The+Wilmot+Proviso+and+the+Creation+of+the+Free+Soil+Party

The Wilmot Proviso was a stipulation given by Congressman David Wilmot in 1846 to the House of Representatives. It stated that any territory acquired by the US would be free and prohibit slavery. In the House of Representatives the proviso passed because the North had the majority. However, in the Senate it was defeated since the North and South had the same number of representatives. After its defeat it was re-introduced to Congress as an amendment to multiple bills over the course of a few years, but the Senate would never pass it. Despite its ineffectiveness in Congress, The Wilmot Proviso was a major influence in the start of the Civil War. This proviso kept the issue of slavery in the forefront of representatives’ minds. The proviso also leads to the formation of the Republican Party which was anti-slavery.



The anti-slavery Democrats and Whigs joined together to form the Free-Soil Party. Their slogan was, “free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men.” They believed that slavery couldn’t be ended in states that already had slavery but it could be prevented in other acquired territories. In 1848 they met to discuss their goals in Buffalo, New York. They decided on: opposition to the extension of slavery into the territories, support for national internal improvement programs, support for moderate tariffs designed for revenue only, and support for the enactment of a homestead law. Despite their anti-slavery position, the free soilers were not trying to gain equal rights for African Americans. They didn’t want any competition in the west with Southern slaveholders. The Northerners who wanted land in the West thought that they could not compete with the Southerners with the slaves. They supported free labor in the West. Martin Van Buren was the Free-Soil Party representative in the election of 1848. He was not elected, but the free-soil party was successful in Congress. Two senators and fourteen members into the House of Representatives were elected. After their failed 1852 election with John Hale, the Free-Soil Party collapsed and most members joined the Republican Party.