Free Soilers

Free Soilers were members of a political movement in the mid-1800s who opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories and states. They believed that new lands should be born free, promoting free labor and opposing the spread of slavery to protect economic opportunities for free workers. The Free Soil Party, founded in 1848, aimed to prevent slavery from extending into western territories, arguing that slavery was incompatible with the principles of free labor and economic progress. Their stance helped shape debates that eventually led to the Civil War.