The Free Soil Party was formed in 1848. It was a combination of the small anti-slavery Liberty Party and the “Barn Burners” of New York. The Barn Burners were a faction of the New York Democratic Party, so named because it was said they were like a farmer who would willingly burn down his barn to get rid of the rats infesting it. The New York Democratic Party at that time largely ignored the divisive issue of slavery as a matter of policy. The Barn Burners spoke out against slavery even though it might hurt or even split the Democratic Party and lose elections. This is why the regular Democrats called the probably self-destructive anti-slavery members “Barn Burners.”
Added to the Barn Burners and the Liberty Party were other anti-slavery Democrats, “Conscience Whigs” (so named because they were against slavery as a matter of principle much like the Barn Burners) and assorted independents and members of other parties. The Free Soil Party was strongest in New York, New England and the mid-west. Although the Free Soil Party never had a chance of winning the presidential election in 1848, the Free Soil Party decided the outcome of the election, and changed our history.
When the party organized for the election of 1848, they knew they lacked the national organization necessary for the campaign. They tried to compensate for some of this disadvantage by naming a well-known candidate who would attract a large number of voters to the party. They nominated for President the former President Martin Van Buren. Van Buren was still the leading figure in the New York Democratic Party, and he had long since abandoned his compromise position on slavery and come out strongly against slavery.
The key to the election in 1848 was going to be New York. With its 36 electoral votes (12.4% of the total electoral votes), New York would decide the election in a year when the race would be very close. This prediction proved to be very true. As it became apparent who was ahead in which states, it became clear that New York would decide the entire election. Whoever won New York would win the election. This made Martin Van Buren, probably the most popular politician in New York, an even more desirable candidate.
