THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
416. Origin of the Republican Party.—It was during the excitement that followed the assault on Sumner that politicians prepared for the coming Presidential election of 1856. The overwhelming defeat of the Whigs at the election in 1852 seemed at the time to give the Democrats a long lease of power. In reality, they soon found themselves confronted by political foes more determined than the Whigs. The old Whig party had been shattered by differences on the question of slavery. Evidently there was call for a new party on the great questions now at issue, and the Republican party was the result. At a political meeting held at Ripon, Wisconsin, in May, 1854, it was resolved that another party should be formed and that it should be called “Republican.” It is generally admitted that the first formal adoption of the name, which was probably due to a suggestion of Horace Greeley, and the publication of an elaborate platform were the work of a convention held at Jackson, Michigan, on the 6th of July following. The new party designation was immediately adopted by state conventions in Maine, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. So extremely vigorous was the organization of the Republicans, that, in the fall of 1854, they elected enough members to control the House of Representatives and chose as Speaker, Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachusetts. The first National Convention of the party was held at Pittsburgh on February 22, 1856; but it was not until June 17, at Philadelphia, that a platform was adopted and candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency were chosen. The platform declared that “the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign power over the Territories of the United States for their government, and that in the exercise of this power, it is both the right and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery.” Upon the stand thus taken, the Republicans soon secured political supremacy in the North and West.
John C. Frémont.
417. The Campaign of 1856.—The Republicans nominated John C. Frémont[[186]] of California, a famous explorer of the West, for President, and William L. Dayton of New Jersey for Vice President. The Democrats, shelving the now unpopular Pierce, nominated James Buchanan,[[187]]—a weak character, far past the prime of life, but a man who had held high positions and was likely to carry the important state of Pennsylvania. John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky was chosen as Buchanan’s running mate. Buchanan won at the polls, securing one hundred and seventy-four electoral votes to Frémont’s one hundred and fourteen. But the Republicans had made a better fight than any new party had ever done before and had carried most of the Northern and some of the Western states. It was evident that the country was being divided sectionally in politics,—the North and West being destined to become more and more anti-slavery, or Republican, the South to be overwhelmingly pro-slavery, or Democratic. Many persons, especially in the South, argued that this state of things would warrant a dissolution of the Union, since the North and West combined might be strong enough to interfere with slavery in the states.
References.—See end of Chapter XXVI.
| [183] | Born in Massachusetts, 1800; died, 1879. Graduated at Harvard, 1817; studied law, served in the legislature, and traveled in Europe; congressman, 1834–1843; ceased to be a Whig and supported Tyler, soon affiliating himself with the Democrats; served in Mexican War and became brigadier general; appointed Judge of Massachusetts Supreme Court but soon resigned to become Attorney-General under Pierce; held other offices of importance, among them the mission to Spain (1874–77); wrote several books and was a man of unquestioned ability, although his change of politics and Southern sympathies brought upon him much criticism. |
| [184] | Walker made another attempt in 1857, but was arrested at Greytown and brought to the United States for trial. President Buchanan being himself desirous of acquisitions of territory to the south, and the pro-slavery leaders openly favoring Walker, the latter was not punished. In 1860 he made another descent on the Central American coast. This time he was captured, tried, and shot. |