Political Parties in the 1850s

The president from 1850-1853 was Millard Fillmore. (Whig). Fillmore approved the Compromise of 1850, allowing slavery in the South. But neither North nor South was happy with it, and Fillmore was blamed for the law's failure. From 1853-1857 the president was Franklin Pierce. (Democrat). Pierce supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which gutted the Compromise of 1850. From 1857-1861 the president was James Buchanan. (Democrat). Buchanan tried in vain to find a compromise to keep the South from seceding from the Union, but failed. (From Scholastic Timeline)

Whigs, while not an abolitionist party, believed a strong government served as the protector of Republican principles. The Democrats, on the other hand, felt strongly the right of individual states to create and enforce laws. Divided over the issue of slavery, the Whig party split in the 1850s. Most Northern Whigs joined the new Republican Party, while many Southern Whigs became Democrats.

President Franklin Pierce (Wikipedia)

President James Buchanan (Wikipedia)

President Millard Fillmore (nndb)