pro-slavery policies meet in Ripon, Wisconsin to establish the Republican Party.

May 30, 1854 Democrat President Franklin Pierce signs Democrats Kansas-Nebraska Act, expanding slavery into U.S. territories; opponents unite to form the Republican Party.

June 16, 1854 Newspaper editor Horace Greeley calls on opponents of slavery to unite in the Republican Party.

July 6, 1854 First state Republican Party officially organized in Jackson, Michigan, to oppose Democrats pro-slavery policies.

February 11, 1856 Republican Montgomery Blair argues before U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of his client, the slave Dred Scott; later served in President Lincolns Cabinet.

February 22, 1856 First national meeting of the Republican Party, in Pittsburgh, to coordinate opposition to Democrats pro-slavery policies.

March 27, 1856 First meeting of Republican National Committee in Washington, DC to oppose Democrats pro-slavery policies.

May 22, 1856 ForSenator William Seward (R-NY) describes Democratic Party as inextricably committed to the designs of the slaveholders; as President Abraham Lincolns Secretary of State, helped draft Emancipation Proclamation.

June 4, 1860 Republican U.S. Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) delivers his classic address, The Barbarism of Slavery.

April 7, 1862 President Lincoln concludes treaty with Britain for suppression of slave trade.

April 16, 1862 President Lincoln signs bill abolishing slavery in District of Columbia; in Congress, 99% of Republicans vote yes, 83% of Democrats vote no.

July 2, 1862 U.S. Rep. Justin Morrill (R-VT) wins passage of Land Grant Act, establishing colleges open to African-Americans, including such students as George Washington Carver.

July 17, 1862 Over unanimous Democrat opposition, Republican Congress passes Confiscation Act stating that slaves of the Confederacy shall be forever free.

August 19, 1862