The Whig party was founded in 1833 by Henry Clay, and was active until 1854. The Whig party was formed in opposition towards the Jacksonian Era, or Andrew Jackson's period of presidency. They united against President Jackson's veto of the 2nd Bank of the United States, his tendency to ignore the Supreme Court, and how he dealt with Native American treaties.
They actually gained popular support during their time, but were never able to consolidate behind a singular candidate for the presidency. They almost won the election in the 1840s but fell short and lost to the Democratic candidate, James K. Polk. Some of the values they supported were the 2nd Bank of the United States, high tariffs, and distribution of land revenues to the states. But because they were made of a broad demographic and mainly united against Andrew Jackson, when he was out of office, the party was unable to unify on other issues such as slavery (pro or anti), which became prominent during the 1840s. Ultimately, the Compromise of 1850 split their party and was unable to unify again.
Bibliography:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Whig-Party
https://www.history.com/topics/whig-party
This is a fascinating post that clearly explains what the Whig Party was about and also why it eventually was not strong enough to continue having a significant influence in politics. The fact that they were just not able to consolidate behind one candidate for the presidency illustrates a problem that has been faced by different kinds of groups that have come together for certain causes throughout American history. The way the Whig Party was unsuccessful in unifying reminds me of the Labor Movement, in which many organized labor groups formed for the purpose of improving workers' conditions, but many failed because the groups had different ideas of the approaches they should take.
ReplyDelete