Unconditional Union Party

Unconditional Union Party
"Union" ribbon, probably worn by Sol Smith of Missouri
Leaders	Francis Preston Blair Jr., Thomas Swann, John P. Kennedy
Founded	1861; 163 years ago (1861)
Dissolved	1866; 158 years ago (1866)
Merger of	Unionist Party Constitutional Union Party
Merged into	National Union Party
Headquarters	Jefferson City, Missouri
Ideology	Unionism Big tent Abolitionism Radicalism
Political position	Big tent
National affiliation	National Union Party (1864–1866)
Colors	Pink
Politics of United States Political parties Elections

The Unconditional Union Party was a loosely organized political entity during the American Civil War and the early days of Reconstruction. First established in 1861 in Missouri, where secession talk was strong, the party fully supported the preservation of the Union at all costs. Unlike the similarly named Unionist Party, which operated throughout the North, the Unconditional Unionist Party only operated in the border states. Members included Southern Democrats who were loyal to the Union as well as elements of the old Whig Party and other factions opposed to the separate Southern Confederacy. The party was dissolved in 1866.^{[citation needed]}

The Unconditional Union newspaper was published in Little Rock, Arkansas 1864–1866.^[1]