The Know Nothings became more of a Southern movement. Northern Nativists merged with the Republican Party.
The Presidential Election of 1856 saw the rise of the anti-slavery Republican Party.
The Republican Party had no candidates or supporters in the South in 1856; it was a sectional party.
Slavery and Territorial Divisions
The Missouri Compromise (1820) banned slavery in territories north of the 36°30'N line.
The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state, and allowed settlers in Southwestern territories to decide on slavery.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) repealed the Missouri Compromise and permitted slavery in Kansas and Nebraska based on popular sovereignty.
Presidential Election of 1856
James Buchanan (Democrat) won the election, defeating John C. Frémont (Republican) and Millard Fillmore (American Know Nothing/Whig).
Republicans needed 149 electoral votes to win but secured only 114; a shift of votes in a few key states could have changed the outcome.
The combined Republican and Know-Nothing vote share was larger than the Democratic vote in some states won by Buchanan.
Buchanan's Presidency and Dred Scott Decision
Buchanan's presidency was marked by the Dred Scott decision (1857), the Economic Panic of 1857, and strife in Kansas.
The Dred Scott decision (1857) stated that Congress could not ban slavery in any territory.
Dred Scott, a slave, was taken to a free state and territory, after which he claimed he was a free man. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that blacks could not become citizens and had no rights.
The Supreme Court viewed slaves as property, with ownership guaranteed by the Constitution.
Lincoln and the Slavery Issue
Lincoln emphasized the necessity of excluding slavery from the territories.
Lincoln articulated Northern anxiety over the Dred Scott decision.
The Dred Scott decision opened western territories to slavery.
Stephen Douglas, the Freeport Doctrine, and the Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 increased Lincoln's national visibility.
The Freeport Doctrine allowed settlers to keep slavery out through local laws, despite the Dred Scott decision; this alienated Douglas from Southern Democrats.
Lincoln's Path to the 1860 Nomination
Lincoln's style was clear and simple logic.
Lincoln had a background as a Henry Clay Whig and was morally opposed to slavery.
Lincoln organized the anti-slavery coalition into the new Republican Party and attempted to bring Know-Nothing nativists into the coalition without alienating ethnic groups.