223-531: Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other The Whig Party was a mid-19th century political party in the United States. Alongside the Democratic Party , it was one of two major parties between the late 1830s and
446-552: A New England Historical and Genealogical Register article that was captured in a collection of Connecticut genealogies. The remaining persons, and a few additional dates, all come from online sources which are found under "External links." Douglas was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 1846, but the state legislature elected him to the United States Senate in early 1847. The United States defeated Mexico in
669-493: A liberal - conservative divide, or around religious disputes. The spread of the party model of politics was accelerated by the 1848 Revolutions around Europe. The strength of political parties in the United States waned during the Era of Good Feelings , but shifted and strengthened again by the second half of the 19th century. This was not the only country in which the strength of political parties had substantially increased by
892-456: A party chair , who may be different people from the party leader. These executive organizations may serve to constrain the party leader, especially if that leader is an autocrat. It is common for political parties to conduct major leadership decisions, like selecting a party executive and setting their policy goals, during regular party conferences . Much as party leaders who are not in power are usually at least nominally competing to become
1115-463: A single-member district electoral system tend to have very few parties, whereas countries that use proportional representation tend to have more. The number of parties in a country can also be accurately estimated based on the magnitude of a country's electoral districts and the number of seats in its legislature. An informative way to classify the party systems of the world is by how many parties they include. Because some party systems include
1338-505: A Douglas ally, with Lyman Trumbull , an anti-slavery Democrat. After the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, anti-slavery and pro-slavery settlers flocked to Kansas Territory to influence whether Kansas would be a free state or a slave state. A series of violent clashes, known as Bleeding Kansas , broke out between anti-slavery and pro-slavery forces in the territory, and the two sides established competing governments. Douglas issued
1561-677: A break-up of the United States. He joined a special committee of thirteen senators, led by John J. Crittenden , which sought a legislative solution to the growing sectional tensions between the North and South. He supported the Crittenden Compromise , which called for a series of constitutional amendments that would enshrine the Missouri Compromise line in the constitution, but the Crittenden Compromise
1784-400: A candidacy that many regarded as a lost cause. Few newspapers endorsed Douglas, with the major exception being James Gordon Bennett Sr. 's New York Herald . [James Buchanan] remarked to him [Douglas] that it was very perilous for a public man to put himself in opposition to his party—and that he must take the liberty of reminding him of the fate of Rives and Tallmadge, who rebelled against
2007-416: A candidate in one electoral district has an incentive to assist a similar candidate in a different district. Thus, political parties can be mechanisms for preventing candidates with similar goals from acting to each other's detriment when campaigning or governing. This might help explain the ubiquity of parties: if a group of candidates form a party and are harming each other less, they may perform better over
2230-543: A candidate to victory in an election. Some scholars argue that the first modern political parties developed in early modern Britain in the 17th century, after the Exclusion Crisis and the Glorious Revolution . The Whig faction originally organized itself around support for Protestant constitutional monarchy as opposed to absolute rule , whereas the conservative Tory faction (originally
2453-612: A committee report that endorsed the pro-slavery government as the legitimate government of Kansas and denounced anti-slavery forces as the primary cause of the violence. Anti-slavery activists like Charles Sumner attacked Douglas for the report; one Northern paper wrote, "Douglas has brains, but so has the Devil , so had Judas and Benedict Arnold ." As the crisis in Kansas continued, the Whig Party collapsed, and many former Whigs joined
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#17327912000192676-403: A community of party members. Parties in democracies usually select their party leadership in ways that are more open and competitive than parties in autocracies, where the selection of a new party leader is likely to be tightly controlled. In countries with large sub-national regions, particularly federalist countries, there may be regional party leaders and regional party members in addition to
2899-487: A concession of one iota of principle." Following a long-established precedent, Douglas himself did not attend the convention, and the pro-Douglas forces at the convention were led by William Alexander Richardson. The remaining delegates were split into two broad factions: allies of Buchanan, led by a quartet of senators, and the Fire-Eaters , an extremist group of Southern delegates led by William Lowndes Yancey . After
3122-435: A contentious battle over the inclusion of popular sovereignty or a federal slave code in the party platform, several Southern delegations walked out of the convention. The convention subsequently held several rounds of presidential balloting, and while Douglas received by far the most support of any of the candidates, he fell well short of the necessary two-thirds majority of delegates. After nearly sixty ballots failed to produce
3345-532: A country with multiple competitive parties is not necessarily democratic, and the politics of many autocratic countries are organized around one dominant political party. The ubiquity and strength of political parties in nearly every modern country has led researchers to remark that the existence of political parties is almost a law of politics, and to ask why parties appear to be such an essential part of modern states. Political scientists have therefore come up with several explanations for why political parties are
3568-485: A daughter, Ellen, who lived only a few weeks. After Douglas' death, Adele married General Robert Williams and had 6 children. Douglas's immediate ancestors were almost entirely from New England . His Douglas ancestors, upon emigrating from England in the early 1600s, settled in Connecticut where they lived for several generations until his grandfather, Benajah Douglas, moved to Stephentown, New York . From there
3791-609: A deeper connection to the electorate. The idea of people forming large groups or factions to advocate for their shared interests is ancient. Plato mentions the political factions of Classical Athens in the Republic , and Aristotle discusses the tendency of different types of government to produce factions in the Politics . Certain ancient disputes were also factional, like the Nika riots between two chariot racing factions at
4014-413: A democracy will often affiliate with a specific political party. Party membership may include paying dues, an agreement not to affiliate with multiple parties at the same time, and sometimes a statement of agreement with the party's policies and platform. In democratic countries, members of political parties often are allowed to participate in elections to choose the party leadership. Party members may form
4237-456: A democracy. There have been periods of government exclusively or entirely by one party in some countries that are often considered to have been democratic, and which had no official legal barriers to the inclusion of other parties in the government; this includes recent periods in Botswana , Japan , Mexico , Senegal , and South Africa . It can also occur that one political party dominates
4460-527: A direct successor to that party, and many Whig leaders, including Henry Clay, had aligned with the rival Democratic-Republican Party . In the 1836 presidential election , four different Whig candidates received electoral votes , but the party failed to defeat Jackson's chosen successor, Martin Van Buren . Whig nominee William Henry Harrison unseated Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election but died one month into his term. Harrison's successor, John Tyler,
4683-500: A distance that Douglas traveled on foot. After acquiring enough money and a license to practice law, Douglas moved back to Jacksonville. Morgan County was then only sparsely populated and still very much 'wild country'. The open prairie lands were a revelation to Douglas. Having grown up in the hills of Vermont, he found these lands to be like nothing he had previously seen. Years later he said, "I found my mind liberalized and my opinions enlarged when I got on these broad prairies, with only
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#17327912000194906-803: A few days, however, he was stricken with malarial typhoid and was very ill for four months. He very easily could have died. After paying all of his bills, he still had forty dollars left. Douglas decided to push farther west. He took a canal boat from Cleveland to the southern Ohio town of Portsmouth, then went west to Cincinnati. Douglas still had no well-defined purpose and drifted from city to city, stopping in Louisville and St. Louis. His money now almost all spent, he had to find work soon. Finding no luck in St. Louis, he became convinced that he must find some small country town. Upon hearing that Jacksonville in Illinois
5129-548: A firm stance on slavery , but Northern Whigs tended to be less supportive than their Democratic counterparts. The Whigs emerged in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson , pulling together former members of the National Republican Party , the Anti-Masonic Party , and disaffected Democrats. The Whigs had some weak links to the defunct Federalist Party , but the Whig Party was not
5352-540: A forceful and dominant figure in politics. Born in Brandon, Vermont , Douglas migrated to Jacksonville, Illinois , in 1833 to establish a legal practice. He experienced early success in politics as a member of the newly formed Democratic Party, serving in the Illinois House of Representatives and various other positions. In 1843, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and therefore resigned from
5575-558: A former Democrat, broke with the Whigs in 1841 after clashing with Clay and other party leaders over economic policies such as the re-establishment of a national bank . Clay clinched his party's nomination in the 1844 presidential election but was defeated by Democrat James K. Polk , who subsequently presided over the Mexican–American War . Whig nominee Zachary Taylor won the 1848 presidential election , but Taylor died in 1850 and
5798-426: A large membership base. Further, mass parties prioritize the mobilization of voters and are more centralized than elite parties. The term "catch-all party" was developed by German-American political scientist Otto Kirchheimer to describe the parties that developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a result of changes within the mass parties. The term "big tent party" may be used interchangeably. Kirchheimer characterized
6021-485: A large number of parties that have a very low probability of winning elections, it is often useful to think about the effective number of parties (the number of parties weighted by the strength of those parties) rather than the literal number of registered parties. In a non-partisan system, no political parties exist, or political parties are not a major part of the political system. There are very few countries without political parties . In some non-partisan countries,
6244-401: A large number of political parties around the world, not all political parties have an organizing ideology, or exist to promote ideological policies. For example, some political parties may be clientelistic or patronage -based organizations, which are largely concerned with distributing goods. Other political parties may be created as tools for the advancement of an individual politician. It
