Antebellum Political Parties

Domestic controversies in the 19th century, forced Americans to align themselves with a political party, hindering national unity. George Washington reasoned that: “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends… unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government.” Here, Washington foresees the political dissention that will ensue nearly a century later, and the men who will subsequently abuse their attained power. The Antebellum period encompasses the years between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Slavery, immigration, and economics served as chief battleground issues for antebellum political parties. The Republican and Democratic parties are prime examples of political division amidst a time of necessary unity. Difference in opinion regarding the …show more content…
Conversely, the left and right sides attained common ground on issues such as the prioritization of manifest destiny and westward expansion. Democrats and Republicans’ failure to attain common ground on the issue of slavery further partitioned the United States, augmenting sectionalism and evoking conflict. Closer examination of their respective adversary’s motives, the two parties would have identified a mutual ambition: American Prosperity.
The Republican Party founded in the mid 19th century, aimed to contain slavery, ultimately envisioning total eradication of the immoral practice. Collapse of the Whig and Free-Soil Parties, led to the emergence of the Republican Party as the chief opposition to the Democratic Party. Dissention over the issue of slavery