Opposition Party (United States)
Encyclopedia
The Opposition Party in the United States is a label with two different applications in Congressional history, as a majority party in Congress 1854-58, and as a Third Party in the South 1858-1860.
The late 1850s saw political chaos during the fragmenting of the Second Party System of Jackson Democrats and Clay Whigs. The Democratic efforts to expand slavery into western territories, particularly Kansas, led to organized political opposition. This led to the Congressional ‘Opposition Party’.
As the Whig Party disintegrated, many local and regional parties grew up, some ideological, some geographic. When they realized their numbers in Congress, they began to caucus in the same way US political parties had arisen before the Jacksonian national party conventions. Scholars such as Martis have adopted a convention to explain the Congressional coordination of anti-Pierce and anti-Buchanan factions as the “Opposition Party”.
The Opposition Party as a third party in the South was made up of former Whigs, Know-Nothings and American politicians who were pro-union, anti-Kansas, that is, they were anti-slavery expansion. They sought a way to oppose Democrats in their states and in Congressional races. (Generally, Whigs opposed slavery morally, Know-Nothings and American party men wanted the west for protestant whites.) In what scholars call a 'Third Party', these organized, held party conventions, and elected members to Congress.
, the new Republican Party was not fully formed, and significant numbers of politicians, mostly former Whigs, ran for office under the Opposition label. The administration of Democrat President Franklin Pierce
had been marred by Bleeding Kansas
. Northerners began to coalesce around resistance to Kansas entering the Union as a slave state. The ongoing violence made any election results suspect by standards of democracy.
The Opposition Party was the name adopted by several former Whig
politicians in the period 1854-1858. In 1860, the party was encouraged by the remaining Whig leadership to effectively merge with the Constitutional Union Party
.
It represented a brief but significant transitional period in American politics from approximately 1854 to 1858. For the preceding 80 years, one of the major political issues had been the battle between the pro-slavery
and anti-slavery
factions in the United States
, which had been fought more on the basis of regional and class affiliations than strictly along party lines. However, in 1854, the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
fractured the Whig Party
along pro- and anti-slavery lines, and led ultimately to the formation of the Republican Party, which strongly attracted the abolitionist Whigs and Democrats. For many, the Opposition Party served as a successor to, or a continuation of, the Whig Party.
The party was seen as offering a compromise position between the Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans.
The Whig name had been discredited and abandoned, but former Whigs still needed to advertise that they were opposed to the Democrats. The Know-Nothings had found that its appeals to anti-immigrant prejudice was faltering and their secrecy was made suspect, so they sought more open and more inclusive appeals to broaden a candidate's chances at the polls.
The "confounding party labels among all those who opposed the Democrats" have led to scholars of US Political Parties in Congress to adopt the convention "Opposition Party" for the 34th and 35th Congresses. This term encompasses Independent, Anti-know-nothing, Fusion, Anti-Nebraska, Anti-Administration, Whig, Free Soil and Unionist.
Following the election, the Opposition Party actually was the largest party in the U.S. House of Representatives, with the party makeup of the 234 Representatives being 100 Oppositionists, 83 Democrats
, and 51 Americans (Know Nothing
). That was a very dramatic shift from the makeup of the 33rd United States Congress
(157 Democrats, 71 Whigs
, 4 Free Soilers, 1 Independent, 1 Independent Democrat). Being the largest party did not lead to control of Congress; the new Speaker of the House was Nathaniel Prentice Banks
, a former Democrat from Massachusetts who campaigned as a Know Nothing in 1854 and as a Republican in 1856.
By the 1856 elections, the Republican Party had formally organized itself, and the makeup of the 35th United States Congress
was 132 Democrats, 90 Republicans, 14 Americans, 1 Independent Democrat.
as members of the Opposition Party from several states, including Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. After 1858, the party did not win seats in Congress and effectively ceased to exist.
To qualify as a third party by Kenneth C. Martis’ analysis, a political party must meet one of four criteria, including (a) run clearly identifiable congressional candidates, many times in three-way contests; and/or (b) they represent a clearly identifiable historical political movement or sentiment that is regional or national in scope. . Elements of the pro-Union American Party and the Whig Party in the south needed to organize a political party which could not be accused of disloyalty to Southern Institutions (slavery).
In March 1859 the Opposition party met in Tennessee convention to nominate a gubernatorial candidate and set up a state-wide party organization. It won 7 of the nine Congressional Districts (see chart below). Kentucky followed in February 1859, winning five of the ten districts. Georgia’s was July 1859, winning two of eight. In North Carolina, the anti-Democratic parties won four of the eight seats, and caucused with the Opposition party in the House. “These elections were the last gasp … in the South to stand up to the Democrats in the emerging sharp sectional” confrontation.