6467-606: A leading contender for the Democratic nomination in the 1860 presidential election . His support was concentrated in the North, especially the Midwest, though some unionist Southerners, like Alexander H. Stephens , were sympathetic to his cause. Douglas remained on poor terms with President Buchanan, and his Freeport Doctrine had further alienated many Southern senators. At the start of the 36th United States Congress , Buchanan and his Southern allies removed Douglas as chairman of
6690-495: A major upheaval in their politics and have not yet returned to a stable system of political parties. For example, the United States began as a non-partisan democracy, and it evolved a stable system of political parties over the course of many decades. A country's party system may also dissolve and take time to re-form, leaving a period of minimal or no party system, such as in Peru following the regime of Alberto Fujimori . However, it
6913-689: A national party leader during the 1850s. Along with Whig Henry Clay , he led the effort to pass the Compromise of 1850, which settled some of the territorial issues arising from the Mexican–American War. Douglas was a candidate for president at the 1852 Democratic National Convention but lost the nomination to Franklin Pierce . Seeking to open the west for expansion, Douglas introduced the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854. Though Douglas had hoped
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7136-399: A nearly universal political phenomenon. One of the core explanations for the existence of political parties is that they arise from pre-existing divisions among people: society is divided in a certain way, and a party is formed to organize that division into the electoral competition. By the 1950s, economists and political scientists had shown that party organizations could take advantage of
7359-609: A nominee, delegates agreed to adjourn the convention and reconvene in Baltimore in June. In the weeks leading up to second Democratic convention, a group of former Whigs and Know Nothings formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell for president. Bell campaigned on a simple platform that emphasized unionism and sought to minimize the role of slavery, but he received little support outside of
7582-511: A number of countries, particularly longstanding European democracies. Political scientists have distinguished between different types of political parties that have evolved throughout history. These include elite parties, mass parties, catch-all parties and cartel parties. Elite parties were political elites that were concerned with contesting elections and restricted the influence of outsiders, who were only required to assist in election campaigns. Mass parties tried to recruit new members who were
7805-417: A phenonmenon observable among European Green parties during their transformation from radical environmentalist movements to mainstream centre-left parties. An Entrepreneurial party is a political party that is centered on a political entrepreneur , and dedicated to the advancement of that person or their policies. While some definitions of political parties state that a party is an organization that advances
8028-820: A realistic chance of competing to form government. One current example of a two-party system is the United States , where the national government has for much of the country's history exclusively been controlled by either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party . Other examples of countries which have had long periods of two-party dominance include Colombia , Uruguay , Malta , and Ghana . Two-party systems are not limited to democracies; they may be present in authoritarian regimes as well. Competition between two parties has occurred in historical autocratic regimes in countries including Brazil and Venezuela . A democracy's political institutions can shape
8251-662: A separate proposal which included the admission of California as a free state, the cession by Texas of some of its northern and western territorial claims in return for debt relief, the establishment of New Mexico and Utah territories, a ban on the importation of slaves into the District of Columbia for sale, and a more stringent fugitive slave law. Taylor died in July 1850 and was succeeded by Vice President Fillmore. In contrast to John Tyler, Fillmore's legitimacy and authority as president were widely accepted by members of Congress and
8474-412: A single best policy choice without some institution constraining their options. Another prominent explanation for why political parties exist is psychological: parties may be necessary for many individuals to participate in politics because they provide a massively simplifying heuristic , which allows people to make informed choices with much less mental effort than if voters had to consciously evaluate
8697-479: A slave state as Georgia and South Carolina." After meeting with Walker, Douglas broke with Buchanan and declared that the constitution was a "fraudulent submission," promising to "resist it to the last". Despite Douglas's efforts, the Buchanan administration won congressional approval to admit Kansas as a slave state. Frustrating Buchanan's plans, the newly elected, anti-slavery Kansas legislature rejected admission as
8920-505: A slave state in April 1858. In the South, Douglas received much of the blame for Kansas's rejection of admission; one paper wrote that Douglas had severed "the ties which have hitherto bound this able statesman and the people of the South together in such a cordial alliance". After his defeat by Lyman Trumbull in the 1854 Senate election, Abraham Lincoln began planning to run against Douglas in
9143-558: A smaller group can be a feature of party leadership transitions in more autocratic countries, where the existence of political parties may be severely constrained to only one legal political party, or only one competitive party. Some of these parties, like the Chinese Communist Party , have rigid methods for selecting the next party leader, which involves selection by other party members. A small number of single-party states have hereditary succession, where party leadership
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9366-405: A source of party income and were often expected to spread party ideology as well as assist in elections. In the United States, where both major parties were elite parties, the introduction of primaries and other reforms has transformed them so that power is held by activists who compete over influence and nomination of candidates. An elite party is a type of political party that was dominant in
9589-479: A specific set of ideological or policy goals, many political parties are not primarily motivated by ideology or policy, and instead exist to advance the career of a specific political entrepreneur . Political ideologies are one of the major organizing features of political parties, and parties often officially align themselves with specific ideologies. Parties adopt ideologies for a number of reasons. Ideological affiliations for political parties send signals about
9812-526: A state charter for the Mormon settlement of Nauvoo . In 1841, Douglas successfully spearheaded the passage of Illinois state court packing legislation. He leveraged the government trifecta that Illinois Democrats had to pass legislation that expanded the Illinois Supreme Court from four to nine justices. Since justices at the time were appointed by the state legislature, this allowed
10035-527: A strict constructionist view of the Constitution , while Clay and Adams favored high tariffs and the national bank; regionalism played a central role, with Jackson strongest in the West. Jackson won a plurality of the popular and electoral vote in the 1824 election, but not a majority. The House of Representatives had to decide. Speaker Clay supported Adams, who was elected as president by the House, and Clay
10258-465: A sub-national region of a democratic country that has a competitive national party system; one example is the southern United States during much of the 19th and 20th centuries, where the Democratic Party had almost complete control, with the Southern states being functionally one-party regimes, though opposition parties were never prohibited. In several countries, there are only two parties that have
10481-773: A transcontinental country connected by railroads and waterways, with Illinois serving as the gateway to the West. "There is a power in this nation greater than either the North or the South ;... that power is the country known as the great West," he stated. Though he publicly denied interest in running in the 1852 presidential election , Douglas worked behind the scenes to build a base of support. The 1852 Democratic National Convention held several presidential ballots, with delegates split between Douglas, former Secretary of State James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, 1848 presidential nominee Lewis Cass of Michigan, and former Secretary of War William L. Marcy of New York. Nomination required
10704-553: A treaty with Mexico. Democratic Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania offered an amendment known as the Wilmot Proviso , which would ban slavery in any newly acquired lands. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House with the support of both Northern Whigs and Northern Democrats, breaking the typical pattern of partisan division in congressional votes, but it was defeated in the Senate. Nonetheless, clear divisions remained between
10927-476: A very large portion of society and it can play substantial roles in civil society that are not necessarily directly related to political governance; one example of this is the Chinese Communist Party . Bans on competing parties can also ensure that only one party can ever realistically hold power, even without completely outlawing all other political parties. For example, in North Korea , more than one party
11150-512: A victory for the people against an elitist institution. Jackson won another decisive victory in the 1832 presidential election , taking 55 percent of the national popular vote and 88 percent of the popular vote in the slavery states south of Kentucky and Maryland. Clay's defeat discredited the National Republican Party, encouraging those opposed to Jackson to seek to create a more effective opposition party. Jackson, by 1832,
11373-628: A way that does not conform to the dominant economic left-right divide in politics, in turn emphasising issues that do not attain prominence within the other parties. Further, niche parties do not respond to changes in public opinion to the extent that mainstream parties do. Examples of niche parties include Green parties and extreme nationalist parties, such as the National Rally in France. However, over time these parties may grow in size and shed some of their niche qualities as they become larger,
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#173279120001911596-488: A wide majority of the electoral vote and just under 53 percent of the popular vote. With the election of the first Whig presidential administration in the party's history, Clay and his allies prepared to pass ambitious domestic policies such as the restoration of the national bank, the distribution of federal land sales revenue to the states, a national bankruptcy law, and increased tariff rates. Harrison died just one month into his term, thereby elevating Vice President Tyler to
11819-575: A year. Douglas moved back in with his mother and decided to enroll as a student at Brandon Academy in order to pursue a professional career. Soon, however, his sister married a man from western New York. Stephen's mother later married this man's father, Gehazi Granger. The whole family then relocated to the Granger estate in New York, Stephen included. He was 17 years old at that time, and soon continued his education at nearby Canandaigua Academy. He began
12042-521: Is also common, in countries with important social cleavages along ethnic or racial lines, to represent the interests of one ethnic group or another. This may involve a non-ideological attachment to the interests of that group, or may be a commitment based on an ideology like identity politics . While any of these types of parties may be ideological, there are political parties that do not have any organizing ideology. Political parties are ubiquitous across both democratic and autocratic countries, and there
12265-423: Is also possible – albeit rare – for countries with no bans on political parties, and which have not experienced a major disruption, to nevertheless have no political parties: there are a small number of pacific island democracies, such as Palau , where political parties are permitted to exist and yet parties are not an important part of national politics. In a one-party system , power
