Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was one of the two major parties in the United States during the late 1830s, the 1840s, and the early 1850s. The party emerged in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson, pulling together former members of the National Republican Party, the Anti-Masonic Party, and disaffected Democrats. Whigs favored an activist economic program known as the American System, which called for a protective tariff, federal subsidies for the construction of infrastructure, and support for a national bank.

About Whig Party (United States) in brief

The Whig Party was one of the two major parties in the United States during the late 1830s, the 1840s, and the early 1850s. The party emerged in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson, pulling together former members of the National Republican Party, the Anti-Masonic Party, and disaffected Democrats. The Whigs favored an activist economic program known as the American System, which called for a protective tariff, federal subsidies for the construction of infrastructure, and support for a national bank. Whig base of support was centered among entrepreneurs, professionals, planters, social reformers, devout Protestants and the emerging urban middle class. Four presidents were affiliated with the Whig party for at least part of their respective terms. Other influential party leaders include Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, William Seward, John J. Crittenden, and Truman Smith. Whigs collapsed following the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, with most Northern Whigs eventually joining the anti-slavery Republican Party and most Southern Whigs joining the nativist American Party and later the Constitutional Union Party. The last vestiges of the Whigs Party faded away after the American Civil War, but Whig ideas remained influential for decades. In the 1824 presidential election, William H. Crawford, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and General Andrew Jackson all sought the presidency. Crawford favored a strict constructionist view of the Constitution, while Clay favored high tariffs and the national bank; Clay played a central role in the West. Jackson won a plurality of the popular and electoral vote in the 18 24 election, but not a majority of the House of Representatives to decide on the president.

Supporters of Daniel Webster split into hostile factions and many former Federalists joined with Clay as Speaker and Clay appointed Adams as president. The Democratic-Republican Party split in 1824 following the election, with many former members supporting Adams and many Federalists as President. After 1815, the Democratic-Republicans emerged as the sole major party at the national level but became increasingly polarized. A second group, the Old Republicans, opposed these policies, instead favoring a strict interpretation of the constitution and a weak federal government. In 1836, four different regional Whig candidates received electoral votes, but the party failed to defeat Jackson’s chosen successor, Martin Van Buren. It did not take a strong stance on slavery, but Northern Whig tended to be less supportive of that institution than their Democratic counterparts. It disliked strong presidential power as exhibited by Jackson and Polk, and preferred Congressional dominance in lawmaking. It opposed Manifest Destiny, territorial expansion into Texas and the Southwest, and the war with Mexico in 1848. It was active in both the Northern United States and the Southern United States. It suffered a decisive defeat in the1852 presidential election partly due to sectional divisions within the party. It lost the presidential election to Democrat James K. Polk, who presided over the Mexican–American War, and was succeeded by Millard Fillmore.

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