Rise of the Republican Party in the 1850s
The Republican Party was formed after the Kansas Nebraska ActAn act that allowed the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska to choose for themselves whether they would become slave or free states. in 1854. This Act allowed individual states to decide whether they would be a free stateA state in North America which did not support slavery during the 19th century. or slave state. The party become very popular in the North. The policies that made them popular included:
- supporting the Union and strong central government
- being opposed to slavery spreading, especially into the new lands that were opening up in the West
- supporting business and industry
- supporting westward expansionThe acquisition of land west of the Mississippi River by European settlers during the 19th century. but for free settlersAmerican settlers who did not have slaves., not settlers with enslaved workers
- supporting the building of a railway that would stretch across the continent. This would help westward expansion and help trade
Unpopularity in the South
The Republican Party were not popular in the South. Southerners believed that they wished to abolish slavery.
In the 1860 election the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln won all the Northern states.
In the South, Lincoln was very unpopular. His name did not even appear in some of the ballot papers and he won no seats. This widened the divide between the North and South. Many in the South now felt that they had to secedeTo withdraw formally from membership of a federal union, an alliance, or a political or religious organisation. from the North .