The Party Systems

The Second Party System: The Whigs

• power of congress over the president
• modernization:
  • internal improvements
  • education reform
• a mixed economy
  • “the American System”
  • agriculture, trade, and industry
• avoided slavery question, but opposed its expansion

The Second Party System: The Democrats

• limited federal government
• broad political participation of white men
• westward expansion
• protecting white supremacy and slavery

The Panic of 1837

• 1837 financial collapse caused depression through the early 1840s
• main cause: overspeculation on western land
• contributing factors:
  • riskier lending/investment
  • the number of banks increased
  • amount of paper money increased
  • Jackson administration policies:
  • spread federal deposits across more banks
  • specie circular: required hard currency to buy federal land which led to drained banks

The Whig Presidential Ticket in 1840

• panic of 1837 gives Whigs an opportunity
• William Henry Harrison vs President Martin Van Buren
• Harrison campaigns as a frontier war hero like Jackson