Whig Party

THE WHIG PARTY, a political party from 1832 to the mid-1850s, was created out of opposition to Democrat Andrew Jackson's policies. Though the Whig Party was relatively short-lived, it was an important party that arose partially due to a close and highly controversial election and partially out of opposition to political candidates. This party's predecessor was the National Republican Party, which favored incumbent John Quincy Adams over Jackson in the election of 1828.

The dispute between the Whigs and Jackson arose primarily from Jackson's support for a strengthened presidency. Whig opponents, with the American Revolution still in mind, were concerned that a strong centralized presidency too closely resembled a kingship. The Whig Party ran presidential candidates from 1832 to the mid-1950s, but only William Harrison and Zachary Taylor were elected, both of whom were war heroes and died in office. Two other Whigs, John Tyler and Millard Fillmore, succeeded Harrison and Taylor, respectively.

The Whig Party, at least in name, paralleled the American Revolution. The name came from the Revolutionary group that supported independence from Great Britain. The name Whigs implied that the Jackson supporters were loyalists or Tories, Americans who supported the British cause in the American Revolution. The Whig Party appealed more to the business and professional class.

They favored economic development, manufacturing, financial and commercial interests, and modernization. Furthermore, they endorsed internal development such as roads, railroads, and canals, all of which would be funded by the federal government. However, there was a diversity of views within the Whig Party. What differentiated the Whigs from the Democratic Party was their strong support of congressional power over the executive branch.

The Democratic Party felt that greater centralized power should go to the president. The Whig Party had many members, including William Harrison, Henry Clay, Zachary Taylor, Winfield Scott, and Abraham Lincoln (who later defected to the Republican Party). During its existence, the Whig party only saw two of its allies elected to the presidency, Benjamin Harrison and Zachary Taylor. Harrison, who died in office, was succeeded by Whig Party President John Tyler. Millard Fillmore succeeded Zachary Taylor and was the last Whig president.

Andrew Jackson brought about many changes in his presidential term that could potentially give the president greater power than Congress. For example, the veto was as a mechanism that a president could use to strike unconstitutional bills, but Jackson changed this notion to the idea that a president could veto a bill on any grounds. Many citizens and politicians opposed this, and often Jackson was depicted as King Andrew in political cartoons. In response, many, such as Henry Clay and Vice President John Calhoun, labeled themselves National Republicans, a precursor to the Whig Party, which supported John Quincy Adams 1825–29. However, Jackson defeated Adams in 1828. In 1832, in opposition to Jackson, the Whig Party formed, but Jackson defeated Henry Clay.

In the elections of 1836, four years after the party's birth, the Whigs were not organized enough to run a national campaign. This was because the Whigs had found it difficult to find a common leader or program around which to unify, and they hoped to deny a majority of the Electoral College votes to Martin Van Buren by running several candidates across the United States. This plan failed, but only three years later, the Whigs had their first convention and nominated William Harrison as their presidential candidate. In 1840, Harrison defeated Van Buren to become the first Whig president. The Harrison victory was partially due to the Panic of 1837, a severe economic depression that hit the United States and for which Van Buren was blamed. Shortly after, Harrison died and was succeeded by John Tyler. However, Tyler was expelled from the Whig Party in 1841, because he vetoed the Whig's economic legislation.

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