In the 1850s, tension over the issue of slavery was splitting the United States and fracturing the political parties. Out of the wreckage of the old party system, the Republican Party took shape. The Republicans stood firmly against the further spread of slavery and pushed for new laws to build the American economy. Though their first candidate for president lost the election of 1856, Republican Abraham Lincoln won the White House just four years later, and the party was on the way to becoming a key force in American politics.