The Whigs Party and the Democratic Party were generally opposed to each other, especially in their ideas. While Jacksonian Democrats were devoted to a society run by the common man, the Whigs Party favored manufacturing. The two parties exhibited different similarities and differences in the aspects of social reforms, the role of the federal government, and westward expansion.
The Jacksonian Democratic Party was primarily nationalistic. They believed that there was a need for the federal government to be smaller in size rather than an expanded federal government. Jacksonian Democratic Party held the perception that government should not take part in influencing how people conducted themselves (Smith, 2020) . These attributes made them less aggressive in the process of pushing for economic development. The American society was divided into two distinct groups, the people who comprised of the workers in plantations and the farmers and on the other hand, the aristocracy who comprised of financial agents and merchant bankers. These two groups of people manipulated the markets in the United States for their private enrichment. The Jacksonian Democratic Party supported the expansion towards the West. The Jacksons Indian removal bill helped to secure new territories for the white settlements.
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On the other hand, the Whigs Party emphasized the federal government's active role through support for federal funds in financing the internal improvements such as railroads and the turnpikes. The Whigs Party believed that the government could play a critical role in promoting the nation’s moral health through antislavery legislation and other temperance laws. The Whigs Party was more comfortable with market capitalism compared to the Jacksonian Democratic Party. Whigs Party perceived market capitalism to enhance economic development, enriching people through a rise in demand for agricultural products and other foodstuffs. The Whigs Party also praised market capitalism for creating many job opportunities (Smith, 2020) . Unlike the Jacksonian Democratic Party, the Whigs Party denied conflicts between the business people and other common people. They believed that banks were not evil rather; they played a critical role in enhancing and facilitating the flow of money.
Under the social reforms, the Whigs Party embraced ideas and reforms inspired by the second great awakening that the Jacksonian Democrats did not support. Some of the critical social reforms included; reforms in the prisons, temperance, moral reforms, women's rights, peace movements, and the reformation of public education. The Whigs Party embraced the role of women in antebellum than the Jacksonian Democratic party. However, the Whigs Party seemed divided over slavery, as demonstrated in conscience Whig and the cotton Whig (Lynn, 2017) . Some Whig had similar ideas as the democrats that it was not essential to discuss slavery, while on the other side; another group of Whigs Party democrats embraced the idea of free soils. The Jacksonian Democratic Party favored expanding voting rights, especially for the white males who had no properties.
The two parties had some differing ideas on the role of the federal government played in the economy. The Whigs Party supported industrialization and support for the upper and middle class, while the Jacksonian democracy supported the agrarian republic and supported the common man. The Whigs Party supported the protective tariffs while democrats supported low tariffs (Lynn, 2017) . Tariff revenue was the primary source of revenue for the federal government. The democrats believed governments should use money warehouses while the Whig supported banking institutions such as the second bank of the United States.
On westward expansion, both the Whigs Party and the Jacksonian Democratic Party favored and supported the Indian removal, especially in the areas their supporters wanted to occupy. The democrats in the south supported the west's expansion to allow for the expansion of cotton plantations. The Jacksonian Democratic Party favored the manifest destiny while the Whig were concerned about losing congress representation as people in the north and east moved towards the west and southwest. The Jacksonian Democratic Party's support for Mexican American war indicated support for westward expansion. However, some members of Whigs Party such as Henry Clay and Abraham Lincoln opposed to the Mexican-American war (Estes, 2020) . The Mexican-American war resulted in a detrimental sectional crisis between the 1850s and 1860s.
From the discussion above, it is evident that the Jacksons Democratic Party and the Whigs Party were generally opposed to each other on the three aspects of the federal government's role, social reforms and westward expansion. Jackson was perceived to be the champion of the common man. His ideas of embracing small size government and limitation of government intervention pleased many plantation owners and small farmers in the west. According to Jackson's Democratic Party, banks comprised of a major evil (Estes, 2020) . He held the perception that the treasury oppressed the common man by giving power t the government.
On the other hand, the Whigs Party possessed ideas different from those of the Jacksonian Democratic Party. According to the Whigs Party, manufacturing was a key concern. According to the Whigs Party, an increase in tariffs was essential in shielding the American people's businesses. On banking, while Jacksonian Democratic Party perceived banks to be a major evil, the Whigs Party believed that banks played a major role in facilitating money supply in the economy. The two parties exhibited similarities in the support for minimal government intervention. Whigs Party supported an expanded government but did not support intensive government intervention. From the discussion above, the two parties seem different in theory but exhibit fair similarity in practice.
Reference
Estes, T. (2020). Beyond Whig and Democrats: Historians, historiography, and the paths toward a new synthesis for the Jacksonian era. American Nineteenth Century History , 21 (3), 255-281.
Lynn, J. A. (2017). From the Money Power to the Antislavery Power. Tennessee Historical Quarterly , 76 (3), 276-292.
Smith, L. E. (2020). Anti-Jacksonian democratization: the first national political party conventions. American Nineteenth Century History , 21 (2), 149-169.
