Why was the 1856 presidential election so important? In the 1856 election, the Democrat Party, the Republican Party and the American Party were competing against each other. The Republican and American parties are anti-democratic parties. Republican leaders chose John Fremont as their presidential candidate, James Buchanan was chosen to represent the Democrats whilst the American Party chose ex-President Fillmore as their candidate. The election was significant as it reflected that Northerners perceived the Slave Power to be a greater threat than the Catholic Church, it played an important role in the growth of the Republican party and in portraying the downfall of the Know Nothings (American Party). This essay will analyse these factors and …show more content…
The American Party had become a national party by dropping its anti- Kansas-Nebraska position, this lost the party some supporters from the North, as well as this the party lost some supporters by choosing Fillmore as their presidential candidate. Fillmore was known to have pro-Southern sympathies and so did not appeal to the North. The election was significant in showing that the American party was not strong or stable enough to win the election and that they had lost control of the anti-Democrat supporters to the Republicans. The Northern supporters who transferred from the American Party to the Republican party showed that these Northerners feared Slave Power more than the spread of catholicism, many dropped their nativist views as they were so concerned about Slave Power. The Republican party’s presidential candidate was John C. Fremont, although he had little political experience, he was considered a national hero. He was a strange choice for the Republicans as he was Southern born, an ex-Know Nothing and ex-Democrat but Republicans believed he was an excellent candidate. However the Republicans had no support in the South, if Fremont won the election it would have pushed Southerners toward secession. Therefore, the elections were important because if the Republicans had won the elections it would have dismantled the