Section #1 - America’s First Sixteen Presidents (1790-1865)
Chapter 11: Henry Clay and the Whig Party
One figure who is particularly irate over Jackson’s qualifications for the high office, and his behaviors once there, is Henry Clay, the towering presence in Congress between 1806 and 1852. Clay refers to Jackson as “King Andrew” and, in the English anti-Royalist tradition, creates his “Whig Party” aimed directly at the Democrats. Clay runs on this platform in 1832 against Jackson and again in 1844 against his protégé, James Polk, losing both times.
America’s “Second Political System:” Democrats vs. Whigs
| Jackson’s Democrat Party | Clay’s Whig Party | |
|---|---|---|
| Political Roots | Jefferson | Hamilton |
| Political Philosophy | Democracy/common man | Republic/leader class |
| Core Constituency | Small farmers | Farmers + city wage earners |
| Core Geography | South + West | Border + Northeast |
| Labor | Manual power | Manual + machines |
| Government Power | De-centralized/state’s rights | Washington/federal control |
| Federal spending | Limit it/balance budget | Invest in infrastructure |
| Tariff | Lower and on fewer goods | Higher to protect US mfrs. |
| Price to buy US land | Lower | Higher to fund investments |
| Money | Hard/specie to avoid inflation | Soft/paper to support capitalism |
| US Bank | Oppose/rigged for privileged | Supportive/control currency |
| Capitalism | Suspicious/elites/corruption | Fundamental to growth |