US History

U.S. History Study Guide

In opposition to the new legislature, abolitionist John Brown led a massacre of five men at a pro- slavery camp, setting off an outbreak of violence. More than two hundred people died in the ensuing months of violence, earning the territory the nickname Bleeding Kansas. The conflict in Kansas helped to cause more hatred between the North and the South and helped to bring about the Civil War. 12.12 FromWhigs to Republicans The Kansas-Nebraska Act divided the Whigs Southern pro-slavery and Northern antislavery components. The fractures ran deep that even Northern Whigs were divided, between antislavery “Conscience Whigs” and conservatives who supported the Compromise of 1850. This split forced many antislavery Whigs to look for a political alternative, less muddied by internal conflict. One alternative was the American Party, which became known as the Know-Nothing Party because the members met secretly and refused to identify themselves. This party was a Nativist organization (anti-foreigner) who spread anti-German, anti-Irish, and anti-Catholic propaganda. Most members also favored temperance and opposed slavery. It seemed the Know-Nothings would form the primary opposition party to the Democrats until, in 1855, they also succumbed to sectional conflict when the party’s Southern branch made acceptance of the Kansas-Nebraska Act part of the Know-Nothing platform. The Know-Nothing Party found itself weakened and near ruin. In its place, a new Republican Party emerged as the premier antislavery coalition. The Republicans originally formed in the North between 1854 and 1855, as Northern Democrats, antislavery Whigs, and former Free Soil party members united to oppose the Democratic Party. Although all Republicans disapproved of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, some Republicans merely wanted to restore the Missouri Compromise. Others were middle ground free-spoilers, and still others were adamant abolitionists. Nevertheless, opposition to slavery’s extension united these disparate groups. Significance • TheWhig Party disintegrated during the mid-1850’s, throwing NorthernWhigs into the Know- Nothing Party and the Republican Party. By 1856, the Republican Party had risen to national prominence as the main opposition to the Democrats. 12.13 The Election of 1856 The Democrats turned to James Buchanan, who was not linked to the Kansas issue. The Republicans ran their first presidential campaign in 1856, choosing noted Western explorer John Fremont. The American Party (Know-Nothings) nominated former president Millard Fillmore. The Republicans ran a campaign calling for repeal of the hated Kansas-Nebraska Act, opposition to the extension of slavery into the territories and support for internal improvement projects. They also took every opportunity to blame the Democrats for the horrors of "Bleeding Kansas."

©2018

Achieve

Page 157

of 194