The Whig Party Analysis - Report Example

Steffi Anne Felipe Hist 17B Z November 4, The Whig Party Being only about 200 years old, the United s of America has undergone major transformation politically. Various historic occurrences have had significant effect not only on the political landscape at the time, but also on the current political scene. Some of the political parties that exist currently are due of the political happenings in the past. The Whig Party is known for some of its political principles that helped in the various developments that is enjoyed in the United States of America to date. The party advocated for internal improvement of the various issues such as roads, railroads and digging of canals and deepening of rivers. At the time, the United States of America was very much isolated and needed to access different markets to sell or buy their goods. In the United States of America, Mr. Jefferson introduced the name “the Whigs” after they were forced to drop the name “Anti-federalists after it was declared as inappropriate. In some of his correspondence, he called his friends “The Whigs.”All this was due to some political differences in regards to the adoption of the constitution. The Constitution of the United States is considered as a “document of eminent wisdom and ability” however, it has some weakness (William 54). The people who were in charge of coming up with the document were very much aware of some of the weaknesses of the constitution. Some of the clauses in the constitution became a contentious issue among the big political parties at the time. An example of a such a cause was the ne declaring “"that all men are born free and equal, and entitled to the enjoyment of liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Even though at the time the issue of slavery was rife and the slaves were being mistreated. One major clause that brought a fierce split between the major political parties was the “conflicts between federal and states rights, objects of national or sectional concern, fiscal regulations and financial schemes.” (Grattan 297). The people who were supporting the adoption of the proposed constitution were referred to as the Federalists while the people who opposed it were referred to as the Anti-Federalists. In order for the constitution to be adopted, some discussions had to be carried out between the major political parties. A series of conventions had to be held to determine if the proposed constitution could be adopted or not. In the first convention held in Massachusetts of the total votes cast Yeas were 187 while the Nays were 169. A second convention was held in Virginia to decide whether to adopt the new constitution or not and just like in the first convention the Yeas had the majority votes. About five or six years after the constitution was adopted, it was found that some amendment had to be done. The then Chief Justice of the Supreme court by the name of John Jay who apparently was one of the framers proposed the amendment. According to Jay, the constitution allowed individuals to sue the states for debt, but the government f the United States could not be sued. Another defect that was detected in the constitution was the ways in which it limited the president’s power. It had been initially lauded as being the best by the framers. After the adoption of the constitution, a new separation of the parties gradually arose. The separation of the parties was based upon the preceding one, even though not identical. Multitudes of people who initially opposed the constitution accepted it. Some of the people who were in favor of the adoption ranged themselves with the party, which was in favor of the most limited structure to its powers (Grattan 299). The major cause of the split between the two parties was the “construction of the constitution,” in regards to the funding system, integration of a national bank and supposition of the state debts by the central government. The people who were in favor of a liberal creation of the fundamental law retained the name “Federalists,” The people or parties that opposed were referred to as the Anti-federalists. The name was however not liked by a majority, but the name was not replaced immediately (Grattan 301). Some of the individuals who belonged to the party under the leadership at times used the term Democrats. However, Genet who was the founder of Democratic Societies made the term odious, his audacious assumption of power gave general antipathy. This prompted some people like Patrick Henry to say “Though a democrat myself, I like not the late Democratic Societies." Soon afterwards, the name Republican was adopted as the official name of the party. Both parties had a disposition of denying the other the right to use any name of their choice, this can be attributed to the letters they wrote. Jefferson in one of his letters on January 26th, 1799 wrote "the Federalists, self-called,” this can be seen to imply that they had no right to use the name (Grattan 296). In a letter written on the 5th may 1799 Washington in a letter to his nephew wrote "I am sure there will be no relaxation on the part of the Republicans, as they have very erroneously called themselves;” The statement can be perceived to mean that the party had no right to be called the Republicans (Grattan 294). The party differences in regards to the construction of the constitution