In the middle of the nineteenth century, politics had become a part of mass culture, fueled by elections, rallies, campaign parades, public speeches, and the media. Between 1854 and 1856 alone, an abundance of new political parties and organizations emerged, including the Republicans, the People's Party, Anti-Nebraskans, Fusionists, Know-Nothings, the Temperance Movement, Hard Shell Democrats, Rum Democrats, and Silver Gray Whigs. Yet the abundance of political parties and organizations was eventually whittled down due to increasing sectionalism between the North and the South.
Sectionalism
Sectionalism refers to the different economies, social structure, customs, and political values of the North and the South. Sectionalism increased steadily between 1800 and 1860 as the North (which phased slavery out of existence) industrialized, urbanized, and built prosperous farms, while the deep South concentrated on plantation agriculture based on slave labor together with subsistence farming for the poor white families. During this time, the South aimed to expand into rich new lands in the Southwest.
Distinct Political Divisions
The debates between slave-state and free-state interests raged in Congress; many people in the North and the South began to polarize along similar fault lines, and various disparate political organizations began to coalesce into distinct camps. The Republicans became the party of the North, promoting industry and business while also attracting antislavery factions. The core platform of the Republican Party was opposition to the expansion of slavery into new territories in order to protect the interests of yeoman farmers and industrialists seeking new land and investments. The Democrats were split between the North and the South with separate election tickets in 1860. Northern Democrats hoped for a long-term compromise between slave and free states in new territories, while Southern Democrats demanded federal protections of slavery and threatened secession if Congress refused to meet their demands.
By the election of 1860, these political camps were firmly aligned with Northern and Southern interests, with Southern states whipping up public support for state conventions to vote on secession if Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans won the presidency. The antebellum era of short-term compromise and evasion between the political camps was heading toward an end.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican president of the United States following a period of increased sectional conflict among and within existing American political parties.