Chapter 33: A New “Free Soil Party” Emerges in Opposition to the South

1848

The Proviso becomes a gift to soon-to-be Ohio Senator, Salmon Chase, who has long sought a way to defeat the Democrats. In 1848 he believes he has a solution. His answer is a new “fusion” coalition of Wilmot backers with a small but growing number of abolitionists. Albeit for very different reasons, what they have in common is commitment to avoiding the spread of slavery.

Chase organizes the “Free Soil Party” with its platform demanding that: “The new western lands must be preserved for free white men and for the dignity of free labor.”

Ex-President Martin Van Buren heads the party ticket which delivers 10% of the popular votes in 1848. That’s a small start but likely enough to siphon off some Democrat votes and put the first Whig, William Henry Harrison, in the White House. A victory for Chase and another warning to the South.