Unionist Party (United States) facts for kids

The Unionist Party was a political group in the United States. It started after the Compromise of 1850. This compromise was an agreement meant to keep the country together. The party was mainly for politicians who supported this agreement.

Later, especially in states near the border between the North and South, it became known as the Unconditional Union Party. This name showed that they strongly supported keeping the United States united. Many politicians used this label because they did not want to be linked with the Republicans. They also wanted to gain support from Democrats who were against states leaving the Union.

The party included Southern Democrats who stayed loyal to the Union. It also had members from the old Whig Party. Other groups who did not want a separate Southern Confederacy joined too. When the American Civil War began, the Unionist Party became very important. It helped bring together Republicans and Democrats who wanted to save the Union. This led to the creation of the National Union Party for the 1864 presidential election.

History of the Unionist Party

How the Unionist Party Started

The name "Unionist" first appeared in 1850. This was during a big argument over the Compromise of 1850. This compromise was a plan to solve problems between the North and South. It aimed to prevent states from leaving the Union.

Southern politicians who supported this compromise used the "Unionist" name. Many of these were from the Whig Party. They wanted to get support from Democrats who also liked the compromise. By using this new name, they showed that their main goal was to keep the Union together. They put aside older political issues, like taxes on imported goods.

By 1860, the Whig Party had mostly disappeared. Some former Whigs formed the Constitutional Union Party. John Bell was their candidate for president. Just like in 1850, former Whigs and anti-secession Democrats joined forces. They called themselves "Unionists" to fight against those who wanted to leave the Union. This was especially true in states like Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Virginia. In these states, the Republican Party was still very unpopular. Bell's presidential campaign did not win. However, the strategy of forming "Unionist" groups in states worked well. This was important as the Civil War began in 1861.

The Unionist Party During the Civil War

After the 1860 election, it was clear that many Southern states would not accept Abraham Lincoln as president. In Missouri, a leader named Francis P. Blair, Jr. started to unite people. He brought together supporters of Lincoln, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas. They formed a new group called the Unconditional Union Party.

This new party decided to put aside old political differences. Their main goal was to save the Union. Blair and his supporters wanted to stop those who wanted to leave the Union. They preferred to do this through politics. But they were ready to use force if needed.

Another group in Missouri also wanted to restore the Union. However, they had conditions. They wanted to allow slavery to spread to new western lands. Others thought Southern states should be allowed to leave peacefully. They believed these states would soon realize their mistake and ask to rejoin. Blair tried to work with these "Conditional Unionists" to get more support.

The first official meeting of the Missouri Unconditional Union Party was on February 28, 1861. It took place in St. Louis, Missouri. Only political leaders who openly supported Bell, Lincoln, or Douglas were invited. Those who wanted to leave the Union were not. The delegates passed several important statements. They declared that Missouri had no good reason to leave the United States. This was quickly rejected by those who wanted to leave. As a compromise, the group also asked both the U.S. government and the states leaving the Union to avoid war.

Missouri's secessionists could not get enough support to leave the Union. So, under Governor Claiborne F. Jackson, they formed their own government. They eventually fought against the Union Army. As the war continued, politicians who supported the Union gained more control in Missouri. Governor Jackson and his pro-Confederacy forces were forced out of the state. Benjamin Franklin Loan, an Unconditional Unionist, was elected to the U.S. Congress.

Unionist parties also existed in other Northern states. For example, in the 1862 Connecticut gubernatorial election, Republicans and War Democrats joined together. They formed a "Union Party of Connecticut" to nominate candidates for state offices.

The Party Spreads and Declines

A similar movement happened in Maryland. Leaders there wanted to free all enslaved people in the state immediately. They also wanted to do this without paying slave owners. With help from the U.S. government and its soldiers, Maryland's voices for leaving the Union were silenced.

The party in Maryland became official in the summer of 1863. Its members worked to elect pro-Union candidates. This was for both state and local positions. This was especially true in Western Maryland. President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation only freed enslaved people in states that had left the Union. It did not apply to border states like Maryland. So, the party in Maryland focused on freeing enslaved people locally.

The Conservative Union State Central Committee met in Baltimore on December 16, 1863. Leaders like Thomas Swann and John P. Kennedy were part of this group. They passed a statement supporting immediate freedom for enslaved people. They wanted it done in a way that was easiest for both slave owners and enslaved people. The local military commander, Robert C. Schenck, supported this idea. When the U.S. government did not respond, the Unconditional Union party held another meeting. This was on April 6, 1864. They again strongly supported immediate freedom. General Schenk's replacement, Lew Wallace, also supported this.

Presidential Elections

Election	Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Vote %	Electoral votes	+/-	Outcome of election
1852	Daniel Webster Daniel Webster	Charles J. Jenkins Charles J. Jenkins	6,994	0.2	0 / 296	New	Lost
1860	John Bell John Bell	Edward Everett Edward Everett	590,901	12.6	39 / 303	39	Lost
1864	Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln	Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson	2,218,388	55.0	212 / 233	173	Victory

• ^ a: Webster did not officially recognize the party. He died on October 24, one week before the election.
  
• ^ b: Bell was also a candidate for the Constitutional Union ticket.
  
• ^ c: Lincoln ran under the National Union ticket. This ticket included Republicans, War Democrats, and Unionists.
  

Images for kids

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  Daniel Webster

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  Charles J. Jenkins

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  John Bell

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  Edward Everett

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  Abraham Lincoln

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  Andrew Johnson