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What is the Liberty Party?

By James Doehring
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 9,781
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The Liberty Party was a political party in the United States that advanced an anti-slavery platform in the 1840s. The party was always a minor political party; the highest national percentage of votes it obtained was 2.3% during the election of 1844. The abolitionist movement, however, grew stronger in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Many members of the Liberty Party merged with other abolitionists to form the Free Soil Party, which obtained 10% of national votes in the 1848 presidential election. The Liberty Party was different from other abolitionist movements in that its leaders were willing to work within the framework of U.S. law to accomplish their goals.

The 1840s was a decade characterized by increasing friction over the issue of slavery in the U.S. The United Kingdom abolished slavery throughout most of its empire in 1833. Advocates of Manifest Destiny, or the westward expansion of the U.S., succeeded in establishing new territories on the American frontier. Northern American states had largely outlawed slavery, while most southern states still depended heavily on slave labor. Whether slavery would be legal in the new territories was an issue that increasingly divided Americans in the 1840s.

In 1833, American social reformer William Lloyd Garrison co-founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. The society called for the immediate emancipation of all slaves in the U.S. without reservation. Garrison authored a declaration that charged slave holders as being sinners and man-stealers. He also scorned the U.S. Constitution and ridiculed the political process as a means to further abolitionism. Differences over the rhetoric of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which drew significant opposition, was one of the reasons the Liberty Party was established.

The Liberty Party’s first national convention took place in Albany, New York on 1 April 1840. An initial focus was to pressure the U.S. federal government into divorcing itself from the practice of slavery. The fugitive slave clause of the Constitution called for escaped slaves to be returned to their former owners should they be captured by the authorities of any state. The Liberty Party declared the clause null and void.

Despite little success in presidential elections, the Liberty Party furthered the abolitionist cause within American politics. A majority of members left the party to help form the Free Soil Party in 1848. The Free Soil Party avoided inflammatory rhetoric and focused on immediate political goals. For example, it fought to eliminate discriminatory laws towards freed blacks in the state of Ohio. By 1854, the political platform of the Free Soil Party had become mainstream, and the party was largely absorbed by the Republican Party.

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Discussion Comments
By chivebasil — On Apr 13, 2012

I think that the abolitionist movement and the environmental movement have a lot in common. I will not be so over the top as to say that trees and human life are on the same level, but both movements have lofty goals and have fought against long, overwhelming opposition.

In spite of all the gains we have made to live in a more sustainable and environmentally ethical way, we are still on the down hill. We may have slowed the decline but we are still raping the earth. The environmental movement has not yet had its Civil War.

By jonrss — On Apr 12, 2012

Like most wars, the Civil War was not triggered by a single event but by a series of events and long simmering tensions. The abolitionist movement had been a vocal and growing part of the American discourse for several decades leading up to the Civil War.

It is the combined effort of all the abolitionist speakers and thinkers leading up to the start of the war that gave it the momentum it needed to actually play out. The Liberty Party may have fizzled out but their efforts still mattered.

By nextcorrea — On Apr 12, 2012

It is amazing to me to think of the kind of courage and determination that it must have took to speak out against slavery in this country that long ago. Even in the north there was a strong pro slavery sentiment and abolitionism was a very unpopular idea.

It is hard to put it into a context that we can understand today. But in the future I'm sure that they will look back on the present and find something in our society that was morally abhorrent but which also had widespread support. It happens in ever society.

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