Question

The Free Soilers condemned slavery because

A they were abolitionists
B it was suited for the West
C it was the best way to combat the Whig Party
D it hurt white workers.

Answer 1

Option (D), The Free Soilers opposed slavery because they thought it undermined white workers' dignity and opportunities, rather than out of a moral opposition to slavery itself.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Free Soilers condemned slavery primarily because they believed it hurt white workers. The Free-Soil Party's stance was that slavery degraded the dignity of free labor and prevented white workers from economic advancement. This party, formed in response to the westward expansion of slavery as territories were acquired from Mexico, advocated for keeping slavery out of these new areas, not necessarily on a moral stance for the rights of the enslaved, but to ensure that white laborers did not have to compete with slave labor.

While the Free Soilers were aligning with antislavery sentiments, their prime concern was for the competition in labor and opportunity that slavery posed to free white workers, contrasting with the mission of radical abolitionists who sought the complete end of slavery and equality between Black and White individuals.