Realignment of the Party System

The presidential election of 1852 was the last time the Whig Party nominated a candidate; the party collapsed shortly thereafter.

The Republican Party was formed out of a loose coalition of Northern ex-Whigs who resented Southern political power.

The Whigs and Democrats were in opposition to each other from 1840 to 1861, but both encountered intraparty sectionalism over slavery.

The election of 1856 demonstrated the extremity of sectional polarization in U.S. national politics.