The 1860 Republicans were major sponsors of prohibition, a measure soundly opposed by liberals of the time. Also, among the first criticisms launched by the Democrats against the Republicans of 1860 was that they were "The Party of Big Business." Republicans of 1860 were considered "too conservative" by the liberals of their own time period. Liberal Democrats try to re-write history because they don't like their own past. However, slavery was the product of the moral relativism endemic in liberal thinking. Conversely, abolitionists were devout Christian conservatives who stood their ground against immorality. It was the moral compass of 1860 Republicans that inspired their fight against slavery, not liberalism.