Thanks for adding that info. I’ve sometimes listed myself as a member of the ‘Free Soil Party’ but just when it referred to Gardening. ;)
But they did something right no matter their shortcomings - got President Lincoln elected and slavery ended. (Yes, it was at a high cost but all people should be FREE!)
The Socialist Democrats still have their ‘slaves’ though. Anyone using Mother Government as their ‘parent’ is a slave, IMHO. Not sure why that isn’t a constant TALKING POINT by our side...but nobody ever listens to me. ;)
Yes all people should be free, but slavery was going to be doomed by Market forces and Social forces eventually anyways. It might have lasted between 20 to 80 years longer but it was going away.
If you read Charles Dickens "Notes on America", he details his travels through many parts of America, including the South. He was a staunch abolitionist, and he had many conversations with slave owners, and what he discovered is that many of them wanted out of it, but could not find any easy way to do it.
The point is, there were already stirrings among the wealthy in the South towards getting rid of slavery, and those feelings would likely only increase over time, just as they had done with all the other states that abolished slavery.
It was just more profitable, and more ingrained into the society of the South, and so was much more difficult to get rid of than it was in places like Massachusetts, where it really wasn't profitable at all.
The Socialist Democrats still have their ‘slaves’ though. Anyone using Mother Government as their ‘parent’ is a slave, IMHO. Not sure why that isn’t a constant TALKING POINT by our side...but nobody ever listens to me. ;)
The Democrats are using the descendants of slaves today for the purpose of keeping themselves in power.
But my original point in this thread was that fear over the "expansion" of slavery into the territories was way overblown, and more likely motivated by the possibility that Senators and Representatives of States created from the territories would vote with the South instead of the North.
The North was making a great deal of money from the status quo. Laws had been passed that benefited the North greatly, and they wanted no increase in representation that would side with the South and undo the laws that made handsome profits for the Northern businesses.
So they scared the public with talk of "expansion" of slavery.
There was dirty politics going on back then too.