Continued Democratic Politics and Andrew Jackson +

Whig Party Formation

Formed in 1845; characterized by their strong opposition to Andrew Jackson.

Whig Economic Goals

Wanted a strong government to promote economic growth and supported industrialization to create jobs.

Whig Supporters

Commercial farmers, merchants, and business owners who wanted lower transportation costs and increased profits.

Whig Geographic Stronghold

New England and the Upper Midwest.

Newspaper Publishing Innovation

Used steam engines to efficiently print newspapers during the Second Party System.

Founders' View on Political Parties

The founders initially disliked political parties.

Parties and Sectional Conflict

Parties with cross-sectional support helped reduce conflict over slavery by shifting focus to government issues like tariffs.

Whigs vs. Democrats on Slavery

Whigs leaned more against slavery, while Democrats were more pro-slavery.

Second Great Awakening

A religious revival featuring Evangelical Protestantism, emphasizing individual free will and salvation through God's grace.

Charles Finney

A preacher who argued that being a good Christian requires social activism to improve the world.

Middle-Class Women in Reform

Financially stable, educated women who actively participated in reform and challenged traditional 'nurturing' gender stereotypes.

American Colonization Society (1816)

An early effort to relocate freed slaves to West Africa to create a white-only America; rejected by African Americans.

David Walker

A free Black tailor from Boston who wrote an 1829 pamphlet urging enslaved people to rebel and refuting racial inferiority.

William Lloyd Garrison

Abolitionist who published the newspaper The Liberator and argued that slavery is morally wrong.

Tensions Within the Abolitionist Movement

Key disagreements involved prioritizing abolition versus free Black rights, and whether women should be allowed to lead.

Gag Rule

1835 law passed by Southern congress which made it illegal to talk of abolition or anti-slavery arguments in Congress