Political Upheaval, 1852-1856

Because of the publicity surrounding the 1850 Compromise debates and the subsequent attempts to retrieve runaway slaves, politics of the 1850s became dominated by the slavery issue. In the 1852 election the Whigs nominated General Winfield Scott, a fine soldier whose

Service went back to the War of 1812. Although victorious in Mexico, he was a poor political candidate. As the Whigs were divided over slavery in any case, Scott's loss to dark horse Democratic candidate Franklin Pierce doomed the party to extinction. It ceased to exist as a political force after 1852.

Many of the old Whigs formed the nucleus of the new Republican Party, which emerged in 1854. A strong free-soil movement (people opposed to slavery in the territories) still existed. They would eventually migrate to the Republicans, who would endorse their basic premise in the elections of 1856 and 1860. (More about the Republican Party below.)

The South divided into several different political camps. The most radical of the groups were the secessionists, a proslavery faction who feared that the abolitionist cause might eventually lead to the overthrow of the institution. Through the 1850s and leading up to the beginning of the Civil War, the radicals tended to dominate Southern politics. At the opposite end of the spectrum were the "Ultra-Unionists," who opposed secession under any circumstances. In the center were the "conditional Unionists," or moderates, who were disposed to remain with the Union but not at all costs. Because of what became known as the "slave power conspiracy," the secessionists ultimately triumphed in 1861.

Democrat Franklin Pierce, was a colorless, uninteresting president known as a "doughface," a Northerner who was sympathetic to Southern positions on such things as states' rights and slavery. In his inaugural address, while extolling the virtues of the Union, he also pledged to support the rights of the Southern states:

If the Federal Government will confine itself to the exercise of powers clearly granted by the Constitution, it can hardly happen that its action upon any question should endanger the institutions of the States or interfere with their right to manage matters strictly domestic according to the will of their own people.

An Appeal to Nativism74: The Know-Nothing Episode

As the Whigs collapsed, a new party, the Know-Nothings, or American Party, gained in popularity. (The name came from the fact that members of the party, a semi-secret organization, were told to respond to queries about their activities with "I know nothing.") Originally known as the Native American Party, the Know-Nothing party especially appealed to evangelical Protestants, who objected to the millions of Catholics immigrating to America.

By the 1850s, the Know-Nothings also picked up support from former Whigs and Democrats disgusted with "politics as usual." In 1854, the American party suddenly took political control of Massachusetts and spread rapidly across the nation. In less than two years, the Know-Nothings collapsed for reasons that are still obscure. Inexperienced leaders, a lack of cohesion, and a failure to address the nation's major problems certainly contributed to their demise. Most probably, Northerners worried less about immigration as it slowed down, and turned their attention to the slavery issue.