UNITED STATES HISTORY I

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS 2

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS

THE FIRST AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM

The First Party System was a sectional system in that the Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans represented different sections of the country. These parties were unable to draw significant support in all sections of the country (i.e., Federalists were unable to make inroads into the South and West and the Jeffersonians had difficulties winning much support in New England). The parties in this system were unable to attract support in every section and in every state in the country. The parties in this system had distinct viewpoints and articulated clearly recognizable ideologies. Since the parties were unable to compete effectively in every section and in every state, this First System was essentially noncompetitive and it was unable to mobilize large levels of electorate turnout. The First System evaporated into Republican factionalism when the Federalist Party, for a variety of reasons, found itself unable to compete as a viable force for a longer period of time. This Federalist decline was exacerbated when the Republicans, by adopting some of the precepts of Hamiltonianism in the wake of the War of 1812, effectively made the Federalists "unnecessary".

THE SECOND AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM

The Second American Party System, which began to mature in the years after 1832, grew into an intersectional or bisectional system. The Democrats and the Whigs were able to elicit electoral support in every state in the country and in every section. As late as the election of 1832, there was still no strong evidence of a second party system (Jacksonian Democrats were unable to draw support in New England, while the South and the West gave little support to either the National Republicans or the Anti-Masons). But in the years after 1832, parties in opposition to the Jacksonians arose in the South and West and this set the stage for the maturation of the Second Party System. Even though the Whigs organized originally as a coalition in opposition to Andrew Jackson, (a coalition of very disparate elements), it eventually adopted a distinct viewpoint about society, government, and the economy. Similarly, the Democrats adopted a distinct viewpoint which differed from that of the Whigs. Since the parties were able to compete effectively in every section and in every state, this Second System was essentially competitive and it was able to mobilize larger levels of electorate turnout than the First System.

The Second System remained competitive and bisectional until certain issues intervened in the mid-1850s. Questions relating to the expansion of slavery into the territories and foreign immigration led to great tensions which seriously undermined the bisectional strength of both the Democrats and Whigs and thus weakened the Second System. The Republican Party replaced the Whig Party as the major opponent of the Democrats. By the Election of 1860, however, the bisectional nature of Second system was completely overturned as two fully sectionalized parties (as represented by the candidacies of Lincoln and Breckinridge) were crystallized. the disruption of the intersectional Second System can be seen in the fact that Lincoln carried 17 free states and no slave states while Breckinridge carried 11 slave sates and no free states.

OVERVIEW OF THE FIRST AND SECOND AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS

1790-1812 This period witnessed the origins and development of the First American Political Party System between the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans.

1812-1824 This was the time of the evaporation of the First American Political Party System. The evaporation became evident in the decline of the Federalist Party and the alteration of the Republican stance toward the precepts of Hamiltonianism. This period also gave rise to the development of factions within the Republican party as witnessed in the various groups supporting the 1824 candidacies of Crawford, Calhoun, Adams, Clay, and Jackson.

1824-1843 This period witnessed the growth of factions and the prelude to the Second American Political Party system. The elections of 1828 and 1832 saw contests between Democratic Republicans and National Republicans. John Quincy Adams (1828) and Henry Clay (1832) represented the National Republicans while Andrew Jackson was the candidate of the Democratic Republicans.

1832-1844 This era saw the maturation of the Second American Political Party System between Democrats and Whigs. Originally, the Whigs were a "hodgepodge" of disparate elements united only by their opposition to one or more of Jackson's policies. The Whigs united National Republicans (economic nationalists who advocated an active, interventionist government to promote economic growth) + states' rights Democrats (angered over AJ's stance on Nullification) + entreprenuerial Democrats)those frightened by hard money agrarianism) + Anti-Masons + those upset with AJ's concept of a vigorous executive due to his use of the veto and his vision of the Presidency.

1844-1860 This was a crucial era for the Second American Political Party System because its development was followed by its weakening, erosion, and eventual disintegration.

WEAKENING
Both the Democrats and the Whigs experienced tensions which challenged their strength during this period. During the Polk Administration, Northern Democrats would perceive the Southern Democrats, for a number of reasons, to be in control of the party and its policies. This would harm/threaten the unity within the party. In 1848, the Democratic Party was hurt by the development of a third party, the Free Soil Party. This Free Soil Party combined former members of the Liberty Party )which had been active in 1840 and 1844 with antislavery Democrats (sometimes called "Barnburners") and Conscience Whigs (antislavery Whigs). While this third party did claim some supporters from the Whig Party, it seemed to do more damage to the Democrats as the Free Soil Party polled enough votes to help elect Zachary Taylor, the Whig, in 1848.

