Whig party, one of the two major political parties of the United States in the second quarter of the 19th cent.

Origins

As a party it did not exist before 1834, but its nucleus was formed in 1824 when the adherents of John Quincy Adams Adams, John Quincy, 1767–1848, 6th President of the United States (1825–29), b. Quincy (then in Braintree), Mass.; son of John Adams and Abigail Adams and father of Charles Francis Adams (1807–86).
..... Click the link for more information. and Henry Clay Clay, Henry, 1777–1852, American statesman, b. Hanover co., Va.

Early Career

His father died when he was four years old, and Clay's formal schooling was limited to three years.
..... Click the link for more information. joined forces against Andrew Jackson Jackson, Andrew, 1767–1845, 7th President of the United States (1829–37), b. Waxhaw settlement on the border of South Carolina and North Carolina (both states claim him).

Early Career

A child of the backwoods, he was left an orphan at 14.
..... Click the link for more information. . This coalition, which later called itself the National Republican party National Republican party, in U.S. history, a short-lived political party opposed to Andrew Jackson . In the election of 1828, which Jackson won overwhelmingly, some of the supporters of his opponent, President John Quincy Adams, called themselves National
..... Click the link for more information. , increased in strength after the election of Jackson in 1828 and was joined in opposition to the President by other smaller parties, the most notable being the Anti-Masonic party Anti-Masonic party, American political organization that rose after the disappearance in W New York state in 1826 of William Morgan. A former Mason, Morgan had written a book purporting to reveal Masonic secrets.
..... Click the link for more information. . By 1832, Jackson had also earned the enmity of such diverse groups as states' rights advocates in the South, proponents of internal improvements in the West, and businessmen and friends of the Bank of the United States Bank of the United States, name for two national banks established by the U.S. Congress to serve as government fiscal agents and as depositories for federal funds; the first bank was in existence from 1791 to 1811 and the second from 1816 to 1836.
..... Click the link for more information. in the East. This opposition was built up and correlated by Henry Clay in the election of 1832. Two years later, in 1834, all the various groups were combined in a loose alliance.

Party Successes

In the 1836 presidential election the Whigs were not unified or strong enough to join behind a single presidential candidate; instead several Whig candidates ran for office. The most prominent were Daniel Webster Webster, Daniel, 1782–1852, American statesman, lawyer, and orator, b. Salisbury (now in Franklin), N.H.

Early Career

He graduated (1801) from Dartmouth College, studied law, and, after an interval as a schoolmaster, was admitted (1805) to the
..... Click the link for more information. in New England, William Henry Harrison Harrison, William Henry, 1773–1841, 9th President of the United States (Mar. 4–Apr. 4, 1841), b. "Berkeley," Charles City co., Va.; son of Benjamin Harrison (1726?–1791) and grandfather of Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901).
..... Click the link for more information. in the Northwest, and Hugh Lawson White White, Hugh Lawson, 1773–1840, American political leader, b. Iredell co., N.C. He moved (1787) to what is now E Tennessee and served in the wars against the Creek and Cherokee . He was (1793) secretary to Gov.
..... Click the link for more information. in the Southwest. The election went to the Democrat, Martin Van Buren Van Buren, Martin, 1782–1862, 8th President of the United States (1837–41), b. Kinderhook, Columbia co., N.Y.

Early Career

He was reared on his father's farm, was educated at local schools, and after reading law was admitted (1803) to the
..... Click the link for more information. , but in opposition the Whigs grew steadily stronger.

The two great leaders of the party were Clay and Webster, but neither was ever to head a victorious national ticket. This failure was partly a result of the sectional variations in the party, which had only one common aim, opposition to the Democrats, and partly a result of the power held by intraparty forces opposed to them, including the political bosses of New York, Thurlow Weed Weed, Thurlow (thûr`lō), 1797–1882, American journalist and political leader, b. Cairo, N.Y.
..... Click the link for more information. and William Seward Seward, William Henry, 1801–72, American statesman, b. Florida, Orange co., N.Y.

Early Career

A graduate (1820) of Union College, he was admitted to the bar in 1822 and established himself as a lawyer in Auburn, N.Y.
..... Click the link for more information. . The party went on to victory in 1840 with the rousing "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign, which put William H. Harrison in the White House. Harrison died after only one month in office and was succeeded by his Vice President, John Tyler Tyler, John, 1790–1862, 10th President of the United States, b. Charles City co., Va.

Early Career

Educated at the College of William and Mary, he studied law under his father, John Tyler (1747–1813), governor of Virginia from 1808 to
..... Click the link for more information. of Virginia.

