5th Hour
AP US History
In the 1840’s and 1850’s the United States witnessed the realignment of its long-
standing two-party system. The old political party system fell apart because of the
Kansas-Nebraska Act. The act created geographical parties rather than maintaining the
political parties. It shattered the previous system, which had strengthened the Union. The
territory was split into two sections, Nebraska (west of the free states) and Kansas (west
of the slave states). Douglas proposed the act, which allowed the settlers to vote on
whether or not they would be a slave or free territory.
When the old system fell, the nation witnessed the development of one party
heavily dominated by one section and another party entirely limited to the other section.
Parties now sharpened ideological and policy differences between the sections and no
longer focused on moral issues. The collapse of the Whig Party, caused by sectionalism,
resulted in the Democratic party being the only national party. In 1854, the Democrats
became a southern dominated party, but remained a national political organization as
stragglers in the North upheld their ideas and formed their own separate Democratic
branch. This dispersion of the many political parties left American citizens aghast and
confused as to which organization they should choose to follow and support through
elections, contributions, and overall development. The overabundance of immigrants
produced a backlash among Protestant Americans. Most immigrants became Democrats
because they were more welcoming and accepting of their religion and beliefs. Nativists,
who were anti-immigrant, formed the Know-Nothing Party, since they claimed to “know
nothing” when asked