Origins of the American Civil War
In almost every northern state, organizers attempted to have a Republican Party or an anti-Nebraska fusion movement on ballots in 1854. In areas where the radical Republicans controlled the new organization, the comprehensive radical program became the party policy. Just as they helped organize the Republican Party in the summer of 1854, the radicals played an important role in the national organization of the party in 1856. Republican conventions in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois adopted radical platforms. These radical platforms in such states as Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, and Vermont usually called for the divorce of the government from slavery, the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Laws, and no more slave states, as did platforms in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Massachusetts when radical influence was high.
Republican State Committee of Delaware
The Republican State Committee of Delaware got its start in the mid-1800s when the American Party (a group dedicated to prohibition of alcohol), People's Party, and former Whigs reformed under the Union Party. This party was dedicated to preserve the Union in the time of Lincoln's election. While Delaware did not secede from the Union, Delaware Democrats and other supporters often opposed Lincoln's policies. The Republican party struggled to gain control in the state from 1865 to 1898 with the Democratic Party maintaining control of both the federal and state level of government. However, changes in industry and the arrival of immigrants in key locations would soon spell the rise of the Republican party in Delaware.