--- title: "Which issue led to the split in the Democratic-Republican Party in the late 1850s?" description: "Which issue led to the split in the Democratic-Republican Party in the late 1850s?" author: "Gray  park" published: 2018-10-28 canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/51445/which-issue-led-to-the-split-in-the-democratic-republican-party-in-the-late-1850s category: "history, politics & society" tags: ["usa history"] reading_time: 2 minutes --- # Which issue led to the split in the Democratic-Republican Party in the late 1850s? Which issue led to the split in the Democratic-[Republican Party](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/51369/what-event-affected-the-birth-of-the-republican-party) in the late 1850s?\ \ \ ## Answers ### Answer by Sarda Kumari ## An overview The **Democratic-Republican Party** also referred to as the **Jeffersonian Republican Party** and known at the time as the Republican Party and occasional other names, was an **American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson** and **James Madison in the early 1790s** that **championed republicanism, agrarianism, political equality, and expansionism.** ![Which issue led to the split in the Democratic-Republican Party in the late 1850s?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/7aa3e0f0-7807-403a-973d-0be13ec3d57c/images/0280e673-3a93-46ee-9551-ec34fce9a961.jpeg)\ Read also: [**who-was-the-co-founder-of-the-democratic-republican-party?**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/41235/who-was-the-co-founder-of-the-democratic-republican-party) [**\**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/41235/who-was-the-co-founder-of-the-democratic-republican-party) ## Splitting of the party The party became **increasingly dominant after the 1800 elections** as the opposing Federalist Party collapsed. The Democratic-Republicans later **splintered during the 1824 presidential election**. The majority faction of the Democratic-Republicans **eventually coalesced into the modern Democratic Party**, while the **minority faction ultimately formed the core of what became the Whig Party.** ## \ The **presidential election of 1852 marked the beginning of the end of the Whig party**. With its northern and southern wings divided **over the Fugitive Slave Law,** the best the party could do was **nominate another hero of the Mexican War, General Winfield Scott.** ![Which issue led to the split in the Democratic-Republican Party in the late 1850s?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/7aa3e0f0-7807-403a-973d-0be13ec3d57c/images/c4c632fb-4c89-45e3-ad46-b76d0c19a7b4.jpeg)\ Read also: [**why-did-andrew-jackson-split-from-the-democratic-republican-party?**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/43148/why-did-andrew-jackson-split-from-the-democratic-republican-party) \ The **Democrats turned away from Millard Fillmore**, Taylor's vice president, who had succeeded to the presidency upon Taylor's death in 1850, and chose **Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire as their candidate.** \ Although both parties **supported the Compromise of 1850**, the Democrats were able to better overcome their internal differences, and Pierce won a landslide victory in the **Electoral College, 254 to 42.** The Whigs never recovered from the defeat.\ https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?gdpr=0&client=ca-pub-4392740333731945&output=html&h=280&adk=856923645&adf=3169193978&pi=t.aa~a.1398768072~i.3~rp.4&w=673&fwrn=4&fwrnh=100&lmt=1658497689&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=1094794600&psa=1&ad_type=text_image&format=673x280&url=http%3A%2F%2Fanswers.mindstick.com%2Fqa%2F51445%2Fwhich-issue-led-to-the-split-in-the-democratic-republican-party-in-the-late-1850s&fwr=0&pra=3&rh=168&rw=672&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&wgl=1&fa=27&adsid=ChEI8JXplgYQncri3rORp6HCARJMAAUigxPLlOdnORjBHOemGW-7F_XgfsHxvGtUqrm8I2ZCFJ1wJwgHTlGvEXB6Q0smpNvPnZzSMPSTE3q53snAnHZfFToNv9zuCXmtLQ&dt=1658497689413&bpp=7&bdt=1290&idt=-M&shv=r20220721&mjsv=m202207180101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3Dbeff3bca69796673%3AT%3D1657646696%3AS%3DALNI_MbOvIJrXCZTb-MZ4_nXHkN_mPptgg&gpic=UID%3D000007a2ef180889%3AT%3D1657646696%3ART%3D1658492325%3AS%3DALNI_Manewx56oxknz1-0sbKVQXQ6I7ZIA&prev_fmts=0x0&nras=2&correlator=638642873637&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=1086799091.1657637850&ga_sid=1658497689&ga_hid=1215560820&ga_fc=1&u_tz=330&u_his=21&u_h=864&u_w=1536&u_ah=824&u_aw=1536&u_cd=24&u_sd=1.25&adx=337&ady=1065&biw=1519&bih=696&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=44759876%2C44759927%2C44759842%2C44763505%2C31068105%2C31064018&oid=2&pvsid=1815748107642164&tmod=1242782388&uas=0&nvt=1&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fanswers.mindstick.com%2Fqa%2Fuser%2F646421%2Fsarda-kumari&eae=0&fc=1408&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1536%2C0%2C1536%2C824%2C1536%2C696&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=23&ifi=4&uci=a!4&btvi=1&fsb=1&xpc=Le6ZlCVsnR&p=http%3A//answers.mindstick.com&dtd=161 The **election of 1852 was an important watershed.** As the **Whig party fell apart**, Americans **formed new political alignments.** Southern Whigs moved into the Democratic party, while northern Whigs joined the new Republican party, formed in 1855. --- Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/51445/which-issue-led-to-the-split-in-the-democratic-republican-party-in-the-late-1850s Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.