EROSION
The election of 1852 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act began the process whereby the Democratic Party's bisectional strength eroded during the 1850s. Various factors, issues, and events weakened the party's ability to act as a bisectional "cord of Union" until the party's status as a true national institution was destroyed at the 1860 Charleston Convention.

Despite the Whig Party's victory in the Election of 1848, it too experienced various tensions which challenged its national strength. Disappointment during the debates over the Compromise of 1850 led to many Southerners or "Cotton Whigs" joining the Democratic Party. The nominations leading to the Election of 1852 also led to further fragmentation of the Whig Party. The 1852 Whig Convention saw Southern Whigs discontented with the nominee, Winfield Scott, while Northern Whigs were outraged by the party's national platform. Scott's defeat in the 1852 presidential contest produced the further disintegration of the Whig Party into Conscience and Cotton factions. Southern Whigs, increasingly disgusted with the Conscience Whigs and angered over the Scott nomination, went over to the Democratic Party. The Scott nomination and subsequent campaign demonstrated that a strong, bisectional combination of Whigs on a truly national scale was becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 had a very dramatic and drastic impact upon the Second American Party System. This Act and its political consequences led to the evaporation of the Second Party System. Conservative Whigs throughout the country continued to shift to the Democratic Party. At the same time, freesoil supporters in both parties (Conscience Whigs and dissident Democrats) left their political organizations in incredible numbers. These political dissidents who favored freesoilism coalesced in anti-Nebraska groups. These groups eventually formed much of the basis for a new party, the Republican Party. The Republican Party was a fascinating coalition of different political groups--anti-Nebraska or freesoil Democrats, Conscience Whigs, former members of the Free Soil Party and some Know-Nothings. The reaction against the Kansas-Nebraska Act was so great that in the "off-year" elections of 1854, the number of Northern Democratic congressmen fell from 93 to 27.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the subsequent development of the Republican Party had a drastic impact upon the bisectional equilibrium of the Democratic Party. While the Southern Democrats retained 63 of 67 slave state seats, Northern Democrats retained only 27 of the 93 free state seats they had in 1852. Northern Democrats would not again reach parity with the Southern Democrats in the House until the New Deal. The 1852 election had already demonstrated some evidence of the erosion of the Democratic Party's bisectional balance but the Kansas-Nebraska Act further eroded and weakened the Democratic Party's bisectional equilibrium. After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, there would be various other additional factors, issues, and events that eventually disintegrated the bisectional strength of the Democratic Party throughout the rest of the 1850s.

DISINTEGRATION
The late 1850s witnessed the rise of the Republican Party and its replacement of the Whig Party as the major opponent of the Democrats in the Second Political Party System. However, during the political metamorphosis of the mid-1850s, the rise of the Republicans to a position of major opposition was at first challenged by another possible opponent to the Democrats--the American Party or the Know-Nothing Party. The Know-Nothings, an expression of the native-born American Protestants' reaction to perceived political and socioeconomic threats caused by foreign immigration, further crippled the Whig Party and it might have emerged as the primary opponent of the Democrats. However, Northerners came to see the "Slave Power" rather than immigration as the greatest challenge to their prosperity and well-being. This perception, combined with the American Party's own difficulty in dealing with the question of slavery in the territories, led to the weakening of the Know-Nothings. As a result of these factors, the Republicans and not the Know-Nothings emerged as the major opponent of the Democrats in 1856 and in the crucial Election of 1860.

[Web Site Home Page] [History 221 Home Page]

[History 221 Syllabus] [History 221 Requirements] [History 221 Grading]

[History 221 Lecture Outlines] [History 221 Essay] [History 221 Essay Guidelines]

[History 221 Supplementary Materials I and II] [History 221 Chat Room]

[E-Mail Me]

