winfield Scott became the Whig nominee for president. Scott owed the nomination to northern wings who opposed the fugitive slave act and gave only lukewarm support to the compromise of 1850. Southern Whigs, however, to the compromise in order to appear both proslavery and pro union. Because of Scott's position, the Whig vote in the South fell from 50% in 1848, to 35% in 1852, handing the election to the Democratic candidate Franklin Pierce. in 1854 the Kansas Nebraska act brought about the demise of the Whigs, who once again took opposing positions on legislation that involved the issue of slavery. Unable to agree on a national platform, the southern faction splintered as its members looked for a proslavery, pro union party to join, while Whigs in the north sought a political alternative.
Nativism
One alternative was the American party which had its roots in a secret organization known as the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner. Members of the society believed in nativism, the favoring of native-born Americans over immigrants. Using secret handshakes and passwords, members were told to answer questions about their activities by saying, "I know nothing." When nativists formed the American party in 1854, it soon became better known as the know-nothing party. primarily middle-class Protestants, nativists were dismayed not only the total number of new immigrants but also at the number of Catholics among them. To nativists, the Catholic immigrants flooded into the country during the 1830s and 1840s were overly influenced by the Pope and could form a conspiracy to overthrow democracy. While the Democratic Party courted immigrant voters, nativists voted for Know-Nothing candidates. The know -nothing party did surprisingly well at the polls in 1854. however, like the Whig party, the know - nothings split over the issue of slavery in the territories. Southern know - nothings looks for another alternative to the Democrats. Meanwhile, northern know-nothings began to edge toward the Republican Party.
Anti-slavery parties form
Two forerunners of the Republican Party had emerged during the 1840s. In 1844 the tiny abolitionist liberty party - whose purpose was to pursue the cause of abolition by passing new laws - received only a small percentage of votes in the presidential election. If the liberty party when enough votes to throw the election to Democrat James K Polk instead of Whig candidate Henry Clay. In 1848 the free-soil party, which opposed to the extension of slavery into the territories, nominated former Democratic president Martin Van Buren. Although the free - soil party failed to win any electoral votes in 1848, it receives 10% of the popular vote, thus sending a clear message: even if some Northerners did not favor abolition, they definitely opposed to the extension of slavery into the territories.
The free - soilers
Many Northerners were free- soilers without being abolitionists. A number of free - soilers supported laws prohibiting black settlement in their communities and deny blacks the right to vote. Free - soilers objected to slavery's impact on free white workers in the wage base to labor force, upon which the north depended. abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison considered the free soil party "a sign of discontent with things political... Reaching for something better... It is a party for keeping free soil and not for setting men free." Free - soilers detected a dangerous pattern in such events as the passage of the fugitive slave act and the repeal of the Missouri compromise. They were convinced that a conspiracy existed on the part of the "diabolical slave power" to spread slavery throughout the United States. Something or someone, according to the free - soilers, had to prevent this spread.
Republican Party
In February 1854, the schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin, some discontented northern waves held a meeting with anti-slavery Democrats and free-soilers to form a new political party. On July 6, the new Republican Party was formally organized in Jackson, Michigan. Among its founders was Horace Greeley. The Republican Party was united in opposing the Kansas Nebraska act and in keeping slavery out of the territories. Otherwise, it embraced a wide range of opinions. The conservative faction hope to resurrect the Missouri compromise. At the opposite extreme or some radical abolitionists. The Republican Party's ability to draw support from such diverse groups provide the party with the strength to win a political tug-of-war with other parties. The main competition for the Republican Party was the know-nothing party. Both parties targeted the same groups of voters. By 1855 the Republican party organization and about half of the northern states, but they lacked a national organization. Then, in quick succession, came the fraudulent territorial election in Kansas in March 1855, and the sack of Lawrence, Potawatomi massacre, and the caning of Sumner in 1856. Between "bleeding Kansas" and "leaving Sumner", the Republicans had the issues they need to do in order to challenge the Democrats for the presidency in 1856.
1856 election
The Republicans chose John C Fremont, the famed "Pathfinder" when mapped the Oregon Trail and landed US troops in the California during the war with scope, as their candidate in 1856. The know nothings split their allegiance, with Northerners endorsing frame and and Southerners selecting former US president Millard Fillmore. Although Fillmore had once been a Whig, for all practical purposes, the Whigs had now dissolved. The Democrats nominated James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. Although he was an ordinary, most of his Washington friends with Southerners. Furthermore, as ministers of Great Britain he had been out of the country during the disputes over the Kansas Nebraska act in 1854. Thus, he had antagonized neither the north nor the South. Buchanan Was the only truly national candidate. The balance of work between the North and the South, the Democrats chose John C Breckenridge of Kentucky as Buchanan's running mate. for youIf Fremont had won, the South might well have seceded then there. Judge P.J. Scruggs of Mississippi put it bluntly. (Insert quote). Buchanan, However, carried the day. Although you received only 45% of the popular vote, he won the entire South except for man. Fremont, who carried 11 of the 16 free states, came in a strong second with 33%, while Fillmore brought up the rear with 22%. The meaning was clear. First, the Democrats could win the presidency with a national candidate who could compete in the north without alienating Southerners. Second, the know nothings were in decline. Third, the Republicans were a political force in the north. 1856 presidential campaign had been hard-fought. However, the section that characterizes party politics in the mid-1850s was only a pale preview of the turmoil that would divide the nation before the end of the decade.
"the election of Fremont would present, at once, the people of the South, the question whether they would tamely crouching at the feet of their despoilers, or... Openly defy their enemies, and assert their independence. In my judgment, anything short of immediate, prompt, and unhesitating secession, would be an act of servility that would seal argue for all time to come."
- P. J. Scruggs