slowly faded away once the French revolution broke out until the war between the United States and England ended in 1815. The parties turned their attention to issues that touched on foreign relations. The Republicans managed to ascend to power under the leadership of Jefferson in the year 1801. Initially the Republicans were against the immense power that the general government wielded during the Federalists tenure. Ironically, when the Republicans ascended to power they did not see anything wrong with wielding such power. After the war ended and peace was restored the interest of the parties moved to new things. Some of the issues that had caused division among the parties were settled by time as well as necessity (Grattan 294). The necessity of a national bank was realized as a result of the war. The western side of the country was experiencing immense growth that brought about the adoption known as “internal improvements.” The war had brought about the creation of a military establishment, a huge national debt, permanent fortifications and a very huge increase of the navy personnel (Grattan 297). All such developments brought about the need of a liberal structure of public expenditure. Due to either application or the misapplication of the national resources, the parties once again became divided into two “the prerogatives of the executive and the popular power.” Henry clay and other people called themselves the National Republicans for a reason. They had a vision of the United States becoming a nation while the people saw it as a confederation state. Such a strong vision is what inspired the group to advocate strongly advocated for issues such as the constructing of interstate roads, building of canals and widening of rivers. When Mr. Monroe ascended to presidency in the year 1817, the Utopian views as to a merger of the various parties began to exist (Grattan 294). The parties’ squabbles on various issues stopped, “Party names just then fell into disuse; but the things they designated were silently pushing into growth.” Mr. Monroe was re-elected for another second term in office unanimously. The different parties came back to life in the fight to succeed. The Whig party finally came into being in the year 1834. The Whig party ran for the top office of presidency in a number of elections but most of the time came in second place behind the Democrats. Some of the people elected from the Whig party included William Henry Harrison. Unfortunately, Harrison died within days into his presidency and Tyler took over the presidency. Another person who was elected was Zachary Taylor who also died early in his first term and was succeeded by Millard Fillmore. After Jackson’s reign ended the Whig party concentrated on their main vision national improvement (William 266). The party gained more support in the far north; the south back in those days was almost entirely agrarian. The first presidential win for the Whig party In the 1840, presidential election which was held from the Friday, October 30th to December 2, 1840 saw a very tight race between President Martin Van Buren and the Whig’s presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. The Whig party campaigned under the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” The election turned up to be a unique in the United States history as the four men that the voters were casting votes for had been or would become president’s later on (Morrison 59). The Whig party eventually won the election. Harrison a war veteran who at the time was 68 years old became the oldest United States president (Grattan 303). His reign did not last as he died about a month after his inauguration into office. After his death, the then vice president John Tyler became president (Mark 36). In the 1850s when the issue of slaves caused the division of the nation almost into two, a new Republican party was formed (Grattan 300). The main aim of the “new republican party” was to keep the issue of slavery in the south. The southerners being farmers were aggressive expansionists, the agricultural practices that they adopted as well as the cash crops they grew depleted the soil. The Southerners felt that they had the right to carry on with their way of life without interference (Grattan 300). The last time that the Whig party had a presidential candidate was in the year 1856. Conclusion Politics can play a very crucial role in the development of a country. The principles that were laid down by the Whig party such as the construction of roads to connect the states played a key re in improving the transport system in the United States. Even though the party faced opposition from other parties that were not of a similar opinion the contribution of the party was paramount. Work Cited Grattan, Thomas Colley. "POLITICAL PARTIES." Civilized America. Vol. 1. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1859. 294-307. Print. Mark, Groen. "The Whig Party and the Rise of Common Schools, 1837-1854." American Educational History Journal 35.1 (2008): 251-60. ERIC. Ipswich. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. . Morrison, Michael A. "Distribution or Dissolution: Western Land Policy, Economic Development, and the Language of Corruption, 1837–41." American Nineteenth Century History 1.1 (2008): 1-33. Tailor & Francis Online. Routledge Tailor and Francis Group. Web. 2 Nov.2014. Read More