Compare and contrast the Jacksonian Democratic Party and the Whig Party of the

1830s and 1840s. Focus on TWO of the following. The role of the federal government in
the economy. Social reform. Westward expansion.
Social reform
Reforms and ideas inspired by the Second Great Awakening were embraced by the
Whigs more than the Democrats. These included temperance, prison reform,
sabbatarianism, millennialism, utopianism, abolition, colonization, moral reform,
reform of the pauper system, womens rights (Seneca Falls Convention, 1848), the
peace movement, reform of public education, and the elimination of all activities
considered sinful.
Womens roles in the antebellum reform movements were appreciated more by
Whigs than by Democrats.
The Whig Party was divided over the issue of slavery (cotton Whigs, conscience
Whigs); some Whigs embraced free soil ideas while other Whigs and most
Democrats preferred slavery not be debated the gag rule; Southern Democrats
were largely proslavery while Northern Democrats held divergent views on this
issue.
Democrats were more in favor of expansion of voting rights for unpropertied white
males; supported the common man and yeoman farmers.
Role of the federal government in economy
Henry Clays American System (economic nationalism) vs. Jacksonian laissez faire.
Whig support for industrialization vs. Democratic support for a largely agrarian
republic; support of middle and upper class by Whigs vs. support for the common
man and the white yeoman farmers by Democrats.
Debate over the role of the federal government in internal improvements
involving roads, canals, and railroads (Jacksons veto of the Maysville Road Bill while
supporting the extension of the National Road).
Democratic support for labor enactment of 10-hour workday in government
offices and projects (Martin Van Buren); supported early labor unions.
Protective tariffs (Whigs) vs. low tariffs (Democrats). Southern Whigs, unlike most
Northern Whigs, opposed high tariffs; tariff revenue was one of the primary sources
of federal revenue in this period; Tariff of 1832; conflict between Andrew Jackson
and John C. Calhoun because of the tariff; Compromise Tariff of 1833 engineered by
Henry Clay; Force Act; Walker Tariff of 1846 lowered tariff rates.
Re-charter of the Bank of the United States vs. Jacksons veto of the Re-charter Bill
became the primary issue in the 1832 election featuring Democrat Andrew Jackson
vs. Whig Henry Clay; Jacksons dispute with Nicholas Biddle, President of the Second
Bank of the United States; Whig Daniel Webster served as legal counsel for the
Second Bank of the United States; pet banks supported by Democrats.
Democrats favored the government using a vault or warehouse for its money
whereas Whigs favored the Second Bank of the United States.
Jacksons 1836 Specie Circular turned an angry public against Democratic
President Van Buren as he took office. Despite the panic and depression of 1837,
Van Buren refused to revoke the Specie Circular or take other action to stimulate the
economy.

 Van Burens Independent Treasury Act of 1840 (proposed in 1837 as the Divorce
Bill) took money out of Jacksons pet banks where it backed loans and placed it in
government vaults where it had little economic impact.
Westward expansion
Both parties favored American Indian removal in areas where their supporters
wished to settle; Tippecanoe and Tyler too was a slogan of Whig candidates
(Harrison/Tyler) in the Election of 1840; Harrison had fought against American
Indians.
Southern Democrats favored westward expansion, partly to expand cotton
plantations and slavery into the west; Whigs concerned about the extension of
slavery and slave power.
Battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto (1836); Jackson and the Democrats favored
independence for Texas but refused to annex Texas because of the slavery
controversy.
While Tyler was president, Congress annexed Texas, an action called for by
Democrat Polk in his 1844 election campaign and eventually supported by his Whig
opponent, Henry Clay.
The Wilmot Proviso, though sponsored by Pennsylvania Democrat David Wilmot,
was supported by Whigs.
Democrats more in favor of Manifest Destiny; Whigs worried about losing
representation in Congress as people from the North and East moved West and
Southwest, although northerners in both parties supported the annexation of
Oregon.
Democratic support for westward expansion manifested in support for the
Mexican-American War (Mr. Polks War).
Some Whigs opposed the Mexican-American War (e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Henry
Clay), a war that led to the sectional crises of the 1850s and the 1860s.
Analyze how western expansion contributed to growing sectional tensions between the
North and the South. Confine your answer to the period from 1800 to 1850.
18001819
James Monroe and Robert Livingston were instructed to buy New Orleans and as much land
as
they could get for $10 million (1803); if they were unsuccessful they could open talks for an
alliance
with Great Britain.
Toussaint L Ouverture thwarted Napoleons plans to reconquer Santo Domingo, with Louisiana
serving as a food source and a staging area.
Louisiana Purchase (1803):
o President Thomas Jefferson (18011809) issue of strict construction
o Napoleon
o Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804) (Corps of Discovery)
Steamboat travel (1807) Robert Fulton built the first American steamboat; led to the success
of

the Midwests water transportation system.

