The late 1850s saw political chaos during the fragmenting of the Second Party System of Jackson Democrats and Clay Whigs.
Scholars such as Kenneth C. Martis have adopted a convention to explain the Congressional coordination of anti-Pierce and anti-Buchanan factions as the Opposition Party.
[1] The party was seen as offering a compromise position between the Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans.
[4] To qualify as a third party by Kenneth C. Martis' analysis, a political party must meet one of four criteria, including (a) run clearly identifiable congressional candidates, many times in three-way contests; and/or (b) they represent a clearly identifiable historical political movement or sentiment that is regional or national in scope.
These elections were the last gasp in the South to stand up to the Democrats in the emerging sharp sectional confrontation.