This map compares statistics on free and slave states. Issued during the presidential election campaign of 1856, it pictures famous Western explorer John C. Fremont (1813-1890), the first presidential candidate of the Republican Party, and his running mate, William L. Dayton (1807-1864). The Republican Party had been created in 1854 by opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, which allowed for extension of slavery into free territory in the West. Despite gaining thirty-three percent of the popular vote, Frémont lost the election to James Buchanan (1791-1868). Four years later, however, the Republican Party succeeded in electing Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).

Text is from the Library of Congress African American Mosaic