Before the Republican Party existed, there was a party called the Whigs who were certain they would never go away either. But in 1856, they lost an election to the Democrats ... an election in which the brand-new Republican Party acted as spoiler. In 1860, the Whig Party had ceased to be and the Republican Party won the White House and good chunk of Congresional seats. The South promptly seceded from the Union because they could see the handwriting on the wall.