A definite break now ensued between Tyler and the Whig leaders in Congress—a break that illustrated the Whig philosophy of government. The Whigs had originated in objection to what they considered the excessive power of the executive branch under Andrew Jackson. To them the legislative branch of the government represented the wishes of the people, and the task of the executive was to serve as the enforcing agent of the legislative branch. When Tyler ignored the counsel of his cabinet and vetoed bills that sought to reestablish the Bank of the United States, about 50 Whig members of Congress met in caucus and read Tyler out of the party. At the behest of Clay the entire cabinet resigned; even Webster retired after completing the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1843).

Clay became the standard-bearer in 1844 but was defeated by James K. Polk Polk, James Knox (pōk), 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C.
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1848, Weed and his associates swung the nomination from Webster and Clay to Zachary Taylor Taylor, Zachary (zăk`ərē), 1784–1850, 12th President of the United States (1849–50), b. Orange co., Va.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had gained wide popularity as a commander in the Mexican War. This move temporarily prevented a division of the party, and although Taylor died while Clay was formulating the Compromise of 1850 in Congress, Millard Fillmore Fillmore, Millard, 1800–1874, 13th President of the United States (July, 1850–Mar., 1853), b. Locke (now Summerhill), N.Y. Because he was compelled to work at odd jobs at an early age to earn a living his education was irregular and incomplete.
..... Click the link for more information. , his Vice President and presidential successor, kept the faith of the Whig party.

Disintegration

By the time Fillmore had succeeded to the presidency, the disintegration of the party was already manifest; in 1848 several important Whigs joined the new Free-Soil party Free-Soil party, in U.S. history, political party that came into existence in 1847–48 chiefly because of rising opposition to the extension of slavery into any of the territories newly acquired from Mexico.
..... Click the link for more information. , along with the abolitionists. In New England a bitter struggle developed between antislavery "Conscience Whigs" and proslavery "Cotton Whigs," in other places between "lower law" Whigs and "higher law" Whigs (the term "higher law" had originated from a famous speech by William H. Seward, who declared that there was a higher law than the Constitution).

In the election of 1852, the party was torn wide open by sectional interests. Both Clay and Webster died during the campaign, and Winfield Scott Scott, Winfield, 1786–1866, American general, b. near Petersburg, Va.

Military Career

He briefly attended the College of William and Mary, studied law at Petersburg, and joined the military.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Whig presidential candidate, won only 42 electoral votes. This brought about a quick end to the party, and its remnants gravitated toward other parties. The newly formed (1854) Republican party Republican party, American political party.

Origins and Early Years

The name was first used by Thomas Jefferson's party, later called the Democratic Republican party or, simply, the Democratic party .
..... Click the link for more information. and the sharply divided Democratic party absorbed the largest segments. Other Whigs, led by Fillmore, drifted into the Know-Nothing movement Know-Nothing movement, in U.S. history. The increasing rate of immigration in the 1840s encouraged nativism. In Eastern cities where Roman Catholic immigrants especially had concentrated and were welcomed by the Democrats, local nativistic societies were formed to
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See A. C. Cole, The Whig Party in the South (1913, repr. 1962); E. M. Carroll, Origins of the Whig Party (1925, repr. 1970); G. R. Poage, Henry Clay and the Whig Party (1936, repr. 1965); R. J. Morgan, A Whig Embattled: The Presidency under John Tyler (1954); M. F. Holt, The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party (1999).

Whig Party

(1834–54) U.S. political party. Organized by opponents of Pres. Andrew Jackson, whom they called “King Andrew,” the party took its name from the British antimonarchist party. The U.S. Whigs favoured a program of national development. Jackson's opposition to the Second Bank of the United States (see Bank War) and nullification in South Carolina allowed Henry Clay to bring fiscal conservatives and southern states' rights proponents together in a coalition with those who still believed in the National Republican program of a protective tariff and federally financed internal improvements. The party also included members of the former Anti-Masonic Party. The Whig's candidate, William H. Harrison, won the 1840 presidential election and the party captured Congress, but Harrison's premature death halted enactment of the Whig program (his vice president and successor, John Tyler, vetoed much of the Whig's agenda). Clay was the party's unsuccessful candidate in the 1844 election. In 1848 it nominated Zachary Taylor, who won the presidency. The party began to split into the “conscience” (antislavery) and “cotton” (proslavery) Whigs and was further divided by the Compromise of 1850. Its nominee in the 1852 election, Winfield Scott, failed to win wide support as most Southern Whigs joined the Democratic Party. In 1854 most Northern Whigs joined the new Republican Party, though some joined the Know-Nothing Party.