12488-405: Is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections . It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics , and parties may promote specific ideological or policy goals. Political parties have become a major part of the politics of almost every country, as modern party organizations developed and spread around the world over
12711-510: Is common for democratic elections to feature competitions between liberal , conservative , and socialist parties; other common ideologies of very large political parties include communism , populism , nationalism , and Islamism . Political parties in different countries will often adopt similar colours and symbols to identify themselves with a particular ideology. However, many political parties have no ideological affiliation, and may instead be primarily engaged in patronage , clientelism ,
12934-576: Is held entirely by one political party. When only one political party exists, it may be the result of a ban on the formation of any competing political parties, which is a common feature in authoritarian states. For example, the Communist Party of Cuba is the only permitted political party in Cuba , and is the only party that can hold seats in the legislature. When only one powerful party is legally permitted to exist, its membership can grow to contain
13157-407: Is inherited by the child of an outgoing party leader. Autocratic parties use more restrictive selection methods to avoid having major shifts in the regime as a result of successions. In both democratic and non-democratic countries, the party leader is often the foremost member of a larger party leadership. A party executive will commonly include administrative positions, like a party secretary and
13380-408: Is largely insignificant as parties use the resources of the state to maintain their position within the political system. Niche parties are a type of political party that developed on the basis of the emergence of new cleavages and issues in politics, such as immigration and the environment. In contrast to mainstream or catch-all parties, niche parties articulate an often limited set of interests in
13603-526: Is officially permitted to exist and even to seat members in the legislature, but laws ensure that the Workers' Party of Korea retains control. It is also possible for countries with free elections to have only one party that holds power. These cases are sometimes called dominant-party systems or particracies . Scholars have debated whether or not a country that has never experienced a transfer of power from one party to another can nevertheless be considered
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#173279120001913826-399: Is often very little change in which political parties have a chance of holding power in a country from one election to the next. This makes it possible to think about the political parties in a country as collectively forming one of the country's central political institutions , called a party system. Some basic features of a party system are the number of parties and what sorts of parties are
14049-442: Is reduced as catch-all parties are financed in part by the state or by donations. In Europe, the shift of Christian Democratic parties that were organized around religion into broader centre-right parties epitomizes this type. Cartel parties are a type of political party that emerged post-1970s and are characterized by heavy state financing and the diminished role of ideology as an organizing principle. The cartel party thesis
14272-432: Is the ideology that is most closely connected to the history of democracies and is often considered to be the dominant or default ideology of governing parties in much of the contemporary world. Many of the traditional competitors to liberal parties are conservative parties. Socialist, communist, feminist, anarchist, fascist, and nationalist parties are more recent developments, largely entering political competitions only in
14495-538: Is unknown if these two events were connected. Douglas's paternal ancestors had migrated to New England in the 17th century, and his paternal grandfather, Benajah Douglass, served several terms in the Vermont House of Representatives . Douglas's father died when Douglas was just two months old. Douglas, his mother, and older sister moved to the farm she and her bachelor brother, Edward Fisk, had inherited from their father. Douglas received an elementary education at
14718-525: The Dred Scott decision , which declared that slavery could not be legally excluded from the federal territories. Though the ruling was unpopular with many in the North, Douglas urged Americans to respect it, saying "whoever resists the final decision of the highest judicial tribunal aims a deadly blow at our whole republican system of government." He approved of another aspect of the ruling, which held that African-Americans could not be citizens, stating that
14941-648: The Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party . By the early 19th century, a number of countries had developed stable modern party systems. The party system that developed in Sweden has been called the world's first party system, on the basis that previous party systems were not fully stable or institutionalized. In many European countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and France, political parties organized around
15164-548: The Federalist Party , led by Alexander Hamilton , and the Democratic-Republican Party , led by Thomas Jefferson . After 1815, the Democratic-Republicans emerged as the sole major party at the national level but became increasingly polarized. A nationalist wing led by Henry Clay favored policies such as the Second Bank of the United States and the implementation of a protective tariff . A second group,
15387-600: The Founding Fathers "referred to the white race alone, and not the African, when they declared men to have been created free and equal". In late 1857, the pro-slavery state legislature in Lecompton, Kansas organized a constitutional referendum on the future of slavery. Anti-slavery forces boycotted the referendum because both options presented required that slaves already in the state remain slaves regardless of
15610-550: The Freeport Doctrine , holding that the people in federal territories had "the lawful means to introduce [slavery] or exclude it as they please, for the reason that slavery cannot exist a day or an hour anywhere, unless it is supported by local police regulations. Those police regulations can only be established by the local legislature; and if the people are opposed to slavery, they will elect representatives to that body who will by unfriendly legislation effectually prevent
15833-657: The Hippodrome of Constantinople . A few instances of recorded political groups or factions in history included the late Roman Republic's Populares and Optimates factions as well as the Dutch Republic's Orangists and the Staatsgezinde . However, modern political parties are considered to have emerged around the end of the 18th century; they are usually considered to have first appeared in Europe and
16056-565: The King of Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution . Jackson's decision to remove government deposits from the national bank ended any possibility of a Webster-Jackson alliance and helped to solidify partisan lines. The removal of the deposits drew opposition from both pro-bank National Republicans and states' rights Southerners like Willie Person Mangum of North Carolina, the latter of whom accused Jackson of flouting
16279-774: The Old Republicans , opposed these policies, favoring a strict interpretation of the Constitution and a weak federal government. In the 1824 presidential election , Speaker of the House Henry Clay , Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford , Secretary of State John Quincy Adams , and General Andrew Jackson all sought the presidency as members of the Democratic-Republican Party. Crawford favored state sovereignty and
16502-634: The Panic of 1837 struck the nation. Land prices plummeted, industries laid off employees, and banks failed. According to historian Daniel Walker Howe , the economic crisis of the late 1830s and early 1840s was the most severe recession in U.S. history until the Great Depression . Van Buren's economic response centered on establishing the Independent Treasury system, essentially a series of vaults that would hold government deposits. As
16725-481: The Rocky Mountains . In January 1854, he proposed to organize two new territories: Nebraska Territory , located west of Iowa, and Kansas Territory , located south of Nebraska Territory and west of Missouri. Under the doctrine of popular sovereignty , the citizens of each territory would determine the status of slavery. Douglas also reluctantly agreed to an amendment that would provide for the formal repeal of
16948-584: The Royalist or Cavalier faction of the English Civil War ) supported a strong monarchy, and these two groups structured disputes in the politics of the United Kingdom throughout the 18th century The Rockingham Whigs have been identified as the first modern political party, because they retained a coherent party label and motivating principles even while out of power. At the end of
17171-474: The Supreme Court of Illinois . Douglas became an ally of President James K. Polk and favored the annexation of Texas and the Mexican–American War . He was one of four Northern Democrats in the House to vote against the Wilmot Proviso , which would have banned slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico . The Illinois legislature elected Douglas to the U.S. Senate in 1847, and Douglas emerged as
17394-403: The 1856 Illinois gubernatorial election. Douglas and Buchanan had a long-standing enmity, but Douglas hoped that his efforts for Buchanan in the 1856 election would be rewarded with influence in the new administration. However, as had been the case in the Pierce administration, Buchanan largely ignored Douglas in making appointments. Shortly after Buchanan took office, the Supreme Court issued
17617-467: The 1856 presidential election, Democrats won 54 of the 100 seats in the state legislature. Despite the split with Buchanan and the strong challenge from Lincoln, the state legislature elected Senator Douglas to a third term in January 1859. Following the elections, Douglas toured the South. He warned against sectionalism and secession, telling one crowd, "if you deem it treason for abolitionists to appeal to
17840-534: The 1858 Senate election. Lincoln strongly rejected proposals to cooperate with Douglas against Buchanan, and he won the Republican nomination to oppose Douglas. Accepting the nomination, Lincoln delivered his House Divided Speech , saying "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect
18063-413: The 1860 election, Lincoln and Douglas were the main candidates in the North, while most Southerners supported either Breckinridge or John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party . Campaigning throughout the country during the election, Douglas warned of the dangers of secession and urged his audiences to stay loyal to the United States. Ultimately, Lincoln's strong support in the North led to his victory in
18286-417: The 19th and 20th centuries. Environmentalism, multiculturalism, and certain types of fundamentalism became prominent towards the end of the 20th century. Parties can sometimes be organized according to their ideology using an economic left–right political spectrum . However, a simple left-right economic axis does not fully capture the variation in party ideologies. Other common axes that are used to compare
18509-584: The Adams administration's nationalist agenda, becoming informally known as "Jacksonians". Due in part to the superior organization (by Martin Van Buren) of the Jacksonians, Jackson defeated Adams in the 1828 presidential election , taking 56 percent of the popular vote. Clay became the leader of the National Republican Party , which opposed President Jackson. By the early 1830s, the Jacksonians organized into
18732-407: The Constitution. In late 1833, Clay began to hold a series of dinners with opposition leaders to settle on a candidate to oppose Martin Van Buren , the likely Democratic nominee in the 1836 presidential election . While Jackson's opponents could not agree on a single presidential candidate, they coordinated in the Senate to oppose Jackson's initiatives. Historian Michael Holt writes that the "birth of
