Chapter 2: Democrat Republicans vs. Whigs 

Jackson’s presidency coincides with America’s “Second Political System,” with the Federalists fading and several fringe opponents challenging “Jacksonian Democracy” before a serious challenge appears in Clay’s Whig Party.

  Second Political System: Democrats vs. Whigs: 1829-1849

While Jackson’s personal history – westerner, Indian fighter, frequent dueler – is in sharp contrast to his urbane and polished predecessors, his public policy positions are very similar to those espoused by Thomas Jefferson. From the beginning he is intent on expansion, of the nation’s territory (to the west) and of his own Democratic Party (to the common man). He is equally set on driving privilege, corruption and financial waste out of government, and in slapping down any threats to the sacred Union, including the federal debt which he pays off.

Between his 1828 election and his death in 1845, Andrew Jackson dominates the political landscape in America. At the same time, however, his autocratic style and governing principles draw sharp criticism from his opponents, several of whom found new political parties aimed at weakening his grip on power.

The first challenge comes from the Machiavellian figure of John C. Calhoun, who serves as Jackson’s Vice-President from 1820 to 1832 before turning on him after increases are taken on tariff rates applied to imported cotton goods. Calhoun argues that the higher duties are unfair to the Southern economy, and to protest them, he creates the Nullifier Party, to block collection of the tariff in his “sovereign state” of South Carolina. Jackson regards this move as a threat to the Union and promises to send troops in to stop any interference with the federal law. While this show of force cripples Calhoun’s Nullifier Party, the theme of the Southern economy being attacked by Northern aggressors is established at this time.

A second attack on Jackson traces to Thurlow Weed, a dedicated Federalist and political power broker from New York who has helped engineer JQ Adams’ victory in 1828. When a former Mason is murdered after promising to reveal lodge secrets, Weed parlays the publicity into a conspiracy theory questioning the loyalty of all Masons – most notably Andrew Jackson, Grand Master of the Tennessee chapter. While the fact that Washington, Jefferson and others were Masons makes this Party short-lived, Weed will continue to play a leading role in forming new start-ups to defeat the Democrats.

The broadest and most sustained effort to oppose Jackson belongs to his long-term bete noir, Henry Clay of Kentucky, a dominant force in the House and Senate from 1811 to 1852. In 1836 Clay launces his Whig Party, so named after opponents of the British monarchy. Aside from attacking “King Andrew Jackson” for his executive overreach in office, Clay also challenges the Democrat’s long-standing commitment to an agrarian economy to secure America’s ongoing wealth.

Clay calls his option the “American System” which reflects the vision of capitalism laid out by Adam Smith in his 1776 book, Wealth of Nations. It calls for rapid industrialization fueled by individual entrepreneurs betting their own money on innovations that address emerging marketplace needs. The role for government will be to invest in infrastructure and “protect” domestic manufacturing. According to Clay this diversified economy is needed for America to compete with rivals like Britain and France.

Second Political System Comparisons

In 1836, Clay operationalizes his party principles and enters four “regional opponents” in the presidential race who fall just short of defeating the Democrat, Martin Van Buren.

During both Jackson’s and Van Buren’s terms, another external factor impacts the political landscape. It is the evangelical movement known as the Second Great Awakening, which democratizes America’s churches and prompts a series of public initiatives aimed at curing the nation’s social ills. The temperance movement begins here as do efforts to end child labor, achieve gender equality and correct prison abuse. But the most consequential reform will be aimed at abolishing slavery.

At first, the abolitionists are led by the Bostonian, William Lloyd Garrison, who believes that “moral suasion,” delivered in his newspaper and his traveling lecturers, will prove sufficient to achieve his goal. However, a group of New York abolitionists, notably Gerrit Smith, are soon convinced that talk alone will fail, and that federal legislation is required. In 1840 they launch the new Liberty Party, which further exacerbates the North-South tension over slavery.

The Democrats control in Washington is interrupted by the Bank Panic of 1837 and a financial depression, triggered by Jackson and extending through-out Van Buren’s term. This costs him the 1840 election, where the nation chooses its first Whig President in William Henry Harrison. But “Old Tippecanoe” dies one month into office, only to be replaced by John Tyler, a Virginian, who betrays the Whigs by staunchly refusing to act on the party’s platform.

After this Tyler fiasco, Clay gets the Whig nomination in 1844, while Jackson maneuvers the Democrat convention into choosing his Tennessee protégé, James Polk over Van Buren, an outcome which angers the ex-President’s backers. Despite this internal split, Polk goes on to a narrow victory over Clay.

“Young Hickory” as he is known, immediately annexes Texas, a move leading on to the Mexican War. It proves controversial from the beginning. Opponents argue that its intent is simply to seize new land for the purpose of opening plantations and expanding slavery, both crucial to the continued economic growth of the South. Ironically one critic is a Pennsylvania Democrat, David Wilmot, who offers an amendment in 1846 which seeks to block funding for the war “unless slavery is banned” in any new territory gained from Mexico.

This motion — known as the Wilmot Proviso — is aimed not at protesting slavery on moral grounds, but rather at “preserving the new land” for the exclusive benefit of white settlers. In addition to the substance of the Proviso, the make-up of the vote in the House alarms the South. Regardless of Party, the North overwhelmingly supports the Act, while the South opposes it be similar proportions.

 Regional Split on the Original Wilmot Proviso (August 1846)

Southern strength in the Senate tables the Wilmot Proviso, but it reveals a regional fault line over slavery that is never repaired and eventually leads to Disunion.

After 21 months of fighting and 13,000 casualties, the Mexican War ends with a major U.S. victory, led by Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. It also results in the 1848 “Mexican Cession,” surrendering 55% of that nation’s total land and eventually resulting in the total or partial creation of nine U.S. states.