When the Republican Party formed, what was its primary goal?

Question

• to keep popular sovereignty
• to maintain the series of compromises
• to keep slavery out of the territories
• to abolish slavery altogether

Answer 1

The primary goal of the Republican Party when it formed in the mid-1850s was to keep slavery out of the territories. The party was formed in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed for popular sovereignty in the territories, meaning that the residents of those territories could vote on whether or not to allow slavery. The Republican Party opposed this and sought to prevent the spread of slavery into new territories. While some members of the party were abolitionists who sought to abolish slavery altogether, this was not the primary goal of the party at its formation.