 Most Northern Whigs joined the new Republican Party, but Southern Whigs generally found this unpalatable due to the Republicans' abolitionist sentiments.Some prominent East Tennessee Whigs switched their allegiance to the Democratic Party, though most turned to third party movements, such as the American Party ("Know Nothings").By the late 1850s, former Whigs, Know Nothings, and a few disgruntled Democrats had formed the Opposition Party to counter rising secessionist sentiment.