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ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: March 27, 1856 First meeting of Republican National Committee in Washington, DC to oppose Democrats’ pro-slavery policies The Republican Party had been organized by opponents of the expansion of slavery in the territories following the passage of the 1854 Kansas–Nebraska Act. With William Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Charles Sumner all taking their names out of consideration, Frémont entered the Republican convention as the front-runner for the presidential nomination. Frémont had previously been nominated by the North American Party, which consisted of anti-slavery members of the American Party who were unwilling to support the American Party candidate, Millard Fillmore. Though Associate Justice John McLean of Ohio had the backing of some delegates, Frémont clinched the presidential nomination on the first formal ballot of the Republican convention. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_C._Fr%C3%A9mont