18955-492: The House of Representatives. In both the House and the Senate, every Northern Whig voted against the Kansas–Nebraska Act, while just under half of the Northern Democrats and the vast majority of Southern congressmen of both parties voted for the act. Northern opponents of the act saw it as a triumph for the hated Slave Power . Douglas had hoped that the Kansas–Nebraska Act would help ease sectional tensions, and he
19178-436: The House to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other." Douglas rejected Lincoln's notion that the United States could not continue to be divided into free states and slave states, and warned that Lincoln called for "a war of secession, a war of the North against the South, of the free states against the slave states". Lincoln and his entourage began following Douglas around
19401-420: The Kansas–Nebraska Act would ease sectional tensions, it elicited a strong reaction in the North and helped fuel the rise of the anti-slavery Republican Party. Douglas once again sought the presidency in 1856, but the 1856 Democratic National Convention instead nominated James Buchanan , who went on to win the election. Buchanan and Douglas split over the admission of Kansas as a slave state, as Douglas accused
19624-686: The Latter-day Saints, you will feel the weight of the hand of Almighty upon you; and you will live to see and know that I have testified the truth to you; for the conversation of this day will stick to you through life. Douglas won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1842. After decisively winning re-election in August 1844, Douglas campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate James K. Polk . During one of his first campaign appearances outside of Illinois, Douglas denounced high tariff rates, saying that they constituted "an act for
19847-491: The Mexican–American War and acquired the Mexican Cession in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . After the war, Douglas attempted to avoid the debate over the Wilmot Proviso by immediately admitting the territory acquired from Mexico as one single, huge state. His proposal would have allowed the inhabitants of the new state to determine the status of slavery themselves, but Northerners and Southerners alike rejected
20070-399: The Missouri Compromise. Aided by Jefferson Davis, Douglas convinced President Pierce to support his proposal. Douglas's proposal, which would come to be known as the Kansas–Nebraska Act , provoked a strong reaction in the North, where the repeal of the Missouri Compromise was unpopular. Douglas argued that the Compromise of 1850 had already superseded the Missouri Compromise, and argued that
20293-527: The Republican Party and enacted much of their American System. Presidents Abraham Lincoln , Rutherford B. Hayes , Chester A. Arthur , and Benjamin Harrison were Whigs before switching to the Republican Party, from which they were elected to office. It is considered the primary predecessor party of the modern-day Republicans . During the 1790s, the first major U.S. parties arose in the form of
20516-629: The Republican Party, the Know Nothings, or, in the South, the Democratic Party. In early 1856 Douglas inserted himself and the debate surrounding the Kansas–Nebraska Act into the Chicago mayoral election , where Douglas strongly backed pro-Nebraska Democrat Thomas Dyer . Dyer ultimately won the election. Bleeding Kansas badly damaged Pierce's standing among the Democratic Party leaders, and Pierce, Douglas, and Buchanan competed for
20739-485: The Rio Grande, Polk called on Congress to declare war against Mexico, arguing that Mexico had invaded American territory by crossing the Rio Grande. Many Whigs argued that Polk had provoked war with Mexico by sending a force under General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande, but only a minority of Whigs voted against the declaration of war as they feared that opposing the war would be politically unpopular. Polk received
20962-645: The Senate Committee on Territories. Douglas helped defeat an attempt to pass a federal slave code, but saw his own bill to establish agricultural land-grant colleges vetoed by Buchanan. The 1860 Democratic National Convention opened in Charleston, South Carolina , on April 23, 1860. Newspapers in the city attacked Douglas as the "Demagogue of Illinois," but Douglas was determined to uphold his doctrine of popular sovereignty, telling one supporter "I do not intend to make peace with my enemies, nor to make
21185-487: The Senate in late 1853, Douglas initially sought to avoid taking center stage in national debates, but he once again became involved in sectional disputes stemming from the issue of slavery in the territories. In order to provide for western expansion and the completion of a transcontinental railroad , Douglas favored incorporating parts of the vast unorganized territory located west of the Missouri River and east of
21408-427: The Senate. After the election, Douglas expected to have influence in the selection of Pierce's cabinet, and possibly to receive a cabinet appointment himself. Defying those expectations, Pierce largely ignored Douglas and instead gave key positions to rivals of Douglas, including Buchanan and Jefferson Davis . After the death of his daughter in early 1853, Douglas went on a five-month-long tour of Europe. Returning to
21631-641: The South and Lincoln and Douglas competing for the North. Douglas broke with the precedent that presidential candidates did not campaign, and he gave speeches across the Northeastern United States after he won the nomination. Sensing an opportunity in the Upper South, he also campaigned in Virginia and North Carolina before campaigning in the crucial swing states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. While many Republicans did not take
21854-695: The South. The 1860 Republican National Convention passed over the initial front-runner, William Seward, and nominated Douglas's old opponent, Abraham Lincoln. The Democratic convention reconvened in Baltimore on June 18, and most Southern delegates once again bolted the convention. The rump Democratic convention nominated Douglas by an overwhelming margin. The party initially offered the vice presidential nomination to Benjamin Fitzpatrick , but after Fitzpatrick declined, Herschel Vespasian Johnson of Georgia agreed to serve as Douglas's running mate. Meanwhile,
22077-438: The South. He suggested that, despite the public break between Douglas and Buchanan over Kansas, the two Democrats had worked together to extend and perpetuate slavery. Lincoln disclaimed the radical-for-the-time views on racial equality attributed to him by Douglas, arguing only for the right of African Americans to personal liberty and to earn their own livings. He stated, "I am not, nor ever have been in favor of making voters of
22300-570: The Southern Democrats held their own convention in Baltimore and nominated Vice President John C. Breckinridge for president. Breckinridge himself did not openly support secession, but he received the support of Fire-Eaters like Jefferson Davis. Douglas rejected efforts to cooperate with Breckinridge, arguing that "any compromise with the secessionists would ... give every Northern state to Lincoln." The 1860 election essentially became two contests, with Breckinridge and Bell contesting
22523-500: The Treasury William M. Meredith issued a report calling for an increase in tariff rates, but not to the levels seen under the Tariff of 1842. Even Meredith's moderate policies were not adopted, and, partly due to the strong economic growth of the late 1840s and late 1850s, traditional Whig economic stances would increasingly lose their salience after 1848. When Taylor assumed office, the organization of state and territorial governments and
22746-672: The Tyler administration and endorsed Clay as the party's candidate in the 1844 presidential election . After Webster resigned from the Cabinet in May 1843 following the conclusion of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty , Tyler made the annexation of Texas his key priority. The annexation of Texas was widely viewed as a pro-slavery initiative as it would add another slave state to the union, and most leaders of both parties opposed opening
22969-559: The United States of America, with the United Kingdom's Conservative Party and the Democratic Party of the United States both frequently called the world's "oldest continuous political party". Before the development of mass political parties, elections typically featured a much lower level of competition, had small enough polities that direct decision-making was feasible, and held elections that were dominated by individual networks or cliques that could independently propel
23192-407: The Whig Party among Catholic and foreign-born voters. Ultimately, Polk won the election, taking 49.5% of the popular vote and a majority of the electoral vote; the swing of just over one percent of the vote in New York would have given Clay the victory. In the final weeks of Tyler's presidency, a small group of Southern Whigs joined with congressional Democrats to pass a joint resolution providing for
23415-450: The Whig Party due to his lack of public commitment to Whig policies and his association with the Mexican–American War. In late 1847, Clay emerged as Taylor's main opponent for the Whig nomination, appealing especially to Northern Whigs with his opposition to the war and the acquisition of new territory. With strong backing from slavery-state delegates, Taylor won the presidential nomination on
23638-536: The Whig Party" can be dated to Clay and his allies taking control of the Senate in December 1833. The National Republicans, including Clay and Webster, formed the core of the Whig Party, but many Anti-Masons like William H. Seward of New York and Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania also joined. Several prominent Democrats defected to the Whigs, including Mangum, former Attorney General John Berrien , and John Tyler of Virginia. The Whig Party's first significant action
23861-436: The Whig congressional caucus expelled Tyler from the party on September 13, 1841. The Whigs later began impeachment proceedings against Tyler, but they ultimately failed to impeach him because they believed his likely acquittal would devastate the party. Beginning in mid-1842, Tyler increasingly began to court Democrats, appointing them to his Cabinet and other positions. At the same time, many Whig state organizations repudiated
24084-517: The Whigs included a distrust of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering by party bosses instead of encouraging direct appeals to the people through gigantic rallies, parades, and rhetorical rabble-rousing. Early successes in various states made many Whigs optimistic about victory in 1836, but an improving economy bolstered Van Buren's standing ahead of the election. The Whigs also faced the difficulty of uniting former National Republicans, Anti-Masons, and states' rights Southerners around one candidate, and
24307-466: The Wilmot Proviso and attacked the fugitive slave provision, and Southerners like John C. Calhoun , who opposed the creation of new free states. With the help of President Millard Fillmore , Douglas put together a bipartisan coalition of Whigs and Democrats that passed the compromise in the Senate. Along with Fillmore and other supporters of the compromise, Douglas's lobbying helped ensure that
24530-415: The acquisition of both Texas and Oregon Country . Having won the presidential nomination at the 1844 Whig National Convention unopposed, Clay and other Whigs were initially confident that they would defeat the divided Democrats and their relatively obscure candidate. However, Southern voters responded to Polk's calls for annexation, while in the North, Democrats benefited from the growing animosity towards
24753-408: The advancement of a specific political entrepreneur , or be a " big tent ", in that they wish to attract voters who have a variety of positions on issues. Political parties are collective entities and activities that organize competitions for political offices. The members of a political party contest elections under a shared label. In a narrow definition, a political party can be thought of as just
24976-583: The annexation of Texas, and Texas subsequently became a state in 1845. Following the annexation of Texas, Polk began preparations for a potential war with Mexico , which still regarded Texas as a part of its republic and contended that Texas's true southern border was the Nueces River rather than the Rio Grande . After a skirmish known as the Thornton Affair broke out on the northern side of
