Definition
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the mid-19th century (1848-1854). 🚜 Its main purpose was to oppose the expansion of slavery into new territories acquired from Mexico. They believed that free men on free soil were economically and morally superior to slave labor. Think of them as forerunners of the anti-slavery movement. The party was a bridge between earlier abolitionist efforts and the later Republican Party.