In North Carolina
, a Republican organization did not develop until after the Civil War, and many former Whigs such as John Pool
called themselves either the Whig Party or the Opposition Party through the election of 1860. This "new" Whig Party was actually just the state's affiliate of the American (Know-Nothing) Party with a new name, according to Folk and Shaw's W.W. Holden: a Political Biography. This party ceased to exist after the onset of the Civil War, but many of its members joined the loosely organized "Conservative Party" of Zebulon B. Vance
.
The late 1850s saw political chaos during the fragmenting of the Second Party System of Jackson Democrats and Clay Whigs. The Democratic efforts to expand slavery into western territories, particularly Kansas, led to organized political opposition. This led to the Congressional ‘Opposition Party’.
As the Whig Party disintegrated, many local and regional parties grew up, some ideological, some geographic. When they realized their numbers in Congress, they began to caucus in the same way US political parties had arisen before the Jacksonian national party conventions. Scholars such as Martis have adopted a convention to explain the Congressional coordination of anti-Pierce and anti-Buchanan factions as the “Opposition Party”.
The Opposition Party as a third party in the South was made up of former Whigs, Know-Nothings and American politicians who were pro-union, anti-Kansas, that is, they were anti-slavery expansion. They sought a way to oppose Democrats in their states and in Congressional races. (Generally, Whigs opposed slavery morally, Know-Nothings and American party men wanted the west for protestant whites.) In what scholars call a 'Third Party', these organized, held party conventions, and elected members to Congress.
"Opposition Party" (a major party in Congress), 1855-1859
In the Congressional election of 1854 for the 34th United States Congress34th United States Congress
The Thirty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1855 to March 4, 1857, during the last two years...
, the new Republican Party was not fully formed, and significant numbers of politicians, mostly former Whigs, ran for office under the Opposition label. The administration of Democrat President Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
had been marred by Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
. Northerners began to coalesce around resistance to Kansas entering the Union as a slave state. The ongoing violence made any election results suspect by standards of democracy.
The Opposition Party was the name adopted by several former Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
politicians in the period 1854-1858. In 1860, the party was encouraged by the remaining Whig leadership to effectively merge with the Constitutional Union Party
Constitutional Union Party (United States)
The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue...
.
It represented a brief but significant transitional period in American politics from approximately 1854 to 1858. For the preceding 80 years, one of the major political issues had been the battle between the pro-slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and anti-slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
factions in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which had been fought more on the basis of regional and class affiliations than strictly along party lines. However, in 1854, the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
fractured the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
along pro- and anti-slavery lines, and led ultimately to the formation of the Republican Party, which strongly attracted the abolitionist Whigs and Democrats. For many, the Opposition Party served as a successor to, or a continuation of, the Whig Party.
The party was seen as offering a compromise position between the Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans.
The Whig name had been discredited and abandoned, but former Whigs still needed to advertise that they were opposed to the Democrats. The Know-Nothings had found that its appeals to anti-immigrant prejudice was faltering and their secrecy was made suspect, so they sought more open and more inclusive appeals to broaden a candidate's chances at the polls.
The "confounding party labels among all those who opposed the Democrats" have led to scholars of US Political Parties in Congress to adopt the convention "Opposition Party" for the 34th and 35th Congresses. This term encompasses Independent, Anti-know-nothing, Fusion, Anti-Nebraska, Anti-Administration, Whig, Free Soil and Unionist.
Following the election, the Opposition Party actually was the largest party in the U.S. House of Representatives, with the party makeup of the 234 Representatives being 100 Oppositionists, 83 Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, and 51 Americans (Know Nothing
Know Nothing
The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...
). That was a very dramatic shift from the makeup of the 33rd United States Congress
33rd United States Congress
The Thirty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855, during the first two years...
(157 Democrats, 71 Whigs
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, 4 Free Soilers, 1 Independent, 1 Independent Democrat). Being the largest party did not lead to control of Congress; the new Speaker of the House was Nathaniel Prentice Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks was an American politician and soldier, served as the 24th Governor of Massachusetts, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a Union general during the American Civil War....
, a former Democrat from Massachusetts who campaigned as a Know Nothing in 1854 and as a Republican in 1856.
By the 1856 elections, the Republican Party had formally organized itself, and the makeup of the 35th United States Congress
35th United States Congress
The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859, during the first two years of James...
was 132 Democrats, 90 Republicans, 14 Americans, 1 Independent Democrat.