25199-400: The annexation of that country. Clay and Van Buren, the two front-runners for major-party presidential nominations in the 1844 election, both announced their opposition to annexation, and the Senate blocked the annexation treaty. To the surprise of Clay and other Whigs, the 1844 Democratic National Convention rejected Van Buren in favor of James K. Polk and established a platform calling for
25422-400: The apparent collapse of the bill, Clay took a temporary leave from the Senate, and Douglas took the lead in advocating for a compromise based largely on Clay's proposals. Rather than passing the proposals as one bill, as Clay had originally sought to do, Douglas would seek to pass each proposal one-by-one. The compromise faced strong opposition from Northerners like William Seward , who favored
25645-475: The badly split Democratic Party to run for president in the 1860 presidential election , which was won by Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln . Douglas had previously defeated Lincoln in the 1858 United States Senate election in Illinois , known for the pivotal Lincoln–Douglas debates . He was one of the brokers of the Compromise of 1850 , which sought to avert a sectional crisis; to further deal with
25868-617: The bar and he was eager to begin his professional career. And so, with his purposes only partially formed and only enough money for immediate needs, he began his westerly drift. After a short stay in Buffalo, NY, and a visit to Niagara Falls, Douglas took a steamboat to Cleveland, OH. He had initially hoped to establish himself there, knowing it would only take him a year to gain admission to the bar in Ohio as opposed to four years in Vermont. Within
26091-405: The base of the volunteer activists and donors who support political parties during campaigns. The extent of participation in party organizations can be affected by a country's political institutions, with certain electoral systems and party systems encouraging higher party membership. Since at least the 1980s, membership in large traditional party organizations has been steadily declining across
26314-475: The century, the United States also developed a party system, called the First Party System . Although the framers of the 1787 United States Constitution did not all anticipate that American political disputes would be primarily organized around political parties, political controversies in the early 1790s over the extent of federal government powers saw the emergence of two proto-political parties :
26537-487: The citizens of the territories should have the right to determine the status of slavery. Opponents of popular sovereignty attacked its supposed fairness; Abraham Lincoln claimed that Douglas "has no very vivid impression that the Negro is human; and consequently has no idea that there can be any moral question in legislating about him". Nonetheless, the Kansas–Nebraska Act won passage in both houses of Congress, albeit narrowly in
26760-438: The claim that parties emerge from existing cleavages, or arguing that the claim is not empirically testable. Others note that while social cleavages might cause political parties to exist, this obscures the opposite effect: that political parties also cause changes in the underlying social cleavages. A further objection is that, if the explanation for where parties come from is that they emerge from existing social cleavages, then
26983-424: The cognitive burden for people to cast informed votes. However, some evidence suggests that over the last several decades, the strength of party identification has been weakening, so this may be a less important function for parties to provide than it was in the past. Political parties are often structured in similar ways across countries. They typically feature a single party leader, a group of party executives, and
27206-609: The compromise also passed the House of Representatives. Fillmore signed the compromise bills into law, ending the sectional crisis. Douglas's role in passing the compromise gave him the stature of a national leader, and he enjoyed the support of the Young America movement , which favored expansionary policies. Douglas helped pass a bill granting rights-of-way to the Illinois Central Railroad , which would connect Chicago to Mobile, Alabama . He envisioned
27429-627: The country." Despite denunciations from various local newspapers, he continued his journey South, speaking against secession in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Ultimately, Missouri was the only state Douglas carried, though he also won three of the seven electoral votes in New Jersey. Bell won Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee; Breckinridge swept the remaining Southern states, and Lincoln won California, Oregon, and every Northern elector outside of New Jersey. Though Douglas finished in last place in
27652-643: The debate over the Independent Treasury continued, William Cabell Rives and some other Democrats who favored a more activist government defected to the Whig Party, while Calhoun and his followers joined the Democratic Party. Whig leaders agreed to hold the party's first national convention in December 1839 in order to select the Whig presidential nominee. By early 1838, Clay had emerged as the front-runner due to his southern support and spirited opposition to Van Buren's Independent Treasury. A recovering economy convinced other Whigs to support Harrison, who
27875-507: The declaration of war against Mexico and also pushed through the restoration of the Independent Treasury System and a bill that reduced tariffs; opposition to the passage of these Democratic policies helped to reunify and reinvigorate the Whigs. In August 1846, Polk asked Congress to appropriate $ 2 million (~$ 60.7 million in 2023) in hopes of using that money as a down payment for the purchase of California in
28098-544: The disappearance and possible murder of William Morgan in 1826. The Anti-Masonic movement, strongest in the Northeast, gave rise to or expanded the use of many innovations which became an accepted practice among other parties, including nominating conventions and party newspapers. Clay rejected overtures from the Anti-Masonic Party, and his attempt to convince Calhoun to serve as his running mate failed, leaving
28321-575: The distribution of voters' preferences over political issues, adjusting themselves in response to what voters believe in order to become more competitive. Beginning in the 1960s, academics began identifying the social cleavages in different countries that might have given rise to specific parties, such as religious cleavages in specific countries that may have produced religious parties there. The theory that parties are produced by social cleavages has drawn several criticisms. Some authors have challenged it on empirical grounds, either finding no evidence for
28544-413: The divisions between lower and upper classes , and they streamline the process of making political decisions by encouraging their members to cooperate. Political parties usually include a party leader, who has primary responsibility for the activities of the party; party executives, who may select the leader and who perform administrative and organizational tasks; and party members, who may volunteer to help
28767-424: The dominant symbols of the Whig campaign as the party sought to portray Harrison as a man of the people. The Whigs also assailed Van Buren's handling of the economy. They argued that traditional Whig policies, such as the restoration of a national bank and the implementation of protective tariff rates, would help to restore the economy. With the economy still in a downturn, Harrison decisively defeated Van Buren, taking
28990-619: The early 1840s, Douglas dined with Joseph Smith , the Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . At Douglas's request, President Smith recounted a history of the Missouri persecutions, to which Douglas expressed sympathy. Joseph Smith then pronounced the following prophecy on the head of Stephen A. Douglas: Judge, you will aspire to the presidency of the United States; and if ever you turn your hand against me or
29213-501: The early 1850s and part of the Second Party System . As well as four Whig presidents ( William Henry Harrison , John Tyler , Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore ), other prominent members included Henry Clay , Daniel Webster , Rufus Choate , William Seward , John J. Crittenden , and John Quincy Adams . The Whig base of support was amongst entrepreneurs, professionals, Protestants (particularly evangelicals ), and
29436-512: The election. After the Battle of Fort Sumter , Douglas rallied support for the Union , but he died in June 1861. He was born Stephen Arnold Douglass in Brandon, Vermont , on April 23, 1813, to physician Stephen Arnold Douglass and his wife, Sarah Fisk. The younger Douglas would drop the second "s" from his name in 1846, the year after the publication of Frederick Douglass 's first autobiography; it
29659-421: The electoral vote, he won the second-highest popular vote total and was the lone candidate to win electoral votes from both a free state and a slave state. Following Lincoln's victory, many in the South began making plans for secession. One Douglas associate in the South wrote to him, "with your defeat, the cause of the Union was lost." After the election, Douglas returned to the Senate, where he sought to prevent
29882-494: The end of the century; for example, around this time the Irish political leader Charles Stewart Parnell implemented several methods and structures like party discipline that would come to be associated with strong grassroots political parties. At the beginning of the 20th century in Europe, the liberal–conservative divide that characterized most party systems was disrupted by the emergence of socialist parties, which attracted
30105-411: The entire party, and some voters decide how to vote in elections partly based on how much they like the leaders of the different parties. The number of people involved in choosing party leaders varies widely across parties and across countries. On one extreme, party leaders might be selected from the entire electorate; on the opposite extreme, they might be selected by just one individual. Selection by
30328-418: The fact that a party is focused on electing candidates, whereas a parliamentary group is a group of political parties, a political faction is a subgroup within a political party, and an advocacy group is focused on advancing a policy agenda. This is related to other features that sometimes distinguish parties from other political organizations, including a larger membership, greater stability over time, and
30551-460: The family moved to Brandon, Vermont , where Stephen A. Douglas was born. Both of Douglas's grandmothers were Arnolds, and both of them descend from early Providence proprietor William Arnold , each through a different one of his sons. His paternal grandmother, Martha (Arnold) Douglas, was the daughter of Stephen Arnold who left Rhode Island to settle in Stephentown, New York. Stephen was
30774-579: The favorite place of my adoption." Douglas became aligned with the "whole hog" Democrats , who strongly supported President Jackson. In 1834, with the support of the Democratic state legislator who represented Jacksonville, Douglas was elected as the State's Attorney for the First District, which encompassed eight counties in western Illinois. Douglas quickly became uninterested in practicing law, choosing instead to focus on politics. He helped arrange
30997-828: The first government in the Rhode Island colony , they being Samuel Wilbore and John Porter . He also descends from Wilbore's son, Samuel Wilbur, Jr. who was mentioned by name in the Royal Charter of 1663, and who, with Porter, was an original purchaser of the Pettaquamscutt lands that became the town of South Kingstown , Rhode Island. Additionally, through his paternal grandmother, Douglas descends from Indian captive Susanna Cole and her famous mother, Anne Hutchinson , as well as early Newport settler George Gardiner and his common-law wife Herodias Gardiner . Douglas' maternal grandmother, Sarah (Arnold) Fisk,
31220-783: The first political party in Uganda, and its name was chosen as an homage to the Indian National Congress. As broader suffrage rights and eventually universal suffrage slowly spread throughout democracies, political parties expanded dramatically, and only then did a vision develop of political parties as intermediaries between the full public and the government. Political parties are a nearly ubiquitous feature of modern countries. Nearly all democratic countries have strong political parties, and many political scientists consider countries with fewer than two parties to necessarily be autocratic . However, these sources allow that
