The political life of America in the 1830s – early 1850s was largely determined by the rivalry between Whigs and Democrats. Both leading parties adhered to political and economic liberalism and considered themselves true Democrats and Republicans. Moreover, both also traced their origins to the old Republican Anti-Federalist Party, founded by Jefferson at the end of the 18th century. Democrats and Whigs alike declared themselves patriots and proclaimed adherence to the ideals and principles of the US War of Independence, guided by the views of George Washington and other Founding Fathers.
The Democratic Party preferred to operate with such concepts as “democratic doctrine,” “democracy,” “people,” “people’s will,” “freedom,” “equal rights,” “patriotism,” “Constitution,” “Union,” and “laws of the states.” Such terminology was widely represented in the appeal of the Democratic-Republicans in 1835, which was the prototype of the pre-election party platform (Murrin, 2016). It contained the classic postulates of the republican-democratic ideology formulated by Jefferson. It was essentially the following: maintaining the unity and inviolability of the Union, protecting democratic freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, “free institutions” and “sacred” rights of citizens, and ensuring the rights of the states. The question of slavery was mostly bypassed by the Democrats. Most of them absolutely did not accept northern abolitionism and called for the secession of the southern states (Murrin, 2016). They claimed it necessary to rely on the principle of non-interference in the internal relations and institutions of both sections and take into account the specific “southern interests.”
The Whig party programs of 1848 and 1852 indicated that the organization had not defined attitudes towards slavery. The Whigs of Massachusetts and some other states of the North advocated the abolition and exclusion of slavery from the territories. Meanwhile, according to Menna (2018), “Southern Whigs proposed several measures, beginning with the diversification of slave labor itself: from cotton cultivation to manufacturing, primarily textiles” (p. 51). However, after 1850, the Whigs experienced a deep ideological crisis: they approved Clay’s compromise, but were never able to develop a single position that suited all factions on significant social issues of slavery and race (Menna, 2018). The party’s centrist leadership maneuvered between different groups. The unresolved issue of slavery led to the disintegration of the Whig party. Ultimately, in the mid-1850s, the radical and liberal Whigs of the North sided with the Republicans, while the conservatives of the South sided with the Democrats.
The leadership and activists of both the Whigs and Democrats consisted of representatives of the upper social strata. There was a confrontation between the new and less wealthy elite strata, represented by the Democrats, and the old, primarily financial elite, whose interests were expressed by the Whig Party. At the same time, the electorate of both major American parties was mixed in class, social status, and ethnicity. However, the less affluent and educated middle and lower classes from economically less developed areas preferred to vote for Democrats (Murrin, 2016). They were also supported by ethnic minorities, Catholics, and immigrants. Meanwhile, the Whig’s social base had more affluent populations, many whites, Native Americans, and Protestants. An analysis of the struggle between the two parties allows seeing in this process signs of an “elite revolution,” since there was a clash of new social groups and lower status strata with the old elites, whom the Democrats called “political aristocracy.”
The parties’ approaches to race and slavery can be considered rather different. Democrats did not take a strong stand on the issue, instead vouching for giving each state the freedom to abolish or preserve slavery as its authorities saw fit. Meanwhile, the views of Whigs varied greatly in that regard, which ultimately became the major reason for the party’s disbanding after just two decades of existence.
References
Menna, L. K. (2018). Southern Whiggery and economic development: The meaning of slavery within a national context. In M. H. Blatt & D. R. Roediger (Eds.), The Meaning of Slavery in the North. essay, Routledge.
Murrin, J. M. (2016). Liberty, equality, power: A history of the American people. Cengage Learning.