Читать книгу Lost Worlds of 1863. Relocation and Removal of American Indians in the Central Rockies and the Greater Southwest онлайн
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As a popular military man, both Democrats and Republicans sought out Frémont as a candidate in 1856. He turned the Democrats down because he opposed their doctrine of “popular sovereignty” (that would allow the settlers to decide the issue of slavery or not in their territories), and he favored a Free Soil Kansas. He also opposed the Democratic-supported Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. So the Free Soil Democrat became a Republican and accepted their nomination. Their slogan, echoing their Free Soil Party roots, was “Free Soil, Free Men, and Frémont.”47
A new third party joined the fray, the nativist American Party (called the “Know- Nothing Party” by its opponents, since, as a secret party, when asked about its purpose, their members would reply, “I know nothing”), which ran ex-president Millard Fillmore and gathered over 20% of the popular vote. They were basically an America-first group that opposed Catholic immigrants. While the Republicans pushed their Free Soil campaign, the Democrats warned the public that victory for the Republicans would mean civil war for the country. While the Democrats attacked Frémont’s illegitimate birth, the Know-Nothings accused Frémont of being a Catholic, an absurd charge that the Republicans could not counter since they did not want to offend their German Catholic voters. When the votes were counted Frémont received 114 electoral votes while the Democratic candidate, James Buchanan from Pennsylvania, got 174. Surprisingly, Frémont lost his home state of California, with Buchanan receiving over 48% of the vote, while the Know-Nothings got 32%. Poor John could only gather in a little over 18% of the California tally.48 Perhaps this was an omen that the future might not be as bright as the past.