Opposition Party (United States)

This entry describes a particular political group in the 19th century. For the generic term "Opposition party," see Opposition (parliamentary). The Opposition Party represented a brief but significant transitional period in American politics from approximately 1854 to 1858. For the preceding 80 years, one of the major political issues had been the battle between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States, which had been fought more on the basis of regional and class affiliations than strictly along party lines. However, in 1854, the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act fractured the Whig Party along pro- and anti-slavery lines, and led ultimately to the formation of the Republican Party, which strongly attracted the abolitionist Whigs and some Democrats. For many, the Opposition Party served as a successor to, or a continuation of, the Whig Party.
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