The parties of the 1860 election consisted of the Democrat party and the Republican party. The issue of slavery was a driving force behind many aspects of the parties’ respective platforms. Each party also had ideas of their own on what the United States should progress towards next. The Democratic Party of 1860 platform addressed expansion into new frontiers, foreign threats, and the issue of slavery. The Democratic Party’s favor towards expansion is revealed when they proposed to construct a railroad to the Pacific coast. The party claimed that the need for speedy communications, including militarily, commercially and for postal, created the need for such an extensive mode of transportation. Additional evidence of expansionism lies in the