1790-1812	This period witnessed the origins and development of the First American Political Party System between the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans.
1812-1824	This was the time of the evaporation of the First American Political Party System. The evaporation became evident in the decline of the Federalist Party and the alteration of the Republican stance toward the precepts of Hamiltonianism. This period also gave rise to the development of factions within the Republican party as witnessed in the various groups supporting the 1824 candidacies of Crawford, Calhoun, Adams, Clay, and Jackson.
1824-1843	This period witnessed the growth of factions and the prelude to the Second American Political Party system. The elections of 1828 and 1832 saw contests between Democratic Republicans and National Republicans. John Quincy Adams (1828) and Henry Clay (1832) represented the National Republicans while Andrew Jackson was the candidate of the Democratic Republicans.
1832-1844	This era saw the maturation of the Second American Political Party System between Democrats and Whigs. Originally, the Whigs were a "hodgepodge" of disparate elements united only by their opposition to one or more of Jackson's policies. The Whigs united National Republicans (economic nationalists who advocated an active, interventionist government to promote economic growth) + states' rights Democrats (angered over AJ's stance on Nullification) + entreprenuerial Democrats)those frightened by hard money agrarianism) + Anti-Masons + those upset with AJ's concept of a vigorous executive due to his use of the veto and his vision of the Presidency.
1844-1860	This was a crucial era for the Second American Political Party System because its development was followed by its weakening, erosion, and eventual disintegration. WEAKENING Both the Democrats and the Whigs experienced tensions which challenged their strength during this period. During the Polk Administration, Northern Democrats would perceive the Southern Democrats, for a number of reasons, to be in control of the party and its policies. This would harm/threaten the unity within the party. In 1848, the Democratic Party was hurt by the development of a third party, the Free Soil Party. This Free Soil Party combined former members of the Liberty Party )which had been active in 1840 and 1844 with antislavery Democrats (sometimes called "Barnburners") and Conscience Whigs (antislavery Whigs). While this third party did claim some supporters from the Whig Party, it seemed to do more damage to the Democrats as the Free Soil Party polled enough votes to help elect Zachary Taylor, the Whig, in 1848. EROSION The election of 1852 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act began the process whereby the Democratic Party's bisectional strength eroded during the 1850s. Various factors, issues, and events weakened the party's ability to act as a bisectional "cord of Union" until the party's status as a true national institution was destroyed at the 1860 Charleston Convention. Despite the Whig Party's victory in the Election of 1848, it too experienced various tensions which challenged its national strength. Disappointment during the debates over the Compromise of 1850 led to many Southerners or "Cotton Whigs" joining the Democratic Party. The nominations leading to the Election of 1852 also led to further fragmentation of the Whig Party. The 1852 Whig Convention saw Southern Whigs discontented with the nominee, Winfield Scott, while Northern Whigs were outraged by the party's national platform. Scott's defeat in the 1852 presidential contest produced the further disintegration of the Whig Party into Conscience and Cotton factions. Southern Whigs, increasingly disgusted with the Conscience Whigs and angered over the Scott nomination, went over to the Democratic Party. The Scott nomination and subsequent campaign demonstrated that a strong, bisectional combination of Whigs on a truly national scale was becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 had a very dramatic and drastic impact upon the Second American Party System. This Act and its political consequences led to the evaporation of the Second Party System. Conservative Whigs throughout the country continued to shift to the Democratic Party. At the same time, freesoil supporters in both parties (Conscience Whigs and dissident Democrats) left their political organizations in incredible numbers. These political dissidents who favored freesoilism coalesced in anti-Nebraska groups. These groups eventually formed much of the basis for a new party, the Republican Party. The Republican Party was a fascinating coalition of different political groups--anti-Nebraska or freesoil Democrats, Conscience Whigs, former members of the Free Soil Party and some Know-Nothings. The reaction against the Kansas-Nebraska Act was so great that in the "off-year" elections of 1854, the number of Northern Democratic congressmen fell from 93 to 27. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the subsequent development of the Republican Party had a drastic impact upon the bisectional equilibrium of the Democratic Party. While the Southern Democrats retained 63 of 67 slave state seats, Northern Democrats retained only 27 of the 93 free state seats they had in 1852. Northern Democrats would not again reach parity with the Southern Democrats in the House until the New Deal. The 1852 election had already demonstrated some evidence of the erosion of the Democratic Party's bisectional balance but the Kansas-Nebraska Act further eroded and weakened the Democratic Party's bisectional equilibrium. After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, there would be various other additional factors, issues, and events that eventually disintegrated the bisectional strength of the Democratic Party throughout the rest of the 1850s. DISINTEGRATION The late 1850s witnessed the rise of the Republican Party and its replacement of the Whig Party as the major opponent of the Democrats in the Second Political Party System. However, during the political metamorphosis of the mid-1850s, the rise of the Republicans to a position of major opposition was at first challenged by another possible opponent to the Democrats--the American Party or the Know-Nothing Party. The Know-Nothings, an expression of the native-born American Protestants' reaction to perceived political and socioeconomic threats caused by foreign immigration, further crippled the Whig Party and it might have emerged as the primary opponent of the Democrats. However, Northerners came to see the "Slave Power" rather than immigration as the greatest challenge to their prosperity and well-being. This perception, combined with the American Party's own difficulty in dealing with the question of slavery in the territories, led to the weakening of the Know-Nothings. As a result of these factors, the Republicans and not the Know-Nothings emerged as the major opponent of the Democrats in 1856 and in the crucial Election of 1860.