The Origins of the Republican Party 1852-1856

During the 1850s the Jacksonian party system broke down in the North and a new sectional party the Republicans succeeded the Whigs in the nation''s two party system. Using demographic voting and other statistical analysisas well as the more traditional methods and sources of political history William Gienapp powerfully demonstrates that the organization of the Republican party was a difficult complex and lengthy process and explains why even after an inauspicious beginning it ultimately became a potent political force.