Riot Background Information
After the Civil War, America had two main political parties. One was the Democratic
Party. The other was the Republican Party. Democrats wanted the government to help regular
people, not just rich people. They believed states should be able to make most of their own
decisions. The party also worked to preserve rural life.
In the South before the Civil War, that meant protecting slavery. A vote for the
Democrats was a vote for slavery. Compared to the Democrats, the Republicans were a new
party that formed on the eve of the Civil War. The party formed in 1854 for one reason—to stop
the spread of slavery. The Republican Party was a quick success. Just six years after it
formed, Republican Abraham Lincoln became president. After the Civil War, the Democrats
continued to fight for white Southern values. Across the South, riots between Republicans and