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In terms of voter coalitions, the main groups involved ethnic/racial, and religious affiliations, who closely tracked moral issues in [[politics]]. The South was split between the white [[Democrats]] and the black [[Republicans]]. Liturgical voters, [[Catholics]], [[Episcopalians]], German [[Lutherans]] supported the Democrats. Irish Catholics emerged as a major leadership group in the Democratic party. In the North, evangelical [[Protestants]], [[Methodists]] and [[Congregationalists]] & Lutherans, dominated the [[GOP]] and supported it to be more strongly [[anti-slavery]] and anti-[[liquor]]. Class differences also existed, with the middle class Republican and the working class Democratic. Farmers split usually split their votes.
A central issue centered on the right to vote of [[Freedmen]] (former [[slaves]]), which they had from 1867 to about 1890, when they were disfranchised by the Democrats once again.<ref>[http://www.svcc.edu/academics/classes/edlemap/gov163/Chapter9PoliticalParties/ Sauk Valley College]</ref><ref>[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2007/10/more_on_third_parties.html RealClearPolitics]</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/592400/third-party Encyclopedia Britannica]</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category: United States]]
[[Category: Politics]]
