All those who have heard of the Free Soil Party raise your right hand. The rest of you relax, don't feel guilty because you were all victims of the public school system. This third party elected 14 House members and 2 Senators and their miniscule influence was responsible for abolition and several other reforms needed and embraced by the then new Republican party. Apparently our Great Great grandfathers had the courage of their convictions to vote for people they could agree with and tolerate in office and not the same old political hacks pushed by the papers and back room cigar brigade. They were not a majority but they made the majority pay attention.
In the Election of 1848, Van Buren was passed over again by the Democrats, so he and antislavery forces from the Democratic (such as the Barnburners), Whig and Liberty parties formed the Free-Soil Party. At a convention in Buffalo, New Yorkon August 9, 1848, more than 10,000 men from all the northern states and thee border states met in a huge tent in a city park. The resulting Free Soil Party was built on a coalition of four elements: the previous Liberty Party, Free-Soil Democrats, Barnburners, and Conscience Whigs. The convention adopted a platform that called for:
- Opposition to the extension of slavery into the territories
- Support for national internal improvement programs
- Support for moderate tariffs designed for revenue only
- Support for the enactment of a homestead law.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h139.html
Bookmarks