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Difficulty: HardPolitical Realignment and the Election of 1860

Read the following excerpt from a political letter written in Illinois in 1856:

'The Whig party has fallen, and can never rise again. Its members are scattered; some have gone to the Democrats, some have taken refuge in the American lodge, and others are seeking a new political home... If we are to resist this encroachment [of the slave interest], we must rally under a new banner—one that unites former Whigs, Free-Soilers, and anti-slavery Democrats on the single platform of preventing the further extension of slavery.'

The political realignment described in the excerpt most directly resulted in which of the following outcomes by the election of 1860?

  1. A
    The adoption of popular sovereignty as the central, unifying platform of both major political parties to resolve the status of slavery in the territories.
  2. B
    The immediate outbreak of southern secession due to disputes over federal manufacturing tariffs that favored northern industrial labor.
  3. The emergence of a sectionalized party system that allowed a candidate to win the presidency without carrying any southern states.Answer
  4. D
    A revival of the early Republic's factional divide between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans over foreign policy alliances.

Answer

The emergence of a sectionalized party system that allowed a candidate to win the presidency without carrying any southern states.
The correct answer is correct because the political realignment of the 1850s, marked by the collapse of the Whig Party and the rise of the Republican Party, created a highly sectionalized party system. By uniting former Northern Whigs, Free-Soilers, and anti-slavery Democrats, the Republican Party built a powerful northern coalition. This geographical concentration of votes allowed Abraham Lincoln to win the presidency in 1860 by carrying the populous Northern and Western states, even though he did not win a single southern state and was not even on the ballot in much of the South.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context provided in the excerpt.
The excerpt, dated 1856, describes the collapse of the national Whig Party and the search by former Whigs, Free-Soilers, and Northern Democrats for a new political coalition opposed to the expansion of slavery.
Understanding the state of political parties in the mid-1850s establishes the basis of the political realignment.
2
Identify the party that emerged from this realignment.
The Republican Party was formed in the mid-1850s by combining these anti-slavery extension elements (former Whigs, Free-Soilers, and anti-slavery Democrats) under a platform of 'free labor, free soil, free men'.
This links the description in the text to the historical organization that contested the elections of 1856 and 1860.
3
Determine the direct electoral impact of this realignment in the election of 1860.
By consolidating its support exclusively in the populous North and West, the Republican Party won the presidency with Abraham Lincoln without winning any southern states, showing the completion of a purely sectional realignment.
This directly answers the prompt's question regarding the outcome of the realignment by 1860.

Key Concept

Sectional realignment and the creation of a sectional party system in the 1850s
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Political Realignment and the Election of 1860

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