And the story continues. . . As more people move west, and more territories becoming states, the issue of slavery heats up! The Missouri Compromise is passed keeping the balance of power in the Senate. A new political party emerges called the Free Soil Party. Their main goal was to keep slavery OUT of the western territories. The Compromise of 1850 admitted California into the Union as a free state, but the North and South did not get everything they wanted. The North is especially angry with the passage of Fugitive Slave Act. The creation of the Nebraska territory set off a wave of anger when border ruffians crossed over the border to vote illegally. This led to a civil war in Kansas called Bleeding Kansas. The Supreme Court rules that a slave named Dred Scott is NOT free even though his master took him to a free state. The court rules that slaves are property and no territory can exclude slaves.

In 1820, the Missouri Compromise divided the country at the 36° 30' parallel creating a northern anti-slavery and southern pro-slavery United States. Thirty years later in 1854, with the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, tempers flared when states were allowed to decide if they would become a slave or free state. When Bleeding Kansas occurred and many anti-slavery settlers were killed, Northern leaders felt they needed a new political voice. Neither Whigs nor Democrats had taken a strong stand against slavery.

Major newspapers around the country began running a manifesto entitled "Appeal of Independent Democrats." This declaration was written by members of the United States Senate after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Northern Senators were worried that the western territory would become a “dreary region of despotism, inhabited by masters and slaves.”  Spontaneous anti-slavery demonstrations began to occur demanding a new voice in government.

In Ripon, Wisconsin, former members of the Whig Party met to establish a new party. Their main goal was to keep slavery out of the western territories.   On July 6, 1854, in Michigan upwards of 10,000 people turned out for a mass meeting. This eventually led to the first organized convention in Pittsburgh on February 22, 1856. Some Republicans were abolitionists, but most just wanted to stop slavery from spreading.

DID YOU KNOW. The Republican party is also called the G. O. P DID YOU KNOW? The Republican party is also called the G.O.P. It stands for the Grand Old Party, a name given after Lincoln won the Civil War. DID YOU KNOW? The Republican Party is often referred to as the Party of Lincoln because Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president. His success as president helped to strengthen the Republican party.

Fremont was a major in the U. S Fremont was a major in the U.S. Army who during the Mexican American War took control of the newly established territory of California. He then proclaimed himself military Governor of California. He retired from military service and while living in California acquired massive wealth during the California Gold Rush. Frémont became one of the first two U.S. senators elected from the new state of California in 1850. In 1856, Republicans selected John C. Fremont to run for President. The Republican campaign used the slogan "Free Soil, Free Men, and Frémont" to fight for free (anti-slave) territories in the West.

Fremont’s main opponent was Democrat James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. He had served as a Senator and as Secretary of State. Many Democrats considered Buchanan to be a “compromise” candidate because he was a “northern man with southern principles.” They hoped that he would attract voters in both the North and the South.

Buchanan won the election with support from a large majority of southerners and many northerners. Still the Republicans made a strong showing in the election. Without the support of a single southern state, Fremont won one-third of the popular vote. Southerners worried that their influence in the national government was fading.

The next political test for the Republican party came in 1858 in the state of Illinois. Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, challenged Democrat Stephen Douglas for his seat in the Senate. The election captured the attention of the whole nation. The race was important because most Americans thought that Douglas would run for President in 1860.

Abraham Lincoln was born in the backcountry of Kentucky Abraham Lincoln was born in the backcountry of Kentucky. His parents moved around (Indiana and Illinois) often to find better land. As a child, Lincoln only spent a year in school. Still, he taught himself to read and spent many hours reading by firelight.

After Lincoln left home he opened a store in Illinois After Lincoln left home he opened a store in Illinois. There, he studied law on his own and launched a career in politics. After eight years in the state legislature, he served one term as a representative in the U.S. Congress. Bitterly opposed to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he decided to run for the Illinois Senate seat in 1858.

Lincoln was nominated by the newly established Republican party to run for U.S. Senator. Lincoln accepted his parties nomination by delivering a speech at what was then the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. Lincoln’s A House Divided speech became one of the best-known speeches of his career where he explained that the nation could not survive if it remained divided by slavery.

DID YOU KNOW? Lincoln’s speech contains the quotation "A house divided against itself cannot stand", which is taken from the Bible verse Matthew 12:25: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand".

The seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas in 1858, are considered the most famous political debates in American history. Thousands of people gathered to watch what became a debate mostly about whether to allow slavery in the western territories.

He did not believe in “perfect equality” between blacks and whites, but felt that slavery was a “moral, social, and political wrong.” He believed that blacks were entitled to the rights named in the Declaration of Independence, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Lincoln was totally opposed to slavery in the territories and accused Douglas of conspiring to spread slavery in the West. He stated that allowing settlers to vote on slavery was immoral. He was NOT an abolitionist and did NOT want to interfere with slavery in the states where it already existed.

Douglas disliked slavery but believed settlers should have the right to vote whether to allow slavery in the western territories (popular sovereignty). He accused Lincoln of being an abolitionist and defying the U.S. Supreme Court and the Dred Scott Decision.

Week after week, both men spoke nearly every day to large crowds Week after week, both men spoke nearly every day to large crowds. Newspapers reprinted their campaign speeches. The more Northerners read Lincoln’s speeches, the more they thought about the injustice of slavery. Despite Lincoln’s hard campaigning and gallant effort to spread his anti-slavery message far and wide, in the end, Douglas won the election by a slim margin.

Lincoln didn’t lose completely, he had gained popularity across the country and within the Republican party. Two years later, the two rivals would meet again face to face – this time Lincoln and Douglas would fight it out for the office of President.