22 ZACHARIAH CHANDLER

and interest that botind men to the old party. The
Whig party had an organization of experienced and
loyal workers; newspapers of influence and wide cir-
culation were devoted to its cause. The Whig party
had traditions and could influence the ardor of its
adherents by eulogizing former leaders — ^Webster, Clay,
and Adams. The Whig party according to the Con-
servatives had lost the election in 1852 because it had
evaded the slavery issue; by taking a firm stand on
the issue of the Kansas-Nebraska bill the Whigs could
now restore their party to power.
If the Whig party had adopted this course, stood
firm on the issue of the repeal of the Missouii Com-
promise, and refused to give up its name and its or-
ganization, it seems certain that the Whig and not
the Republican party would have secured the support
of the antislavery elements and would have occupied
the place that the Republican party does today.
We repeat, the dissolution of the Whig party in
Michigan was a psychological phenomenon. The Whig
party, standing firm on an antislavery extension plat-
form, would have secured the support of the minor
parties — ^Free Soilers and Free Democrats. The radi-
cal Whigs could have controlled the Whig party,* but
because they were temperamentally radical they pre-
ferred to do the more radical thing, which was to bolt
the Whig organization and form a new party composed
of all the antislavery elements.
4. This is proved by the fact that their bolt was a deathblow
to the party and by the fact that in the Whig State Con-
vention, which was called at the instance of conservative
Whigs, the radicals were in control and prevented nomi-
nations from being made.
