Constitutional Union Party (United States)
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Constitutional Union Party
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| First Leader | John Bell |
| Founded | 1860 |
| Dissolved | 1861 |
| Merger of | American Party, Opposition Party |
| Merged into | National Union Party |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Ideology |
American nationalism Conservatism Gag rule |
| Colors | Orange |
The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid secession over the slavery issue. These former Whigs (some of whom had been under the banner of the Opposition Party in 1854–58) teamed up with former Know-Nothings and a few Southern Democrats who were against secession to form the Constitutional Union Party. Its name comes from its extremely simple platform, a simple resolution "to recognize no political principle other than the Constitution of the country, the Union of the states, and the Enforcement of the Laws". They hoped that by failing to take a firm stand either for or against slavery or its expansion, the issue could be pushed aside.
A predecessor of the Constitutional Union Party, the Unionist Party, was founded in 1850 by Georgia politicians Robert Toombs, Alexander Stephens, and Howell Cobb to support the Compromise of 1850, and reject the notion of Southern secession. This party united Southern Whigs and Democrats under the Georgia Platform, which affirmed Georgia's acceptance of the Compromise as a final resolution to the issue of slavery. However, the party never expanded outside of the Deep South states of Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama, and dissolved by the end of 1851.
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