Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
I think by 1856 any party or politician not in lock step with the deep south power bloc of the democratic party was branded anti-slavery or at least not worth trusting and regardless of what Lincoln said during 1860 that bloc wasn't going to budge from that position as witnessed by their own self execution by splitting the party in the election. Buchanan was unable to hold off the firestorm and the rhetoric within the party alone was too much to overcome, let alone in the face of the new Republicans that were guaranteed election the second the democrats split.That's the curious thing about the war starting in 1860 like it did. The south could have gotten away with so much more if they had just kep the party together. The deep south couldn't see the forrest for the trees. By splitting they guaranteed Lincoln's election. But by staying together, even if they didn't like Douglass all that much by then, they would have won the election. The combination of Douglass and Breckenridge's vote was more then Lincoln's. Lincoln wasn't even allowed on the ballot in the deep south. Douglass would have won.Lincoln is known to have stated his intent was to preserve the Union. Do you think Fremont's position in the '56 election branded the party as anti-slavery and regardless of what Lincoln said 1860 he was running as a Republican and therefore anti-slavery in the eyes of Southerners?John C. Fremont was the first Republican party candidate for PResident. His platform was the first of its kind in the nation as it openly attacked slavery, slavery power of the deep south and condemned outright the Kansas-Nebraska Act and ensuing pro-slavery events.That just seems odd.Meanwhile, the GOP who was just 2 years old was immediately a force and the clear enemy of the pro-slavery movement.
As President I'm not so sure that Douglass takes the stance Lincoln does, nor do I think the deep south rushes to battle as fast they did as Buchanan allowed Rome to burn. But they got too caught up in the rhetoric and in their own fanned flames and at some point any reason got removed from the political decisions made in 1860.