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.

Genesis

The party was formed around the Wilmot Proviso, failed legislation requiring all territory taken from Mexico in the Mexican-American war be free from slavery. When New Mexico and Utah were opened to the slavery based on the popular sovereignty clause in the Compromise of 1850, the Wilmot Proviso failed.

Related Topics:
Wilmot Proviso - Mexico - Mexican-American war - New Mexico - Utah - Popular sovereignty - Compromise of 1850

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The party evolved from abolitionists in the Democratic and Whig parties. The party consisted of former members of the abolitionist Liberty Party, extreme anti-slavery Whigs, and the Barnburners, the pro-Van Buren faction of the New York Democratic Party which had been excluded from power by their Hunker opponents.

Related Topics:
Abolitionist - Democratic - Whig - Liberty Party - Barnburners - Hunker

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