Differences Between Whigs And Democrats

The two major political parties, the Democrats and the Whigs, seemed unable to deal with the differences between North and South. By the 1850s, however, most Americans considered those sectional divisions too fundamental to ignore. The Republican Party, conceived out of the great political crisis and the disagreement over the fate of slavery was the prime force behind this crisis, but European immigration, westward expansion, industrialization, and political corruption troubled Americans as well. A handful of Republicans fought against slavery because they believed it was wrong, and hoped for equality for blacks. Most, however, thought that African-Americans were inferior but did recognize their basic humanity and required fundamental human