HISTORY 89S Chapter Notes - Chapter All: Second Party System, Free Soil Party, Thurlow Weed
17 May 2018
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February 18 Reading Notes (Whig Party)
Wikipedia: Second Party System
Second Party System – party system from 1828 to 1854 (Jacksonian Era)
Rising levels of voter interest and party loyalty because of close elections
Region-specific issues (slavery)
Political convention replaced caucus
Major parties: Democratic Party (Jackson) & Whig Party (Clay, National Republicans)
o Democratic – Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, John C. Calhoun, James K. Polk, Lewis
Cass, Stephen Douglas
o Whig – Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, William H. Seward, Thurlow Weed
Minor parties: Anti-Masonic Party, Liberty Party (abolitionist), Free Soil Party (anti-slavery)
Election of 1824 candidates – Henry Clay, William Crawford, Andrew Jackson, and John Q. Adams
Corrupt bargain: Clay, as speaker of House, helps John Q. Adams win the election and is given
position of Secretary of State
Election of 1828: Jackson exposes the corrupt bargain and wins with Van Buren as Sec of State
Jackson: Bank War and Spoils System
Desire to eliminate Second Bank of the US – brought about second party system
o Didn’t believe in paper money but specie circular
o Businessmen and bankers moved to Whig Party, but attracted subsistence farmers and day
laborers
Central Bank headed by Nicholas Biddle
Spoils system: federal patronage system – replacement of civil service members with
friends/party supporters
o Also implemented rotation which eliminated party officials who were corrupted by tenure
Modernizing Whigs – Whigs and Democrats agreed on Republicanism
The Whigs were more upscale, better educated, more urban, and more entrepreneurial
o Evangelical Protestants and English/Scots-Irish immigrants; also joined by Anti-Masons
o Southern Planters angry at how Jackson handled the Nullification Crisis
o Whigs of Revolution; Whigs battling King Andrew
o Economic expansion through an activist government
o Corporate charters, national bank, paper money
o Humanitarian reforms – public schools, abolition of death penalty, prison and asylum
reform and temperance
o High tariff on importance to stimulate domestic economic growth (more factories)
o Government spending on infrastructure
o Overall, believed in helping a specific group to encourage general welfare
▪ Chartering of corporations helps the economy in general
o Use of newspapers and tactics
o Weakness: unconsolidated because of disagreement on issue of slavery; began fading out
starting in 1850s through 1860s
The Democrats were strongest on the frontier and in subsistence farming areas
o Catholic (esp. Irish and German) immigrants
o Economic expansion through limited central government
o Opposed corporate charters, national bank, paper money
o More farms, more land, pushed for expansion to South & West; Jackson conquered Florida
o Polk conquered Texas, Southwest, California, and Oregon
o Emphasized party loyalty
Democratization because of the Second Party System (Panic of 1819 and 1828 election of
Jackson) – politics became a central role in Americans’ lives
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Second party system party system from 1828 to 1854 (jacksonian era) Rising levels of voter interest and party loyalty because of close elections. Major parties: democratic party (jackson) & whig party (clay, national republicans) laborers friends/party supporters. Cass, stephen douglas position of secretary of state. Minor parties: anti-masonic party, liberty party (abolitionist), free soil party (anti-slavery) Election of 1824 candidates henry clay, william crawford, andrew jackson, and john q. adams. Desire to eliminate second bank of the us brought about second party system. Spoils system: federal patronage system replacement of civil service members with: didn"t believe in paper money but specie circular. Election of 1828: jackson exposes the corrupt bargain and wins with van buren as sec of state: businessmen and bankers moved to whig party, but attracted subsistence farmers and day. Jackson: bank war and spoils system: also implemented rotation which eliminated party officials who were corrupted by tenure. Modernizing whigs whigs and democrats agreed on republicanism.
