The Birth of the Republican Party. Slavery Divides Whigs The Whig party had long been divided into...
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The Birth of the Republican Party. Slavery Divides Whigs The Whig party had long been divided into two separate factions: Two factions divided over Compromise
Slavery Divides Whigs The Whig party had long been divided into
two separate factions: Two factions divided over Compromise of 1850
because of the Fugitive Slave Act. Northern conscience
(antislavery) Whigs Southern cotton (proslavery) Whigs.
Slide 3
Upcoming Election of 1852 The defeat and doom of the Whig Party
Democrats - Franklin Pierce- enemyless, inconspicious, prosouthern
northerner. Endorse Compromise 1850 and Fugitive Slave Law Whigs -
didnt pick Webster or Fillmore. Instead went with military guy- Gen
Winfield Scott. OK with Compromise of 1850 Whigs split and begin to
die in this election. End of national parties and rise of purely
sectional parties. RIP Whig Party - kept Union together through
electoral strength in South and through leaders like Webster and
Clay
Slide 4
1852 Presidential Election Franklin Pierce Gen. Winfield Scott
John Parker Hale Democrat Whig Free Soil
Slide 5
Slavery Divides Whigs Because Winfield Scott owed nomination to
northern Whigs, he wasnt a big supporter of Compromise of 1850.
Alienated southern Whigs. Whig vote in the South dropped from 50%
in 1848 to 35% in 1852. Divided vote gave presidency to Democrat
Franklin Pierce.
Slide 6
1852 Election Results
Slide 7
Franklin Pierce and Expansionist America Manifest Destiny
Nicaragua - William Walker British challenged Monroe Doctrine Raids
in Latin America Commodore Perry in Japan 1853 Gadsen Purchase
Slide 8
New Political Parties Emerge 1856- The political landscape very
different than it had been in 1848. Whig party split over the issue
of slavery- lost support in the North and the South. Democratic
party still alive.
Slide 9
Slavery Divides Whigs The 1854 Kansas Nebraska Act was the
final straw in eliminating the Whig party. Southern Whigs looked
for a proslavery, pro-Union party to join. Northern Whigs looked
for a political alternative of their own.
Slide 10
Know-Nothing Party (the American Party) One alternative for the
former Whigs. The Know-Nothings developed out of a secret society
known as the Star-Spangled Banner club. When asked to to answer
questions about their activities, they answered I know nothing.
Nativists. Anti-Catholics. Anti-immigrants. Nativists.
Anti-Catholics. Anti-immigrants.
Slide 11
Know-Nothing Party Supported longer naturalization period for
immigrants to delay their ability to vote. Like the Whigs,
Know-Nothings were split over the issue of slavery.
Slide 12
Antislavery Parties Form Two forerunners to Republican Party
emerged during the 1840s. Liberty Party- very small abolitionist
party that divided the vote in 1844 and gave the presidency to
James K. Polk over Henry Clay. 1848- Free Soil Party: opposed
extension of slavery into territories.
Slide 13
Free Soil Party 1848- chose former Democratic president Martin
Van Buren as candidate. Failed to win any electoral votes, but won
10% of popular vote. Sent message that although not all Northerners
supported abolition, they opposed extension of slavery into
territories.
Slide 14
Free Soil Party Northern opposition to slavery not necessarily
based on moral issues. Some supported racist laws prohibiting black
settlement in their communities, and denying them the right to
vote. Primarily objected to slaverys competition with free labor.
The extension of slavery threatened the free labor system.
Slide 15
Free Soil Party Did not agree with such events as the passage
of the Fugitive Slave Act and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise
(a.k.a. as the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854) Felt that these events
amounted to a conspiracy to spread slavery over the entire country,
which had to be stopped.
Slide 16
Slide 17
The Republican Party -Birth of the Republican party 1854
Slavery had come to dominate the differences in the parties -by
1850 the differences had peaked so that anti- slavery Whigs,
Democrats, and Free-Soilers formed a new anti-slavery party
-official party policy was to oppose the growth of slavery where it
did not exist.
Slide 18
Republican Party United in opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act and
keeping slavery out of the territories. Other than that, it
embraced a wide range of opinions. As the party grew, it took on
Free-Soilers, antislavery Whigs and Democrats, nativists from the
North, and radical abolitionists.
Slide 19
Slide 20
The Republican Party Attracted temperance supporters, small
farmers who wanted land grants in the West, commercial farmers and
manufacturers who needed internal improvements to prosper. Support
from wide range of diverse groups gave the Republican Party the
strength it needed.
Slide 21
The Republican Party Primary competition was the Know- Nothing
Party, which was well-organized at the state level. Both parties
targeted the same group of voters. Republicans lacked national
organization; they needed a development that would refocus peoples
attention on slavery issue. P
Slide 22
The Republican Party Bleeding Kansas and Bleeding Sumner gave
Republicans the issues it needed to challenge Democrats for
presidency in 1856.
Slide 23
Presidential Election of 1856 James Buchanan John C. Frmont
Millard Fillmore Democrat Republican Whig & Know-Nothing Party
Why not President Pierce or dynamic Stephen Douglas? Why not Higher
Law Seward?
Slide 24
Election of 1856 Buchanan out of the country during the dispute
over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which made him Kansasless. Buchanan
was the only true national candidate. Buchanan won election with
only 45% of popular vote. Fremont: 33%; Fillmore: 22%.
Slide 25
1856 Election Results Note: 2 year old Republicans received a
large chunk of the votes even if they did lose. 1856 Election
Results Note: 2 year old Republicans received a large chunk of the
votes even if they did lose.
Slide 26
Election of 1856 Demonstrated that Democrats could win the
presidency with national candidate who could compete in the North
without alienating the South. Know-Nothings were in national
decline. Republicans were now major political force in the
North.