The reasons for the rise of partisan politics in the Early Republic
Political parties emerged following conflicts regarding the 1787 federal Constitution ratification. Disagreements about the power of the federal government caused the conflicts. Alexander Hamilton led the Federalists faction who advocated for a strong central authority while Thomas Jefferson led the Anti-Federalists who supported the rights of states rather than centralized power (The American Yawp, 2019). Partisan battles then ensued in which the Federalist and their supporters united around the country’s commercial sector while the Anti-Federalists and their supporters joined around the agriculture sector.
The French Revolution and the Whiskey Rebellion also influenced the formation of political factions. Washington and his supporters desired neutrality from local governments during the French Revolution while the Federalists and Anti-Federalists opposed Washington. The 1790 Whiskey Rebellion led the government to exercise tax on distilled spirits, which the Federalists supported but the Anti-Federalists opposed. Conflicts and protests emerged, which led to divisions between the two political factions (The American Yawp, 2019). The disagreements and conflicts contributed to the formation of the two-party systems.
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The development of the Second Party System
Comparison of the Whig and Democratic platforms
Both the Whigs and the Democrats were an alliance of religious and ethnic interests, economic and class interests and sectional interests. Both parties emerged from the dominant Democratic-Republican Party that ruled during the early 1800s. Both parties formed from the Democratic-Republican Party following the elections of 1824 (Norton, Sheriff, & Blight, 2015). Whigs highlighted the coherence of interests between capital and labor, supported humanitarian reform, and supported leadership by talented people while the Democrats emphasized class conflict. Democrats considered the regular farmer who earned a living through the land to be an ideal citizen. The Whigs supported a strong federal government with a dominant Congress whereas the Democrats supported the rights of states and opposed the involvement of the federal government in economic and social matters. The Whigs supported the national bank and the Protective Tariff while the Democrats opposed. The Whigs glorified the natural societal harmony and the value of community whereas the Democrats glorified the person and supported the idea that any person could hold office. The Whigs preferred gradual changes to different societal aspects including gradual territorial expansion and internal changes whereas the Democrats supported rapid territorial and external growth and the Mexican War (Norton, Sheriff, & Blight, 2015).
The leaders and constituents of each party
Andrew Jackson led the Democratic Party. Other leaders in the party were Stephen A. Douglas, Thomas Hart Benton, John C Calhoun; James K. Polk, and Martin Van Buren. Constituents of the Democratic Party included Catholic Irish and Scots-Irish, citizens of less-affluent towns, and small farmers (Norton, Sheriff, & Blight, 2015). Henry Clay led the Whig party. Other Whig party leaders included Abraham Lincoln, John Quincy Adams, William Henry Harrison, and Daniel Webster (Norton, Sheriff, & Blight, 2015). Whigs attracted Congressional, Unitarian, and Presbyterian church members; free blacks, upwardly aspiring manual laborers; German and British Protestant immigrants; business-oriented farmers; manufacturers; and professionals and educators. The Whig alliance also attracted supporters of the American System under Henry Clay, promoters of state rights, religious members attached to the Indian removal policies under Jackson, and businesspeople and bankers that opposed the anti-bank and anti-monopoly arguments promoted by the Democrats (The American Yawp, 2019).
How the Second Party System supported the democratization of American politics
The Second Party System contributed to the democratization of American politics because of the rivalry between the Democratic Party and the Whig party for support. Leaders of these parties strived to attract a diverse group of voters in which leaders such as Andrew Jackson appealed to voting men from different regions and with different economic backgrounds. The emergence of the two parties also led to strong and improved voting regulations in which the parties made changes to voting laws across the country, which increased the number of eligible voters, even though the right to vote was limited to White males with a small number of black men in northeastern states. Property requirements were eliminated, which allowed over 90 percent of White males to be eligible voters (Harrell, 2005).
The major movements and events that led to the Civil War
The pro-slavery and abolitionist arguments of the antebellum period
Pro-slavery argued that ending slavery would negatively affect the economy by leading to the collapse of the agricultural industry, such as Rice, tobacco, and cotton due to their reliance on slave labor. They also stated that freeing of slaves would lead to chaos and unemployment and supported the maintenance of the status quo to ensure stability and affluence for slaveholders (The American Yawp, 2019). Pro-slavery supporters used history to defend their stand by stating that slavery was the natural state of humans as it had existed throughout history, from the Greeks to the English people (Copeland, 2003). They also supported their stand with the Bible by stating that God allowed slavery. Proslavery supporters also defended themselves by arguing that the courts had ruled that all slaves were property and that the constitution protected slaveholders (Norton, Sheriff, & Blight, 2015).
Abolitionists, on the other hand, argued that slavery negatively affected the economy as it discouraged competition and prevented free and open trade across the country (Copeland, 2003). They also stated that slavery was against the Christian faith and Bible teachings. Abolitionists also supported the abolition of slavery because it was a form of forced labor and that it was inhumane (Norton, Sheriff, & Blight, 2015).
The role of westward expansion in increasing sectional tensions
The westward expansion also entailed the practice of slavery in the western lands, which led to a controversy. The South and the North had been separated based on social, ideological, and economic factors since the 1787 constitution. The North was concerned that the slavery institution would be forced in its territories whereas the South believed that if they had to expand westward, they would also need to expand slavery into the new regions. The North concerns became a reality when debates regarding slavery expansion emerged (The American Yawp, 2019). The federal government used compromises to address the slavery issue temporarily, even though these compromises were more biased, which increased conflicting divisions between the South and the North (The American Yawp, 2019).
How three major events contributed to the Civil War outbreak
The three significant events that contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War included the 1850 compromise, Dred Scott v. Sanford case, and John Brown’s Raid. The 1850 compromise allowed California to be a free state, failed to control slavery in the remaining regions and strengthened the Fugitive Act. The Northerners used the act as the basis of capturing and returning fugitive slaves to the South. The compromise did not adequately address the structural differences between the North and the South (The American Yawp, 2019). The Fugitive Act polarized moderate citizens.
In the Dred Scott v. Sanford case, the final decision reached was that slaves were pieces of property without any legal rights or recognition like other people. The decision forced the federal government to regulate the slavery institution indistinctly (The American Yawp, 2019). Southerners restarted their issues to the territorial restrictions agreed earlier regarding slavery, which increased divisions.
The objective of the 1859 raid by John Brown was to cause slave uprisings in the South. A Northerner, John Brown, led the attacks. Authorities later captured Brown and executed him for treason (The American Yawp, 2019). The raid compelled Southerners to arm themselves and militarize to be ready for future conflicts.
References
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Copeland, D. A. (2003). The Antebellum Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1820 to 1860 . Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.
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Top of Form
Harrell, D. E. (2005). Unto a Good Land: A History of the American People . Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans.
Bottom of Form
The American Yawp. (2019). Sectional Crisis. Retrieved February 6, 2019, from http://www.americanyawp.com/text/13-the-sectional-crisis/
Norton, M. B., Sheriff, C., & Blight, D. W. (2015). A People and a Nation: A History of the United States . Boston: Wadsworth.