National Road or Cumberland Road (1811) was the first major improved highway in the United
States to be built by the federal government; Cumberland, MD, to Vandalia, IL. This road
facilitated
westward migration and the shipment of products. Construction ended following the Panic of
1837.
War of 1812 War Hawks wanted Canada and Florida and an end to American Indian raids
on the
western frontier.
American System of Henry Clay (1816) supported a high tariff to protect American industries
and
generate revenue for the federal government; continuation of the Bank of the United States;
development of a system of internal improvements to tie the nation together, which would be
financed by profits from the tariff, the bank, and the sale of western lands.
Erie Canal (18171825) was built entirely with New York state funding; connected Troy (near
Albany, New York) on the Hudson River with Buffalo and the Great Lakes; helped to cement an
East/West alliance furthered by transportation improvements; aided settlers traveling west;
began
the canal era (18201850) in the United States, which connected farms and towns of the Great
Lakes region with cities in the East.
Rush-Bagot Agreement (1817) was made between the United States and Great Britain,
demilitarizing the Great Lakes.
Convention of 1818, a treaty between the United States and Great Britain, established the
boundary between the United States and Canada at the 49th parallel between the Lake of the
Woods and the Rocky Mountains; provided for a 10-year joint occupation of the Oregon Territory
by
the United States and Great Britain.
Adams-Onis Treaty (1819) was a treaty between the United States and Spain negotiated by
Secretary of State John Quincy Adams; the United States acquired Florida from Spain, and the
treaty established a boundary line between Spanish territory and the United States.
18201830
Missouri sought admission to the Union as a slave state (1819); it was the first state asking to
be
created from the Louisiana Purchase.
Tallmadge Amendment (1819) was proposed by Representative James Tallmadge, Jr.;
amendment
was passed by the House of Representatives but defeated by the Senate. Tallmadge proposed
that
no more slaves could be brought into Missouri and that the children of slaves already there
should
be emancipated.

 Missouri Compromise/Compromise of 1820 (11 slave and 11 free states when Missouri asked
to be
admitted to the Union as a slave state) was authored by Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser.
18301839
Abolitionist movement took on new momentum (1830s and forward). William Lloyd Garrison
published The Liberator (18311866); Frederick Douglass published Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass (1845); The North Star; Harriet Tubman.
Railroads begin to replace canals as the heart of the American transportation system (1830s
and
forward); most railroads ran east to west, helping to cement the North/West alliance.
WebsterHayne Debate (1830) took place in the United States Senate between Senator Daniel
Webster of Massachusetts and Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina on the topic of
protectionist tariffs. The heated speeches derived from debate over a resolution to stop the
introduction of new lands onto the market.
Gag rule was adopted (1836); this informal rule in Congress allowed slavery petitions to the
House
of Representatives to be automatically tabled, thus putting off divisive debates over the issue of
slavery. The use of the gag rule lasted until 1844.
Texas War for Independence (18351836) Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren
proposed
recognition of independence but declined to annex Texas to the Union, partly because of the
outcry by Whig abolitionists in the North who were dismayed by the number of slaveholders
already in Texas.
Indian Removal Trail of Tears took place in 18381839.
To what extent did political parties contribute to the development of national unity
in
the United States between 1790 and 1840 ?
Information List: 17901824
Permanent political parties were not envisioned by the founders.
The first and second party systems were national parties: compromise was
necessary in order to function.
Federalists (Washington, who had Federalist leanings; Hamilton; Adams)
Loose constructionists; strong central government; contract theory of
government.
Supporters were merchants, shippers, commercial farmers, and manufacturers in
New England and along the Atlantic seaboard; identified more with Britain.
Favored Hamiltons financial plan, which benefited the wealthier groups and the
propertied classes; prosperity would trickle down to the rest of the population.
National Bank: necessary and proper clause; implied powers.
Protective tariff.
Assumption of state debts; paying off the foreign debt; funding the debt at par;

holding a manageable national debt.

