Essential Question: What factors allowed for the ascendancy of the Whigs & the rise of a permanent American 2-party system? RQ 11B (p. 362-375) Lesson plan for Wednesday, October 8, 2008: RQ 11B, Van Buren video, Elections of 1836 & 1840 notes, US presidents & political parties chart

The Impact of Andrew Jackson

The Impact of Andrew Jackson Jackson’s personality & policies alienated many leaders & led to the formation of America’s current two-party system: The economic recession hurt the Jacksonian Democrats under Van Buren The anti-Jackson Whigs took advantage of these flaws to make a run at the presidency

The 1st Two-Party System Federalists Alexander Hamilton Strong central gov’t & economic planning Loose interpretation of the Constitution Strongest support in the North Supported by urban workers, merchants, & the wealthy Democratic-Repubs Thomas Jefferson States’ rights & individual liberties Strict interpretation of the Constitution Strongest support in South & West Supported by planters & farmers Leader of the party? Beliefs about gov’t? Interpreting the Constitution? Strongest regional support? What type of American supported the party?

The 2nd Two-Party System The heirs to Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans The heirs to Hamiltonian Federalists Whigs Anti-Jackson coalition in 1834 Strong central gov’t, urban industry, & commercial growth National & state-directed economy Supported by NE, NW, merchants, & some planters Democrats Pro-Jackson coalition in 1824 States’ rights, agrarian farming, & Western expansion Laissez-faire & opposition to banks Supported by rural South & West, some urban workers Who formed the party? Beliefs about gov’t & the economy? Both parties had national (rather than exclusively regional) appeal Who should direct the economy? What type of American supported the party?

The Van Buren Presidency Take notes on the Van Buren video Van Buren Video 27:00-31:00 minutes (4 minutes)

The Rise and Fall of Van Buren VP Martin Van Buren was hand-selected as the Democratic successor to Jackson in 1836 Van Buren won the election of 1836 but problems lay ahead: The emergence of a strong anti-Jackson opposition (the Whigs) The beginning of Panic of 1837 Van Buren replaced Calhoun as VP in 1831 after the Peggy Eaton affair In 1836 the Whigs mounted their first presidential campaign, running three regional candidates against Martin Van Buren: Daniel Webster, the senator from Massachusetts who had substantial appeal in New England; Hugh Lawson White, who had appeal in the South; and William Henry Harrison, who fought an Indian alliance at the Battle of Tippecanoe and appealed to the West and to Anti-Masons in Pennsylvania and Vermont. The party strategy was to throw the election into the House of Representatives, where the Whigs would unite behind a single candidate. Van Buren easily defeated all his Whig opponents, winning 170 electoral votes to just 73 for his closest rival.

The Whigs ran 3 sectional candidates to try to throw the election to the House of Reps

The Rise & Fall of Van Buren By the time Van Buren entered office, the Panic of 1837 caused: Bank closures & failures 10% unemployment & poverty The laissez-faire philosophy of the 1800s prevented gov’t assistance to end the depression As the depression continued, “Van Ruin” took the blame & the Whigs gained power & appeal

Andrew Jackson is watching!!

The Re-Emergence of the Second Party System Take notes on the Harrison video Harrison Video 31:00-34:30 minutes (3.5 minutes)

Heyday of the 2nd Party System The 1840 election marked the return of the two-party system: For the 1st time since the 1800 election, voters had a choice between 2 official parties The re-emergence of the two-party system would remain a permanent part of U.S. politics In the 1790s, parties were seen as bad; but in the 1830s, parties were seen as essential Following his strong showing in the election of 1836, William Henry Harrison received the united support of the Whig party in 1840. Benefiting from the Panic of 1837, Harrison easily defeated Van Buren by a vote of 234 to 60 in the electoral college. Unfortunately, the 68-year-old Harrison caught cold while delivering a two-hour inaugural address in the freezing rain. Barely a month later he died of pneumonia, the first president to die in office. His successor, John Tyler of Virginia, was an ardent defender of slavery, a staunch advocate of states’ rights, and a former Democrat, whom the Whigs had nominated in order to attract Democratic support to the Whig ticket. A firm believer in the principle that the federal government should exercise no powers other than those expressly enumerated in the Constitution, Tyler rejected the entire Whig legislative program, which called for reestablishment of a national bank, an increased tariff, and federally funded internal improvements. The Whig party was furious. An angry mob gathered at the White House, threw rocks through the windows, and burned the president in effigy. To protest Tyler’s rejection of the Whig political agenda, all members of the cabinet but one resigned. Tyler became a president without a party. “His Accidency” vetoed nine bills during his four years in office, more than any previous one-term president, frustrating Whig plans to recharter the national bank and raise the tariff while simultaneously distributing proceeds of land sales to the states. In 1843 Whigs in the House of Representatives made Tyler the subject of the first serious impeachment attempt, but the resolutions failed by a vote of 127 to 83. Like the Democrats, the Whigs were a coalition of sectional interests, class and economic interests, and ethnic and religious interests. Democratic voters tended to be small farmers, residents of less-prosperous towns, and the Scots-Irish and Catholic Irish. Whigs tended to be educators and professionals; manufacturers; business-oriented farmers; British and German Protestant immigrants; upwardly aspiring manual laborers; free blacks; and active members of Presbyterian, Unitarian, and Congregational churches. The Whig coalition included supporters of Henry Clay’s American System, states’ righters, religious groups alienated by Jackson’s Indian removal policies, and bankers and businesspeople frightened by the Democrats’ anti-monopoly and anti-bank rhetoric.

The Rise of the Whigs By 1840, the Whigs were fully organized & chose William Henry Harrison to run against Van Buren Harrison’s image: a “common man” & war hero at Tippecanoe John Tyler chosen as VP to get Southern, states-rights Dems “Tippecanoe & Tyler too” beat Van Buren in 1840 Picked a candidate much like Andrew Jackson’s image …and the Whigs took control of Congress Used grassroots organization & popular electioneering

“Tippecanoe and Tyler, too”

The Whigs expelled President Tyler from the party in 1841 The Rise of the Whigs The takeover by the Whigs was historic, but short-lived: Harrison died 1 month into his term & for the 1st time, a VP took over as president John Tyler soon butted heads with Whigs in his cabinet & in Congress & was unable to accomplish much as president The Whigs only other presidential victory was in 1848 The Whigs expelled President Tyler from the party in 1841 Zachary Taylor

Conclusion: Tocqueville’s Wisdom

Tocqueville’s Wisdom Alexis de Tocqueville was a French traveler who wrote the most influential account of the rise of U.S. democracy in the 1830s: He praised most aspects of American democracy But warned that American prejudice would lead to a future disaster if white males refused to extend liberty to women, African Americans, & Indians