The Whig Party was a political party active in the middle of the 19th century in the United States. Four presidents belonged to the party while in office. It emerged in the 1830s as the leading opponent of Jacksonian democracy, pulling together former members of the National Republican and the Anti-Masonic Party. It had links to the upscale traditions of the long-defunct Federalist Party. Along with the rival Democratic Party, it was central to the Second Party System from the early 1840s to the mid-1860s. It originally formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party. In particular, the Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the presidency and favored a program of modernization, banking and economic protectionism to stimulate manufacturing. It appealed to entrepreneurs, planters, reformers and the emerging urban middle class, but had little appeal to farmers or unskilled workers. It included many active Protestants and voiced a moralistic opposition to the Jacksonian Indian removal. Party founders chose the "Whig" name to echo the American Whigs of the 18th century who fought for independence. The political philosophy of the American Whig Party was not related to the British Whig party. Historian Frank Towers has specified a deep ideological divide:
The Anti-Masonic Party, also known as the Anti-Masonic Movement, was the first third party in the United States. It strongly opposed Freemasonry as a single-issue party and later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. After emerging as a political force in the late 1820s, most of the Anti-Masonic Party's members joined the Whig Party in the 1830s and the party disappeared after 1838.
The 1830s decade ran from January 1, 1830, to December 31, 1839. In this decade, the world saw a rapid rise of imperialism and colonialism, particularly in Asia and Africa. Britain saw a surge of power and world dominance, as Queen Victoria took to the throne in 1837. Conquests took place all over the world, particularly around the expansion of Ottoman Empire and the British Raj. New outposts and settlements flourished in Oceania, as Europeans began to settle over Australia and New Zealand.
The United States presidential election of 1824 was the tenth quadrennial presidential election, held from Tuesday, October 26, to Thursday, December 2, 1824. In an election contested by four members of the Democratic-Republican Party, no candidate won a majority of the electoral vote, necessitating a contingent election in the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On February 9, 1825, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as president. The 1824 presidential election was the first election in which the winner of the election lost the popular vote.
The 1832 United States presidential election was the 12th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 2, to Wednesday, December 5, 1832. It saw incumbent President Andrew Jackson, candidate of the Democratic Party, defeat Henry Clay, candidate of the National Republican Party.
The United States presidential election of 1836 was the 13th quadrennial presidential election, held from Thursday, November 3, to Wednesday, December 7, 1836. In the third consecutive election victory for the Democratic Party, incumbent Vice President Martin Van Buren defeated four candidates fielded by the nascent Whig Party.
The 1840 United States presidential election was the 14th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, October 30, to Wednesday, December 2, 1840. In the midst of the Panic of 1837, incumbent President Martin Van Buren of the Democratic Party was defeated by Whig nominee William Henry Harrison. The election marked the first of two Whig victories in presidential elections.
Daniel Webster was an American statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the United States Congress and served as the United States Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. He was also a prominent attorney, especially during the period of the Marshall Court. Throughout his career, he was a member of the Federalist Party, the National Republican Party, and the Whig Party.
The Twenty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1831, to March 4, 1833, during the third and fourth years of Andrew Jackson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Fourth Census of the United States in 1820. Both chambers had a Jacksonian majority.
The Twenty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1835, to March 4, 1837, during the seventh and eighth years of Andrew Jackson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Fifth Census of the United States in 1830. Both chambers had a Jacksonian majority.
This section of the Timeline of United States history concerns events from 1790 to 1819.
Hugh Lawson White was a prominent American politician during the first third of the 19th century. After filling in several posts particularly in Tennessee's judiciary and state legislature since 1801, thereunder as a Tennessee Supreme Court justice, he was chosen to succeed former presidential candidate Andrew Jackson in the United States Senate in 1825 and became a member of the new Democratic Party, supporting Jackson's policies and his future presidential administration. However, he left the Democrats in 1836 and was a Whig candidate in that year's presidential election.
Jacksonian democracy is a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh President Andrew Jackson and his supporters, it became the nation's dominant political worldview for a generation.
William Harris Crawford was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as United States Secretary of War and United States Secretary of the Treasury before running for president in the 1824 election.
Theodore Frelinghuysen was an American politician who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate. He was the Whig vice presidential nominee in the election of 1844, running on a ticket with Henry Clay.
Stevens Thomson Mason was an American politician who served as the first Governor of Michigan from 1835 to 1840. Coming to political prominence at an early age, Mason was appointed his territory's acting Territorial Secretary by Andrew Jackson at 19, becoming the acting territorial governor soon thereafter in 1834 at 22. As territorial governor, Mason was instrumental in guiding Michigan to statehood, which was secured in 1837. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected as Michigan's first state governor in 1835, where he served until 1840. Elected at 23 and taking office at 24, Mason was and remains the youngest state governor in American history.
William Smith was chosen as a Democratic-Republican to the U.S. Senate representing South Carolina in 1816. The legislature declined to re-elect him when his term expired in 1823. He was narrowly chosen senator in 1826 and was again replaced in 1831.
Historians and political scientists consider the Second Party System to be a term of periodization to designate the political party system operating in the United States from about 1828 to 1854, after the First Party System ended. The system was characterized by rapidly rising levels of voter interest, beginning in 1828, as demonstrated by Election Day turnouts, rallies, partisan newspapers, and high degrees of personal loyalty to parties.
The presidency of Andrew Jackson began on March 4, 1829, when Andrew Jackson was inaugurated as President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1837. Jackson, the seventh United States president, took office after defeating incumbent President John Quincy Adams in the bitterly-contested 1828 presidential election. During the 1828 presidential campaign, Jackson founded the political force that coalesced into the Democratic Party during Jackson's presidency. Jackson won re-election in 1832, defeating National Republican candidate Henry Clay by a wide margin. He was succeeded by his hand-picked successor, Vice President Martin Van Buren, after Van Buren won the 1836 presidential election.
The 1840 Democratic National Convention was held in Baltimore. The Democrats nominated President Martin Van Buren for reelection in 1840 in spite of his unpopularity following the Panic of 1837. Vice President Richard M. Johnson was not retained on the ticket, as he was largely seen as a liability in the 1836 election and had focused much of his time as vice president on his own economic affairs. Former President Andrew Jackson backed James K. Polk for the position of vice president, but Van Buren supported his vice president's renomination. The convention ultimately decided not to nominate a running mate for Van Buren. As a result, Van Buren became the only major party presidential nominee since the passage of the 12th Amendment to seek election without a running mate.