Excise tax on whiskey, which led to the Whiskey Rebellion.
DemocraticRepublicans (Anti-Federalists, Jeffersonian Republicans, Republicans,
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams)
Strict constructionists; supported strong state governments and the compact
theory of government; favored the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution.
Supporters were small farmers in the South and West; appealed to the middle
class and to the masses; favored an agrarian society and rule by an educated
middle class; identified more with France.
Did not support Hamiltons financial plan.
Favored reducing the size of the military.
The Time of the First Party System (1790s1817)
Original election procedure in the Constitution provided that the top two votegetting candidates would be president and vice president; later changed by the
12th Amendment (1804).
Jay Treaty with Britain (1794).
Pinckney Treaty with Spain (1795).
Washingtons Farewell Address (1796).
Election of 1796: Jefferson vs. Adams; Adams won.
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798); Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (1798);
expiration or repeal of acts by 1802.
Election of 1800: Jefferson vs. Adams; Revolution of 1800 (We are all Republicans,
we are all Federalists); peaceful transfer of power from the Federalist to the
DemocraticRepublican Party.
Midnight judges (1801).
Marbury v. Madison (1803) and other decisions of the Marshall Court.
Louisiana Purchase (1803).
Tertium Quid was the name given to various factions of the Democratic
Republican Party during the period 18041812; Quid was used pejoratively to
describe cross-party coalitions of Federalists and moderate DemocraticRepublicans
united in opposition to Jefferson.
Embargo Act (1807); Non-Intercourse Act (1809); Macons Bill #2 (1810).
War of 1812: support for the war was greatest in DemocraticRepublican areas near
the frontier, Canada, and Florida and was weakest in the Federalist maritime areas;
Mr. Madisons War; Clay, Calhoun, and Webster were war hawks.
Hartford Convention (1814); Federalist negative response to the War of 1812; led
to the death of the Federalist Party.
Surge of nationalism following the War of 1812.
Second National Bank (1816).
Tariff of 1816: first protective tariff in U.S. history.
Henry Clays American System proposed.
Era of Good Feelings (18171824).
Tallmadge Amendment (1819).
Panic and depression of 1819.
Missouri Compromise (1820).
Foreign policy in the Era of Good Feelings; Monroe Doctrine (1823).
Reelection of Monroe (1820).

 Favorite-son election of 1824: Clay, J. Q. Adams, Jackson, Crawford.

Corrupt bargain of 1824: Clay and J. Q. Adams.
Information List: 18241840
The Time of the Second Party System (18241840)
Split of DemocraticRepublicans into National Republicans (and later Whigs) and
DemocraticRepublicans (later Jacksonian Democrats Democrats).
Election of 1828/Revolution of 1828: J. Q. Adams (National Republican) vs. A.
Jackson (Jacksonian Democrat).
Indian Removal Act (1830).
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831); Worcester v. Georgia (1832) (Indian removal).
Peggy Eaton.
Election of 1832: Jackson (Democrat) vs. Clay (National Republican), John Floyd
(National Republican), and William Wirt (Anti-Masonic, the first third party).
Jacksons veto of the bill to re-charter the Second Bank of the U.S. (1832);
Nicholas Biddle, pet banks.
Election of 1836: Democrat Van Buren vs. four Whig candidates.
Liberty Party founded (1839); James G. Birney, candidate in the election of 1840;
antislavery party.
Election of 1840: Election of William Henry Harrison, the first Whig president; first
modern election with vigorous campaigning on both sides; common man moving
front and center and dominating elections; beginning of a more dynamic two-party
system.
Emergence of the National Republicans (from the DemocraticRepublicans) Whig
Party and Its Ideas
Supported a stronger federal government; loose construction; Second National
Bank.
Supported internal improvements (American System of Henry Clay).
Favored social reforms.
Favored the evolution of a market economy, business, and industry; supported by
small businessmen, professionals, manufacturers, and some southern planters.
Opposed to Jacksonian spoils system, executive power, common man.
Opposed to Indian removal.
Presidents: Harrison, Tyler (closet Democrat); prominent leaders: Henry Clay,
Daniel Webster.
Dissolved over sectional differences, particularly about slavery.
Ideas of the Democrats (emerged from the DemocraticRepublicans, Jacksonian
Democrats)
Favored strict construction and states rights.
Supported state banks and a tariff for revenue only.
Favored western expansion.
Opposed to internal improvements at federal expense and Clays American
System.
Not opposed to slavery or its extension.
Supported Indian removal.
Supported by Irish and German immigrants, poor farmers in the North and
Midwest, small planters in the South, skilled and unskilled workers in cities and
towns, the common man.
Presidents: Jackson, Van Buren; prominent leaders: John C. Calhoun, James K. Polk

(House Speaker), Thomas Hart Benton.

Compare the motives and effectiveness of those opposed to the growing power of
the national government in two of the following
Whikey
Virginia and Kentucky Res
Hartford Convention
Nullification Crisis