Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: Ko Edgerton he karere ki te huihuinga i hangaia ai te Free Soil Party, i te 1848. I mahi ia hei kaitohutohu mo te Kaute o Summit, Ohio, mai i te 1852 ki te 1856. I muri i roto i te 1856, ko Edgerton he karere ki te
Ko te Huihuinga ā-Motu o te Rōpū Reipa tuatahi. I taua tau ano, i whakaingoatia ia hei kaiwhakawa mo te mana pupuri, engari i whakakahoretia e ia te whakaingoatanga. I pootihia a Edgerton hei Republican ki te Whare Paremata o te United States i te tau 1858.