Opposition Party (a Third Party), 1859-1861
In 1858, 19 candidates were elected to the 36th United States Congress36th United States Congress
The Thirty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859 to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth...
as members of the Opposition Party from several states, including Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. After 1858, the party did not win seats in Congress and effectively ceased to exist.
To qualify as a third party by Kenneth C. Martis’ analysis, a political party must meet one of four criteria, including (a) run clearly identifiable congressional candidates, many times in three-way contests; and/or (b) they represent a clearly identifiable historical political movement or sentiment that is regional or national in scope. . Elements of the pro-Union American Party and the Whig Party in the south needed to organize a political party which could not be accused of disloyalty to Southern Institutions (slavery).
In March 1859 the Opposition party met in Tennessee convention to nominate a gubernatorial candidate and set up a state-wide party organization. It won 7 of the nine Congressional Districts (see chart below). Kentucky followed in February 1859, winning five of the ten districts. Georgia’s was July 1859, winning two of eight. In North Carolina, the anti-Democratic parties won four of the eight seats, and caucused with the Opposition party in the House. “These elections were the last gasp … in the South to stand up to the Democrats in the emerging sharp sectional” confrontation.
| “Opposition Party” in the 36th Congress, 1859–1861 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Georgia | Kentucky | North Carolina | Tennessee | Virginia |
| Representative, (Congressional District Number) | |||||
| 1. | Thomas Hardeman Jr. (3rd) | Francis M. Bristow (3rd) | William N. H. Smith (1st) | Thomas A.R. Nelson (1st) | Alexander R. Boteler (8th) |
| 2. | Joshua Hill Joshua Hill Joshua Hill may refer to:* Joshua Hill , Australian baseball player* Joshua Hill , American adventurer* Joshua Hill , American* Josh Hill , Australian footballer... (7th) |
William C. Anderson (4th) | John A. Gilmer (5th) | Horace Maynard Horace Maynard Horace Maynard was an American educator, attorney, politician and diplomat active primarily in the second half of the 19th century... (2nd) |
… |
| 3. | … | Green Adams Green Adams Green Adams was a lawyer and member and functionary of the United States Congress. He was born in Barbourville, Kentucky in 1812.-Biography:... (6th) |
James Madison Leach James Madison Leach James Madison Leach was a U.S. Representative from North Carolina.Leach was born on his the family homestead, “Lansdowne”, in Randolph County, North Carolina, January 17, 1815. He attended the common schools and Caldwell Institute in Greensboro, North Carolina. He graduated from the United... (6th) |
Reese B. Brabson (3rd) | … |
| 4. | … | Robert Mallory Robert Mallory Robert Mallory was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Kentucky.Born in Madison Court House, Virginia, Mallory attended private schools and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1827... (7th) |
Zebulon B. Vance (8th) | William B. Stokes (4th) | … |
| 5. | … | Laban T. Moore Laban T. Moore Laban Theodore Moore was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Born in Wayne County, Virginia , near Louisa, Kentucky, Moore attended Marshall Academy in Virginia and was graduated from Marietta College in Ohio.He attended Transylvania Law College at Lexington.He was admitted to the bar in 1849 and... (9th) |
… | Robert H. Hatton Robert H. Hatton Robert Hopkins Hatton was a lawyer, politician, United States Congressman, and Confederate officer during the American Civil War.-Biography:... (5th) |
… |
| 6. | … | … | … | James M. Quarles (8th) | … |
| 7. | … | … | … | Emerson Etheridge Emerson Etheridge Henry Emerson Etheridge was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 9th congressional district.-Biography:... (9th) |
… |
In North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, a Republican organization did not develop until after the Civil War, and many former Whigs such as John Pool
John Pool
John Pool was a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of North Carolina between 1868 and 1873. He was also the uncle of Congressman Walter Freshwater Pool....
called themselves either the Whig Party or the Opposition Party through the election of 1860. This "new" Whig Party was actually just the state's affiliate of the American (Know-Nothing) Party with a new name, according to Folk and Shaw's W.W. Holden: a Political Biography. This party ceased to exist after the onset of the Civil War, but many of its members joined the loosely organized "Conservative Party" of Zebulon B. Vance
Zebulon Baird Vance
Zebulon Baird Vance was a Confederate military officer in the American Civil War, the 37th and 43rd Governor of North Carolina, and U.S. Senator...
.
See also
- :Category:Opposition Party (United States) politicians
- History of the United States Republican PartyHistory of the United States Republican PartyThe United States Republican Party is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States after its great rival, the Democratic Party. It emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas Nebraska Act which threatened to extend slavery into the territories, and to promote more vigorous...