31443-440: The first-ever state Democratic convention in late 1835, and the convention pledged to support Jackson's chosen successor, Martin Van Buren , in the 1836 presidential election . In 1836, he won election to the Illinois House of Representatives , defeating Whig Party candidate John J. Hardin . Douglas joined a legislature that included five future senators, seven future congressmen, and one future president: Abraham Lincoln , who
31666-668: The formation of parties is explicitly banned by law. The existence of political parties may be banned in autocratic countries in order to prevent a turnover in power. For example, in Saudi Arabia , a ban on political parties has been used as a tool for protecting the monarchy. However, parties are also banned in some polities that have long democratic histories, usually in local or regional elections of countries that have strong national party systems. Political parties may also temporarily cease to exist in countries that have either only been established recently, or that have experienced
31889-495: The fourth ballot of the 1848 Whig National Convention . The Whigs nominated Millard Fillmore of New York, a pro-Clay Northerner, for vice president. Anti-slavery Northern Whigs disaffected with Taylor joined with Democratic supporters of Martin Van Buren and some members of the Liberty Party to found the new Free Soil Party ; the party nominated a ticket of Van Buren and Whig Charles Francis Adams Sr. and campaigned against
32112-413: The group of candidates who run for office under a party label. In a broader definition, political parties are the entire apparatus that supports the election of a group of candidates, including voters and volunteers who identify with a particular political party, the official party organizations that support the election of that party's candidates, and legislators in the government who are affiliated with
32335-575: The head of government, the entire party executive may be competing for various positions in the government. For example, in Westminster systems , the largest party that is out of power will form the Official Opposition in parliament, and select a shadow cabinet which (among other functions) provides a signal about which members of the party would hold which positions in the government if the party were to win an election. Citizens in
32558-464: The head of government. In both presidential democracies and parliamentary democracies , the members of a party frequently have substantial input into the selection of party leaders, for example by voting on party leadership at a party conference . Because the leader of a major party is a powerful and visible person, many party leaders are well-known career politicians. Party leaders can be sufficiently prominent that they affect voters' perceptions of
32781-569: The heavens to bound my vision, instead of having them circumscribed by the little ridges that surrounded the valley where I was born." Douglas settled in Jacksonville in November 1833. Douglas was admitted to the state bar in Illinois in March 1834. To his family, Douglas wrote, "I have become a Western man, have imbibed Western feelings, principles, and interests and have selected Illinois as
33004-471: The ideologies of political parties include ranges from liberal to authoritarian, from pro-establishment to anti-establishment , and from tolerant and pluralistic (in their behavior while participating in the political arena) to anti-system. Party positions for individual political parties are assessed by different published indices, such as the V-Party Dataset . Though ideologies are central to
33227-691: The introduction of it into their midst." Thus, Douglas argued that territories could effectively exclude slavery despite the Dred Scott decision. At another appearance, Douglas reiterated his belief that the Declaration of Independence was not meant to apply to non-whites. He said, "this government was made by our fathers on the white basis ... made by white men for the benefit of white men and their posterity forever". For his part, Lincoln criticized Douglas for his moral indifference to slavery, but denied any intention of interference with slavery in
33450-530: The introduction of universal suffrage resulted in the creation of worker's parties that later evolved into mass parties; an example is the German Social Democratic Party . These parties represented large groups of citizens who had not previously been represented in political processes, articulating the interests of different groups in society. In contrast to elite parties, mass parties are funded by their members, and rely on and maintain
33673-513: The issue of slavery more so than Democratic candidate Lewis Cass of Michigan. Ultimately, Taylor won the election with a majority of the electoral vote and a plurality of the popular vote. Taylor improved on Clay's 1844 performance in the South and benefited from the defection of many Democrats to Van Buren in the North. Reflecting the Taylor administration's desire to find a middle ground between traditional Whig and Democratic policies, Secretary of
33896-568: The last few centuries. Although some countries have no political parties , this is extremely rare. Most countries have several parties while others only have one . Parties are important in the politics of autocracies as well as democracies , though usually democracies have more political parties than autocracies. Autocracies often have a single party that governs the country, and some political scientists consider competition between two or more parties to be an essential part of democracy. Parties can develop from existing divisions in society, like
34119-432: The lead on the sixteenth ballot, Douglas withdrew from the race, and the convention nominated Buchanan. As in 1852, Douglas accepted defeat and campaigned for the Democratic nominee. In a three-person race, Buchanan defeated Republican nominee John C. Frémont and Know Nothing nominee Millard Fillmore. Buchanan dominated in the South, but Frémont won several Northern states and Douglas ally William Alexander Richardson lost
34342-592: The local school in Brandon. As a teenager, Stephen left the family farm for Middlebury, Vermont, and apprenticed himself to a cabinetmaker named Nahum Parker. He began reading political literature and engaging in discussions with his employer and other young men. Douglas came to have great admiration for Andrew Jackson. He left Middlebury and returned to Brandon after he grew dissatisfied with his employer. He began another apprenticeship with another cabinetmaker, Deacon Caleb Knowlton, but also quit this employer after less than
34565-404: The long run than unaffiliated politicians , so politicians with party affiliations will out-compete politicians without parties. Parties can also align their member's incentives when those members are in a legislature. The existence of a party apparatus can help coalitions of electors to agree on ideal policy choices, whereas a legislature of unaffiliated members might never be able to agree on
34788-448: The merits of every candidate individually. Without political parties, electors would have to individually evaluate every candidate in every election. Parties enable electors to make judgments about just a few groups, and then apply their judgment of the party to its entire slate of candidates. Because it is much easier to become informed about a few parties' platforms than the positions of a multitude of independent candidates, parties reduce
35011-440: The most successful. These properties are closely connected to other major features of the country's politics, such as how democratic it is, what sorts of restrictions its laws impose on political parties, and what type of electoral systems it uses. Even in countries where the number of political parties is not officially constrained by law, political institutions affect how many parties are viable. For example, democracies that use
35234-432: The national membership and leadership. Parties are typically led by a party leader , who serves as the main representative of the party and often has primary responsibility for overseeing the party's policies and strategies. The leader of the party that controls the government usually becomes the head of government , such as the president or prime minister , and the leaders of other parties explicitly compete to become
35457-450: The nationwide presidential election, and these results were taken as predictive of the mood of the electorate in the lower North. Douglas recognized that victory in the election was impossible without those states. Frustrated and facing certain defeat, in a rally at Milwaukee , on October 13, he lashed out at President Buchanan, who had endorsed the rival Democrat candidate Breckinridge, by telling an anecdote about how he, Douglas, had defied
35680-406: The negroes, or jurors, or qualifying them to hold office, or having them to marry with white people." At another debate, Lincoln stated, "I believe that slavery is wrong ... There is the difference between Judge Douglas and his friends and the Republican Party." Following the final debate, Illinois voters headed to the polls for Election Day. In an election that saw higher turnout than that of
35903-479: The new Democratic Party . Despite Jackson's decisive victory in the 1828 election, National Republicans initially believed that Jackson's party would collapse once Jackson took office. Vice President Calhoun split from the administration in 1831. Still, differences over the tariff prevented Calhoun's followers from joining the National Republicans. Meanwhile, the Anti-Masonic Party formed following
36126-434: The nineteenth century before the introduction of universal suffrage. The French political scientist Maurice Duverger first distinguished between elite and "mass" parties, founding his distinction on the differences within the organisational structures of these two types. Elite parties are characterized by minimal and loose organisation, and are financed by fewer larger monetary contributions typically originating from outside
36349-453: The number of parties that it has. In the 1950s Maurice Duverger observed that single-member district single-vote plurality-rule elections tend to produce two-party systems, and this phenomenon came to be known as Duverger's law . Whether or not this pattern is true has been heavily debated over the last several decades. Some political scientists have broadened this idea to argue that more restrictive political institutions (of which first past
36572-411: The opposition to Jackson split among different leaders when the National Republicans nominated Clay for president. Hoping to make the national bank a key issue of the 1832 election, the National Republicans convinced national bank president Nicholas Biddle to request an extension of the national bank's charter, but their strategy backfired when Jackson successfully portrayed his veto of the recharter as
36795-541: The oppression and plunder of the American laborer for the benefit of a few large capitalists". Ultimately, Polk narrowly defeated Whig nominee Henry Clay in the close 1844 presidential election . Douglas strongly supported the annexation of Texas , and in May 1846 he voted to declare war on Mexico after U.S. and Mexican forces clashed near the Rio Grande River . Douglas considered volunteering to serve in
37018-487: The outcome of the vote. Territorial Governor Robert J. Walker denounced the referendum as a "vile fraud," and many Northern Democrats joined with Republicans in opposing the referendum. Nonetheless, the state legislature presented the Lecompton Constitution to President Buchanan, who endorsed the constitution and called on Congress to ratify it. Buchanan stated, "Kansas is therefore at this moment as much
37241-649: The partisan divisions that had emerged after 1824, as many within the Jacksonian coalition opposed President Jackson's threats of force against South Carolina, while some opposition leaders like Daniel Webster supported them. The name "Whig" was first suggested for Jackson's opponents by James Watson Webb , editor of the Courier and Enquirer of New York City. In South Carolina and other states, those opposed to Jackson began to form small "Whig" parties. The Whig label implicitly compared "King Andrew" to King George III ,
