The 1856 election was a turbulent time in politics for America. Slavery was the key issue on everyone’s mind and many other political viewpoints were belittled in comparison to the more pressing question: should slavery expand? Should slavery be abolished? Should slavery be contained? Southerners and northerners were divided in their opinions, which would soon lead to the American Civil War. Before that, there was the presidential election of 1856; which had a lot on the line. America needed a man in charge who could please everyone, and in the end that happened to be a man who had little to no experience dealing with the most important issue either way. During this election, however, a new political superpower of a party emerged from the ashes …show more content…
Whigs always stood for internal improvements to America: they wanted more transportation, federal banking, and are often referred to by politicians as putting, “morality in politics.” (History.com Staff). Knowing this, it seems like many Whigs would make the natural shift to the Republican Party due to its position of slavery being that it is morally wrong, and the fact that Republicans also advocated for greater connection through railroads. Due to their similar stances on slavery and transportation, the Whig Party was yet another perfect fit for the Republicans. With the support of the radical abolitionists, and the more conservative former political party, all that was left was the Democratic …show more content…
Republicans stood for anti-slavery views, and they stole just about half of the electoral votes from the Democrats that they had the previous election in 1852. Disregarding third parties, in 1852, the Democrats had 254 votes while the Whigs only got 42; subsequently in 1856, the Democrats had 174 while the Republicans got 114 votes. (Election of 1852, and Election of 1856). From these numbers it is easy to see just how many Democrats were swayed to join the Republicans and give them a stronger showing than the Whigs in the previous election. Not only were the amount of electoral votes higher in 1856 for the Republicans than they were in 1852 for the Whigs, but the Democratic numbers went down as well, suggesting almost half of the previous Democrats switched to the Republican Party that year. The Republican Party knocked the country off of its foundation, and it introduced a new major political party that would become a mainstay for years to
Lincoln and Republican Party Known as one of the greatest presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, shaped the nation in his image, leaving benefits to people. Striking shifts occurred in the nation at Lincoln’s time: In 1809, when Lincoln was born, the nation was just starting to grow with one united body; during his participation in political issues, the nation was parted; but after Lincoln’s presidency, it not only became one again but also forever altered and strengthened. Once had been a self-educated lawyer, a Whig Party leader, and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and then of the United States House of Representatives, Lincoln led the building of the new Republican Party. During his presidency, the Civil War burst.
Due to deep interparty divisions among the Democratic Party and former Whigs in regards to slavery, the election featured four major candidates. Despite winning less than 40% of the popular vote and not appearing on some ballots in many Southern States, Lincoln managed to win a majority of electoral
Andrew Jackson is called the Father of the Democratic Party. But, numerous bad things happened in his period, like Peggy Eaton Affair and Spoils System. Jackson also wanted small government. Therefore, the Whig party had been organized by Andrew Jackson’s opponent in 1834. This American political party was also against to Jackson’s Democrats.
Following the Civil War and Lincoln 's death, the party began passing several laws under Reconstruction. However, people become disenfranchised when rich Republicans began taking over. Furthermore, these rich Republicans would not push for civil rights and equal protection and left the South to its own devices. After the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt and other Democrats took over major offices. To battle
Policy on slavery in 1860 had been geared towards preventing slavery from expanding into new territories. The abolitionist movement had taken hold in the northern states. Many of the abolitionists gravitated towards the Republican Party and were supporters of anti-slavery. Republicans also believed that the free labor system was the best system for the economy.
(Enkivillage, History of the Republican Party) In 1860 they became an established political party when their nominee Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States. Lincoln’s Presidency throughout the war, including his policies to end slavery for good helped solidify the Republican Party as a major force in American politics. (Enkivillage, History of the Republican Party) The Civil War firmly identified the Republican Party as the party of the victorious North, and after the war the Republican-dominated Congress forced a “Radical Reconstruction” policy on the South, which saw the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution and the granting of equal rights to all Southern citizens.
This shows how these two sides testifying their opinions about slavery could divide the nation. Many people in the North argue for the slavery to be banned (pg 397). However, Southern slave owners defend slavery because by their slaves, their production like cotton is increasing which is helping the South (pg 397). Another important evidence is
Party is a strong heuristic that carries with it information about policy preferences and perceptions of the effectiveness of a candidate when he/she gets in office. It takes an exceptional candidate to move people from their party attachment to vote for another party. Eisenhower was a Republican politician who received a lot
The Whig Party didn’t have its origins in the United States. In fact, the Whig Party was created in England. Similar to the United States having the Republican and Democratic Party, England also had two parties at the time. The two parties were the Tories and the Whigs. The loyalists were the “Tories” whom in America were against Congress (Hoffer, 449).
Chattel or tradition slavery were commonly referred to as the least prevalent form of slavery in the world during the 1860s. Chattel or traditional slavery is the type of slavery where the slave'sslaves owner is entitled to the slave'sslaves labor work without any pay or wages. Although chattel slavery todaytoady is unlawful in all countries. A person may described as a slave if they are forced to work for another person without being able to choose to end such arrangement. Slavery in America began in 1619.
Lincoln decided early in his political career that he was going to be a member of the Whig party. His chief aim was going to be to expand the United States with a focus on commerce and cities. In 1860, Lincoln won the Republican nomination for president, which shocked many members of the United States (History.com 1). In the general election Abraham faced off against his friend and well known rival Stephen Douglas. Lincoln won the election with a total of 180 electoral votes out of 303. After it was for sure that Lincoln won the election, he wanted to push southern states to secede by the time that he was going to be inaugurated.
The emergence of the Republican Party was not predicted to be as successful as is, as third parties usually aren’t, but this third-party had made a massive impact in United States politics. The social, political, and economic factors during the 1840s and the early 1850s had led to the Republican Party America is familiar with today. Once the political parties began to split and isolate themselves, the Republican Party began to form. The Whig Party, a party with original intents to compete with Jacksonian Democrats, had split due to the alienation of Whigs due to General Winfield Scott. Along with the Whig Party, the Democratic Party was also split due to alienation and separation between the Northern and Southern Democrats.
Before when their was hope for fixing the political disputes, many compromises were enacted. For example the Missouri Compromise. There was much debate as to whether new states hoping to join the Union would be slave states or free states. Before, there was equal amount of free and slave states each having 2 representatives.
Then in the election of 1852, the success achieved by Abraham Lincoln, a republican from the north, who was a supporter of the abolishment of slavery, became the directlt and immediate cause of the American Civil War. It was the first time in the history of the country that the president was elected by regional voting, which means that the United State was on the way to seperation. President Lincoln standed in a clear position that supported the abolishment of slavery thus cause the unsatisfiction of people in the
The Republicans were now the only political party in America and the one-party dominance led to the name the Era of Good Feelings. During this time, politicians worked together to better the country. The permitting of the Second Bank of the United States showed how aspects of the Federalists were now supported by the Republicans and how partnership could increase the speed of economic growth