1. By Melissa Haun and Corey McDonough

2. Northern Whigs, antislavery Democrats, and the Free- Soilers party meet in Ripon, Wisconsin to try to form the Republican Party in 1854. The Republican Party was later formed on July the 6 th in Jackson, Michigan.

3. The Republicans united in opposing the Kansas- Nebraska act, and in keeping slavery out of the territories. “Sack of Lawrence” and “Pottawamie massacre” gave the Republicans a chance to challenge the Democrats for the presidency.

4. How did the birth of the Republican Party contribute to tensions between the North and South and help lead to the Civil War? Since the Republicans were against slavery in the territories, most Southerners opposed the party and its first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont. If Fremont had won, the South might have seceded from the Union. Instead, the issue of secession was put off until later, when it would eventually cause the Civil War.

5. (Early Republican banner)

6. Bibliography Danzer, G.A. et. al. (2003). The americans. Boston, MA: McDougall Littell. http://static.colourlovers.com/uploads/2008/10/3 b50499r.jpghttp://static.colourlovers.com/uploads/2008/10/3 b50499r.jpg http://electionkatz.wikispaces.com/file/view/Republican- elephant.gif/39671754/Republican-elephant.gif For more information: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0860701.html