37464-426: The party suffered an early blow when Calhoun announced that he would refuse to support any candidate opposed to the doctrine of nullification. Northern Whigs cast aside both Clay and Webster in favor of General William Henry Harrison , a former senator who had led U.S. forces in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe . Though he had not previously been affiliated with the National Republicans, Harrison indicated that he shared
37687-459: The party's concerns over Jackson's executive power and favored federal investments in infrastructure. Southern Whigs coalesced around Senator Hugh Lawson White , a long-time Jackson ally who opposed Van Buren's candidacy. Ultimately, Van Buren won a majority of the electoral and popular vote in the 1836 election, though the Whigs improved on Clay's 1832 performance in the South and West. Shortly after Van Buren took office, an economic crisis known as
37910-420: The party, donate money to it, and vote for its candidates. There are many different ways in which political parties can be structured and interact with the electorate. The contributions that citizens give to political parties are often regulated by law, and parties will sometimes govern in a way that favours the people who donate time and money to them. Many political parties are motivated by ideological goals. It
38133-443: The party. In many countries, the notion of a political party is defined in law, and governments may specify requirements for an organization to legally qualify as a political party. Political parties are distinguished from other political groups or clubs, such as parliamentary groups, because only presidents have control over the political foundations of the party and also they include political factions, or advocacy groups, mostly by
38356-430: The party. Elite parties give little priority to expanding the party's membership base, and its leaders are its only members. The earliest political parties, such as the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists , are classified as elite parties. A mass party is a type of political party that developed around cleavages in society and mobilized the ordinary citizens or 'masses' in the political process. In Europe,
38579-434: The passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, with most Northern Whigs eventually joining the anti-slavery Republican Party and most Southern Whigs joining the nativist American Party and later the Constitutional Union Party . The last vestiges of the Whig Party faded away after the start of the American Civil War , but Whig ideas remained influential for decades. During the Lincoln Administration , ex-Whigs dominated
38802-533: The passions and prejudices of the North, how much less treason is it, my friends, for southern men to appeal to the passions with the same end?" According to the Springfield Republican , in 1857 Douglas "was, next to General Cass , the richest man in public life"; by the end of 1859, after extravagant political spending and disappointing investments, he was near bankrupt. "Two months ago [before John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry ] he seemed to have more political power and popularity than any other American; everybody
39025-449: The plan. In 1850, Senator Henry Clay introduced a multi-part proposal to admit California as a free state, establish the New Mexico and Utah territories, ban the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and pass a more stringent fugitive slave law . The proposal, which would form the basis of what would eventually be known as the Compromise of 1850 , also required Texas to cede its claims on New Mexico in return for debt relief. After
39248-399: The policies of Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. The formation of the Indian National Congress , which developed in the late 19th century as a pro-independence faction in British India and immediately became a major political party after Indian independence, foreshadowed the dynamic in many newly independent countries; for example, the Uganda National Congress was a pro-independence party and
39471-455: The policy of Gen. Jackson. "Permit me, Mr. President," Douglas replied, "permit me to remind you that General Jackson is dead ." Henry Jarvis Raymond , The New York Times , March 26, 1858 The split in Pennsylvania between supporters of Douglas and supporters of Buchanan helped deliver that state to Lincoln, and Republicans also won Ohio and Indiana. Each of those states held elections for state offices in October, one month ahead of
39694-421: The post is one example) tend to produce a smaller number of political parties, so that extremely small parties systems – like those with only two parties – tend to form in countries with very restrictive rules. Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas ( né Douglass ; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois . A U.S. Senator , he was one of two nominees of
39917-494: The presidency. Tyler had never accepted much of the Whig economic program and he soon clashed with Clay and other congressional Whigs. In August 1841, Tyler vetoed Clay's national bank bill, holding that the legislation was unconstitutional. Congress passed a second bill based on an earlier proposal made by Treasury Secretary Ewing that was tailored to address Tyler's constitutional concerns, but Tyler vetoed that bill as well. In response, every Cabinet member but Webster resigned, and
40140-417: The president during a private meeting about Bleeding Kansas and the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution (the story's literal veracity is disputed—a report resembling Douglas's Milwaukee anecdote had been first published by Henry Jarvis Raymond , a Republican journalist, in 1858, and earlier in the 1860 campaign Douglas told a different anecdote about the meeting involving Buchanan making a different threat, which
40363-411: The president publicly denied). With no hope of victory in the election, Douglas decided to take another tour of the South to speak against secession. "Mr. Lincoln is the president", he stated, "We must try to save the Union. I will go South." In St. Louis, he told the audience, "I am not here tonight to ask for your votes for the presidency. I am here to make an appeal to you for the Union and the peace of
40586-421: The presidential nomination at the 1856 Democratic National Convention . Buchanan's greatest advantage over his rivals was that he had been in Britain for most of Pierce's presidency, and thereby had avoided becoming involved in the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act. After Buchanan led the first fourteen ballots of the convention, Pierce dropped out of the race and endorsed Douglas. After he was unable to pull into
40809-569: The pro-slavery Kansas legislature of having conducted an unfair election. During the Lincoln–Douglas debates, Douglas articulated the Freeport Doctrine , which held that territories could effectively exclude slavery despite the Supreme Court's ruling in the 1857 case of Dred Scott v. Sandford . Disagreements over slavery led to the bolt of Southern delegates at the 1860 Democratic National Convention . The rump convention of Northern delegates nominated Douglas for president, while Southern Democrats threw their support behind John C. Breckinridge . In
41032-508: The property manager but, as a senator of the free state of Illinois, and with presidential aspirations, Douglas found the Southern plantation presented difficulties. He created distance by hiring a manager to operate the plantation while using his allocated 20 percent of the income to advance his political career. His sole lengthy visit to Mississippi was in 1848, and he made only brief emergency trips thereafter. The newlyweds moved their Illinois home from Springfield to fast-growing Chicago in
41255-482: The public. Fillmore accepted the resignation of Taylor's entire Cabinet and appointed Whig leaders like Crittenden, Thomas Corwin of Ohio, and Webster, whose support for the Compromise had outraged his Massachusetts constituents. With the support of Fillmore and an impressive bipartisan and bi-sectional coalition, a Senate bill providing for a final settlement of Texas's borders won passage shortly after Fillmore took office. Political party A political party
41478-422: The question of annexation in 1843 due to the fear of stoking the debate over slavery. Tyler was nonetheless determined to pursue annexation because he believed that the British conspired to abolish slavery in Texas and because he saw the issue as a means to reelection, either through the Democratic Party or through a new party. In April 1844, Secretary of State John C. Calhoun reached a treaty with Texas providing for
41701-400: The rule of law, protections against majority rule, and vigilance against executive tyranny. They favored an economic program known as the American System , which called for a protective tariff , federal subsidies for the construction of infrastructure, and support for a national bank . The party was active in both the Northern United States and the Southern United States and did not take
41924-403: The shift from the traditional mass parties to catch-all parties as a set of developments including the "drastic reduction of the party's ideological baggage" and the "downgrading of the role of the individual party member". By broadening their central ideologies into more open-ended ones, catch-all parties seek to secure the support of a wider section of the population. Further, the role of members
42147-406: The son of Joseph Arnold of North Kingstown and Exeter, Rhode Island who links Douglas with several prominent colonial Rhode Islanders. Through Joseph Arnold, Douglas descends from Benedict Arnold , the first governor of the Rhode Island colony under the Royal Charter of 1663 , and the older son of William Arnold. In this line he also descends from two signers of the compact that established
42370-558: The spread of slavery into the territories. The Whig campaign in the North received a boost when Taylor released a public letter in which he stated that he favored Whig principles and would defer to Congress after taking office, thereby reassuring some wavering Whigs. During the campaign, Northern Whig leaders touted traditional Whig policies like support for infrastructure spending and increased tariff rates, but Southern Whigs largely eschewed economic policy, instead emphasizing that Taylor's status as an enslaver meant that he could be trusted on
42593-460: The state for President Van Buren, and he frequently debated with Lincoln and other Whigs. Though Van Buren lost his re-election bid to Whig candidate William Henry Harrison , Illinois was one of seven states to vote for Van Buren. After the election, Governor Thomas Carlin appointed Douglas as the Illinois Secretary of State , making Douglas the youngest individual to hold the post. During his brief tenure as secretary of state, Douglas helped arrange
42816-406: The state's Democrats to transform the composition of the court from a 3–4 Whig -aligned majority to a 6–3 Democrat-aligned majority. Soon after in early 1841, Douglas accepted an appointment to one of these newly-created judgeships on the state supreme court. He served on the court until 1843, when he resigned in order to serve in the United States House of Representatives. During one evening in
43039-435: The state, campaigning in the senator's wake. Eventually, Douglas agreed to debate Lincoln in seven different venues across the state. The format of the Lincoln-Douglas debates called for one candidate to make a one-hour opening speech, followed by the other candidate delivering a ninety-minute rebuttal, followed by the first candidate delivering a half hour closing remark; Lincoln and Douglas agreed to rotate who would speak in
43262-434: The status of slavery in the Mexican Cession remained the major issue facing Congress. To sidestep the issue of the Wilmot Proviso, the Taylor administration proposed that the lands of the Mexican Cession be admitted as states without first organizing territorial governments; thus, slavery in the area would be left to the discretion of state governments rather than the federal government. In January 1850, Senator Clay introduced
43485-443: The study of Latin and Greek and showed particular skill as a debater. At this point, he may have already been looking forward to a career as a politician. At Canandaigua Academy, Douglas frequently gave speeches supporting Andrew Jackson and Jackson's Democratic Party . A prominent local attorney, Levi Hubbell, allowed Douglas to study under him and while a student in Hubbell's office, Douglas became friendly with Henry B. Payne , who
