Free Soil Party

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States organized in 1848 that petered out by about 1852. Their main purpose was opposing the extension of slavery into the territories, as well as advocating the abolition of slavery itself.

Collapse of the Whig party and the Compromise of 1850

The Whig Party dissolved after the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and many northern Whigs combined with former Free-Soilers and northern Democrats to form the Republican Party, which advocated a free-soil platform while changing their name in order to avoid being associated with the failure of the Free Soil Party.

Related Topics:
Whig Party - Kansas-Nebraska Act - Republican Party

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The Compromise of 1850 also helped the party to gain supporters who feared slavery was spreading and wanted to stop it. By 1854, most Free-Soilers joined the Republican Party because of its strength and anti-slavery sentiments. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott case also strengthened the views of abolitionists, although they were Republicans.

Related Topics:
Compromise of 1850 - 1854 - Republican Party - Kansas-Nebraska Act - Dred Scott case

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