The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another The Whig Party was a Political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Politics of the United States takes place in the framework of a presidential, Federal republic where the President of the United States (the Head of This list of Political parties in the United States contains past and present political parties in the United States. The United States has a federal government, with elected officials at federal (national state and local level A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It was a third party that largely appealed to and drew its leadership from former anti-slavery members of the Whig Party and the Democratic Party; its membership was largely absorbed by the Republican Party in 1854. The Whig Party was a Political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. The History of the United States Democratic Party is an account of the oldest Political party in the United States and arguably TalkDemocratic The History of the United States Republican Party is an account of the second oldest currently existing Political party in the United States Its main purpose was opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories, arguing that free men on free soil comprised a morally and economically superior system to slavery. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another The free soilers were against the expansion of slavery but not the continuation of slavery in states where it already existed; their goal was to gain the land to the west, and keep the land free of both blacks and slaves.

Positions

Free Soil candidates ran on the platform that declared: ". . . we inscribe on our banner, 'Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free Men,' and under it we will fight on and fight ever, until a triumphant victory shall reward our exertions. "

The party also called for a homestead act and a tariff for revenue only. The' Homestead Act' was a United States Federal law that gave an applicant freehold title to 160 Acres (one quarter section or about 65 Hectares The Free Soil Party's main support came from areas of upstate New York, western Massachusetts, and Ohio, although other northern states also had representatives.

The Free Soil Party contended that slavery undermined the dignity of labor and inhibited social mobility, and was therefore fundamentally un-Democratic. Viewing slavery as an economically inefficient, obsolescent institution, Free Soilers argued that slavery should be contained, and that if contained it would ultimately disappear.

Van Buren / Adams campaign banner.

First convention

In 1848, the first party convention was held in Buffalo, New York, where the Free Soilers nominated former Democratic President Martin Van Buren for president with Charles Francis Adams for vice president at Lafayette Square then known as Court House Park. Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State. Martin Van Buren (December 5 1782 July 24 1862 was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841 Charles Francis Adams Sr ( August 18, 1807 &ndash November 21, 1886) the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Lafayette Square (formerly Court House Park or Courthouse Square) The square formerly hosted the original Erie County Courthouse the original Erie County Jail and ^[1] The main party leaders were Salmon P. Chase of Ohio and John P. Hale of New Hampshire. Salmon Portland Chase ( January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist in the Civil War era John Parker Hale ( March 31, 1806 &ndash November 19, 1873) was an American politician and lawyer from New Hampshire The Free Soil candidates won no electoral votes, in part because the nomination of Van Buren discouraged many anti-slavery Whigs from joining the Free Soil Party.

Compromise of 1850

The Compromise of 1850 undercut the party's no-compromise position, and its vote fell off sharply. The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War (1846&ndash1848

Legacy

The Free Soil Parties was a notable third party. More successful than most, it sent two Senators and fourteen Representatives to the thirty-first Congress. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. The Thirty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government consisting of the United States Senate and Its presidential nominee in 1848, Martin Van Buren, received 291,616 votes against Zachary Taylor of the Whigs and Lewis Cass of the Democrats; Van Buren received no electoral votes. The United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race Martin Van Buren (December 5 1782 July 24 1862 was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841 Zachary Taylor (November 24 1784 &ndash July 9 1850 was an American military leader and the twelfth President of the United States. Lewis Cass ( October 9, 1782 – June 17, 1866) was an American military officer and Politician. The Party's "spoiler" effect in 1848 may have put Zachary Taylor into office in a narrowly-contested election. The " spoiler effect " is a term to describe the effect a Minor party candidate with little chance of winning can have on a close Election, in which their

The strength of the party, however, was its representation in Congress. The sixteen elected officials' influence far exceeded its numbers. The party's most important legacy was as a route for anti-slavery Democrats to join the new Republican coalition.

In Ottawa, Illinois, in August, 1854, an alliance was brokered between the Freesoil party and the Whigs (in part based on the efforts of local newspaper publisher Jonathan F. Linton) that gave rise to the Republican Party ^[2]

Presidential candidates

Other Famous Free Soilers

• Charles Francis Adams, Sr., Party's vice presidential candidate in 1848
• Salmon P. Chase, U.S. Senator from Ohio
• Charles Sumner, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
• David C. Broderick, U.S. Senator from California
• Oren B. Cheney, legislator from Maine, founder of Bates College
• William Cullen Bryant
• Walt Whitman
• Joshua Reed Giddings, congressman from Ohio
• Henry Wilson
• George W. Julian
• Horace Mann

See also

• Second Party System
• Origins of the American Civil War
• Appeal of the Independent Democrats

References

1. ^ Old Court House. The United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race Martin Van Buren (December 5 1782 July 24 1862 was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841 Charles Francis Adams Sr ( August 18, 1807 &ndash November 21, 1886) the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa The United States presidential election of 1852 was in many ways a replay of the election of 1844. John Parker Hale ( March 31, 1806 &ndash November 19, 1873) was an American politician and lawyer from New Hampshire George Washington Julian ( May 5, 1817 &ndash July 7, 1899) was a nineteenth century Politician, Lawyer Charles Francis Adams Sr ( August 18, 1807 &ndash November 21, 1886) the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa The Vice President of the United States is the first person in the presidential line of succession, becoming the new President of the United States upon the death The United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race Salmon Portland Chase ( January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist in the Civil War era The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Charles Sumner (January 6 1811 &ndash March 11 1874 was an American politician and statesman from Massachusetts. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives David Colbreth Broderick ( February 4, 1820 &ndash September 16, 1859) was a United States Senator and an anti- Slavery The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Oren Burbank Cheney (1816-1903 was the founder of Bates College, an abolitionist and a Free Will Baptist clergyman Bates College is a private liberal arts college located in Lewiston Maine, in the United States. William Cullen Bryant (November 3 1794 - June 12 1878 was an American romantic poet, journalist and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. Walter Whitman (May 31 1819 &ndash March 26 1892 was an American poet, Essayist journalist, and humanist. Joshua Reed Giddings ( October 6, 1795 &ndash May 27, 1864) was an American Statesman prominent in the anti- Slavery Henry Wilson (February 16 1812 &ndash November 22 1875 was a Senator from Massachusetts and the eighteenth Vice President of the United States. George Washington Julian ( May 5, 1817 &ndash July 7, 1899) was a nineteenth century Politician, Lawyer This article is about an early leader in education for the private school located in New York City see Horace Mann School. The Second Party System is a term of Periodization used by historians and political scientists to name the political system existing in the United States from about The main explanation for the origins of the American Civil War was slavery, especially the issue of the expansion of slavery into the territories. The Appeal of the Independent Democrats (the full title was "Appeal of the Independent Democrats in Congress to the People of the United States" was a Manifesto issued History of Buffalo. Chuck LaChiusa. Retrieved on 2008-03-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
2. ^ Taylor, William Alexander. CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS http://www.heritagepursuit.com/Franklin/Franklin%20Vol%20II%20Bio%2006%20P100.htm 1909. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

• Frederick J. Blue; Salmon P. Chase: A Life in Politics 1987
• Frederick J. Blue. The Free Soilers: Third Party Politics, 1848-54 (1973)
• Martin Duberman; Charles Francis Adams, 1807-1886 1968.
• Foner, Eric (1995 edition; originally published 1970). Eric Foner (born February 7, 1943 in New York City) is an American historian Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195094972.  

• T. C. Smith, Liberty and Free Soil Parties in the Northwest (New York, 1897)