43708-407: The summer of 1847. They had two sons: Robert M. Douglas (1849–1917) and Stephen Arnold Douglas, Jr., (1850–1908). Martha Douglas died on January 19, 1853, after the birth of her third child, a daughter. The girl died a few weeks later, and Douglas and the two boys were bereft. On November 20, 1856, Douglas married a second time, to 20-year-old Adele Cutts, a southern woman from Washington, D.C. She
43931-399: The support of organized trade unions . During the wave of decolonization in the mid-20th century, many newly sovereign countries outside of Europe and North America developed party systems that often emerged from their movements for independence. For example, a system of political parties arose out of factions in the Indian independence movement , and was strengthened and stabilized by
44154-459: The support of two-thirds of the delegates, and none of the major candidates won that level of support. On the 49th ballot, the convention nominated a dark horse candidate, former Senator Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire. Despite his disappointment at losing the nomination, Douglas campaigned for Pierce across the Midwest. Pierce went on to defeat the Whig candidate, Winfield Scott , in the 1852 presidential election, while Douglas won re-election to
44377-417: The talk of secession seriously, Douglas warned that some Southern leaders would seek immediate secession after the election. At Raleigh, North Carolina, he said "I am in favor of executing in good faith every clause and provision of the Constitution and protecting every right under it—and then hanging every man who takes up arms against it!" His campaign treasurer, August Belmont , struggled to raise funds for
44600-422: The theory is an incomplete story of where political parties come from unless it also explains the origins of these social cleavages. An alternative explanation for why parties are ubiquitous across the world is that the formation of parties provides compatible incentives for candidates and legislators. For example, the existence of political parties might coordinate candidates across geographic districts, so that
44823-414: The town of Meredosia for a steamboat that would take him to Pekin via the Illinois River. Douglas waited a week until learning the only boat expected on the river at that time of year had blown up. Broke and in desperate need of employment, Douglas rode with a farmer to the village of Exeter to open a school. The townspeople informed Douglas that a school could probably be opened in Winchester, ten miles away;
45046-404: The two parties on territorial acquisitions, as most Democrats joined Polk in seeking to acquire vast tracts of land from Mexico, but most Whigs opposed territorial growth. In February 1848, Mexican and U.S. negotiators reached the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , which provided for the cession of Alta California and New Mexico. Despite Whig objections to the acquisition of Mexican territory, the treaty
45269-419: The two slots. The debates focused on the issue of slavery in the territories, and, more broadly, the meaning of republicanism in the United States. Douglas favored popular sovereignty and emphasized the concept of self-government, though his vision of self-government only encompassed whites. Lincoln, meanwhile, emphasized human equality and economic opportunity for all. In the second debate, Douglas articulated
45492-589: The types of policies they might pursue if they were in power. Ideologies also differentiate parties from one another, so that voters can select the party that advances the policies that they most prefer. A party may also seek to advance an ideology by convincing voters to adopt its belief system. Common ideologies that can form a central part of the identity of a political party include liberalism , conservatism , socialism , communism , anarchism , fascism , feminism , environmentalism , nationalism , fundamentalism , Islamism , and multiculturalism . Liberalism
45715-416: The urban middle class . It had much less backing from poor farmers and unskilled workers. The party was hostile toward manifest destiny , territorial expansion into Texas and the Southwest , and the Mexican–American War . It disliked presidential power, as exhibited by Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk , and preferred congressional dominance in lawmaking. Members advocated modernization, meritocracy ,
45938-419: The volatile issue of extending slavery into the territories, Douglas became the foremost advocate of popular sovereignty , which held that each territory should be allowed to determine whether to permit slavery within its borders. This attempt to address the issue was rejected by both pro-slavery and anti-slavery advocates. Douglas was nicknamed the " Little Giant " because he was short in physical stature but
46161-454: The war, but President Polk convinced him to remain in Congress, where he would serve as an advocate for Polk's policies. He was one of four Northern Democrats to vote against the Wilmot Proviso , which would have banned slavery from any land ceded by Mexico. Douglas instead favored extending the Missouri Compromise , which had banned slavery north of the parallel 36°30′ north in the Louisiana Purchase , to all U.S. territories, but his proposal
46384-413: Was a descendant of William Arnold through his younger son, Stephen Arnold. She also descends from early Rhode Island Baptist minister Pardon Tillinghast . In the following ancestral chart, persons 1–7, 10–11, 14–15, 20–23, and 28–31 are all documented in the book The Arnold Memorial , published in 1935 by Elisha Stephen Arnold, a fairly close relative of Douglas. Persons 8-9 and 16-17 are documented in
46607-440: Was a thriving settlement, he decided to try his luck there. In Jacksonville, Douglas befriended attorney Murray McConnel, a friendship that would continue throughout Douglas' life. McConnel, having no employment to offer Douglas, advised him to go to the town of Pekin, Illinois, and open a law office there, believing Pekin was destined to become a major shipping and marketing hub. With books gifted to him by McConnel, Douglas waited in
46830-450: Was appointed Secretary of State. Jackson called it a "corrupt bargain". In the years following the 1824 election, former members of the Democratic-Republican Party split into hostile factions. Supporters of President Adams and Clay joined with many former Federalists such as Daniel Webster to form a group informally known as the "Adams party". Meanwhile, supporters of Jackson, Crawford, and Vice President John C. Calhoun joined in opposing
47053-443: Was at that time a member of the Whig Party. While continuing to serve in the state legislature and as a state's attorney, Douglas was appointed by President Van Buren as the registrar of the Springfield Land Office. Douglas sought election to the United States House of Representatives in 1838, but lost by a 36-vote margin to Whig candidate John T. Stuart . During the presidential election of 1840 , Douglas campaigned throughout
47276-441: Was defeated by Northern congressmen. Despite being a supporter of Polk's policies, he voted against the Walker Tariff . In March 1847, he married Martha Martin, the 21-year-old daughter of wealthy Colonel Robert Martin of North Carolina . The year after their marriage, Martha's father died and bequeathed her a 2,500-acre cotton plantation with 100 slaves on the Pearl River in Lawrence County, Mississippi . He appointed Douglas
47499-406: Was defeated in committee by a combination of Republicans and Southern extremists. As late as Christmas 1860, Douglas wrote to Alexander H. Stephens and offered to support the annexation of Mexico as slave territory to avert secession. South Carolina voted to secede on December 20, 1860, and five other Southern states had done the same by mid-January. In February 1861, Jefferson Davis took office as
47722-434: Was determined to destroy the bank (the Second Bank of the United States), which Whigs supported. Shortly after Jackson's re-election, South Carolina passed a measure to " nullify " the Tariff of 1832 , beginning the Nullification Crisis . Jackson strongly denied the right of South Carolina to nullify federal law, but the crisis was resolved after Congress passed the Tariff of 1833 . The Nullification Crisis briefly scrambled
47945-419: Was developed by Richard Katz and Peter Mair , who wrote that political parties have turned into "semi-state agencies", acting on behalf of the state rather than groups in society. The term 'cartel' refers to the way in which prominent parties in government make it difficult for new parties to enter, as such forming a cartel of established parties. As with catch-all parties, the role of members in cartel parties
48168-528: Was generally seen as the Whig candidate best able to win over Democrats and new voters. With the crucial support of Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania and Thurlow Weed of New York, Harrison won the presidential nomination on the fifth ballot of the 1839 Whig National Convention . For vice president, the Whigs nominated John Tyler, a former states' rights Democrat selected for the Whig ticket primarily because other Southern supporters of Clay refused to serve as Harrison's running mate. Log cabins and hard cider became
48391-442: Was ratified with the support of a majority of the Democratic and Whig senators; Whigs voted for the treaty largely because ratification brought the war to an immediate end. During the war, Whig leaders like John J. Crittenden of Kentucky began to look to General Taylor as a presidential candidate, hoping the party could run on Taylor's personal popularity rather than economic issues. Taylor's candidacy faced significant resistance in
48614-437: Was studying law at the nearby office of John C. Spencer . In 1833, aged just 20, Douglas decided he had had enough of New York and wanted to seek his fortunes out West, which was full of opportunity for an enterprising young man. Despite his mother's protests and the fact that he had not yet completed his studies at the academy, Stephen ventured out on his own. The newer states of the west had easier conditions for admission to
48837-412: Was succeeded by Millard Fillmore. Fillmore, Clay, Daniel Webster, and Democrat Stephen A. Douglas led the passage of the Compromise of 1850 , which helped to defuse sectional tensions in the aftermath of the Mexican–American War for a time. Nonetheless, the Whigs suffered a decisive defeat in the 1852 presidential election partly due to sectional divisions within the party. The Whigs collapsed following
49060-407: Was surprised by the intensity of Northern backlash to his proposal and to Douglas himself. He later remembered, "I could travel from Boston to Chicago by the light of my own effigy." Democrats suffered major losses in the 1854 elections , which saw the emergence of the nativist Know Nothing movement and the anti-slavery Republican Party . The Illinois legislature replaced Senator James Shields ,
49283-425: Was talking about him, and his chances for the Presidency were hopefully discussed by his friends, and reluctantly conceded by his enemies—but now ... the Southern Democracy have ceased to fear him; and the Northern to worship him." He contracted a serious illness, "gout in the stomach", described as "almost always fatal". He would be dead in less than 2 years. Douglas's 1858 re-election solidified his standing as
49506-401: Was the daughter of James Madison Cutts, a nephew of former President James Madison , and Ellen O'Neal, a niece of Rose O'Neal Greenhow . Her mother was from a Maryland Catholic family and raised Adele as a Catholic. With Stephen's approval, she had his two sons baptized as Catholic and reared in that faith. She had a miscarriage in 1858 and became ill. The following year, Adele gave birth to
49729-548: Was to censure Jackson for the removal of the national bank deposits, thereby establishing opposition to Jackson's executive power as the organizing principle of the new party. In doing so, the Whigs were able to shed the elitist image that had persistently hindered the National Republicans. Throughout 1834 and 1835, the Whigs successfully incorporated National Republican and Anti-Masonic state-level organizations and established new state party organizations in Southern states like North Carolina and Georgia. The Anti-Masonic heritage of
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