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The Origins And Evolution Of The Second American Party System

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1. Discuss the origins and evolution of the Second American Party System from the 1820s to the election of 1840. In particular, review two major issues that created controversy among American political leaders and their followers.

The Transformation of America, 1815-1848," provides valuable insights into the origins and evolution of this political era. The first-party system in the United States revolved around the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, but by the 1820s, this system began to crumble. The Era of Good Feelings under President James Monroe masked underlying tensions within the country, but these tensions soon surfaced as new political parties emerged. Andrew Jackson's presidential campaign in 1828 marked a defining moment …show more content…

Jackson expanded the power of the presidency and used his veto power to assert executive authority. Jacksonian Democrats championed limited government interference, opposed a national bank, and defended states' rights. They also embraced westward expansion and supported the policy of Indian removal, culminating in the infamous Trail of Tears. Opposition to Jackson's policies led to the formation of the Whig Party in the mid-1830s. The Whigs drew their name from the British Whigs who had opposed the monarchy's excesses. They favored a more activist government, internal improvements, and a strong national bank to promote economic development and stability. Prominent Whig leaders included Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, however, the party was ideologically diverse, united mainly by their opposition to Jackson's …show more content…

The profound changes that Jackson's presidency brought to the United States, focusing on the expansion of executive power, the rise of Jacksonian Democracy, and the transformation of the Democratic Party redefined American politics. One major shift was how Jackson actively used his veto power to assert his authority and shape policy. He vetoed more bills than all previous presidents combined, often using the veto to oppose measures he deemed unconstitutional or detrimental to the interests of the common

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The Populist Party wanted to limit the federal government through the direct election of US Senators. This would reduce the power of state legislators and return to a more democratic style of election. The Jacksonian Democrats and the Populist Party were almost identical in their concerns about the American economy in their respective times. Jacksonians were heavily influenced by Thomas Jefferson in the way that they saw America becoming a great agrarian nation that would have little industry.

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Van Buren rights to a newspaper editor and tries to tell him that the Democrats and the Wigs would never get along this led to the growing political differences which led to the mudslinging campaigns, this was a very stark contrast to the era of good feeling in 1827 and an rivalry between the parties (doc 3). This shift from the government having parties that got along fairly well, to parties that were very conflicting, this would have a big effect on the way campaigns were run, and an increase in more harsh political tactics such as

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This party wanted their candidate to be a “man of the people.” In addition, the Whigs believed the power of Congress should be over president’s. Then, William Harrison was

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Jackson faced lots of negative feedback about the way he chose to run the country and the absolute power he displayed all eight years of his presidency. Another thing Jackson faced during his time in the White House was the recharter of the Bank of the United States (expired in 1832). Andrew Jackson and his democrats were strongly against the bill to recharter the institution, saying it hurt the common people in the long run and saw it as a privileged institution. Henry Clay, a whig and an Anti-Jacksonite of the time, argued for its recharter and against all that Jackson believed

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The turmoil, upheaval, and controversy of the 2016 Trump election is a significant current event of the modern world, but this landslide election is not the first in America’s history to raise such conflicting opinions. The Revolution of 1800 was another shift in political history that impacted not only the candidates, but majority of the public. The defeat of John Adams to Vice President Thomas Jefferson led to the rise of the Democratic-Republican Party rule and the eventual demise of the Federalist Party. Often in politics, opposing views, scandals, and negative publicity plays a role in the election process, due to this, in both the 2016 election and 1800 election negative criticism from both parties was evident. The 1800 and 2016 elections

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The founders of the United States did their best to create a government that would not allow erroneous decisions to greatly harm the nation. They set a percent of presidents being politically sound and well-known; their beliefs for how the nation should be handled were essential to their campaign. President Andrew Jackson, however, did not follow this system, instead winning primarily by his personality and popularity amongst the common American. While his actions in office often appeared to be for the people, most had a hidden selfish side to them that he easily covered up. With the election of 1828, Jackson radically changed American politics, focusing them more on public appearance and personal character than on intelligence and political views, making personality just as, if not more important than the actual politics of a political term.

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Since focusing on politics would of torn the Whig party apart they instead focused on personal characteristics. In eighteen forty Henry Harrison lead the Whig party to their first presidential victory in a campaign which focused more on his heroic military experience then the issues. During the late eighteen forties and early eighteen fifties slavery had become the major political issue. The disagreements and unwillingness to compromise among the Whig party lead to groups down fall.

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One of the biggest thing that Jackson had done as a president was in 1832. Jackson vetoed a bill that would renew the second bank charter early. Jackson stated “I will kill it!”. He said this because he didn’t like the bank at all and he believed that it made the rich richer and the poor poorer. He said in his veto message “It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people.”

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Throughout the 1820's and 1830's, America was enduring some massive changes. Andrew Jackson originated a whole new era in American history. Amongst his greatest accomplishments were inducing the "common man" to be involved in government and modifying democracy to satisfy the same "common man's" needs. Jacksonian Democrat, were Jackson’s supporters and they were great in number during the 1820's and 1830's. They held themselves very greatly because they acknowledged their responsibilities as American citizens.

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Henceforth, the Democrats philosophy referred to as “laissez-faire” that the government should not acknowledge business by neither assisting it or hindering it (Wulf, 2006), for this reason, the people would not be burden with taxes support larger businesses. The influencers of the Jacksonian philosophy were Jackson, Buren, and Polk. In opposition to the Jacksonian democracy was the Whigs, which consist of Harrison, Clay, and Webster. The Whigs wanted to strengthen the roads, canals, and other internal improvements to construct a stronger America and viewed Jackson’s approach as ruling like a king. They also favored a federal government (legislature) and that government power could promote moral health by anti-slavery legislation and temperance laws.

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The election of 1796, John Adams versus Thomas Jefferson. The former won by only 3 single electoral college votes. In a highly competitive, controversial race filled with fake smiles and harsh glares, those votes made all the difference in the world to these two men and their running mates. Because George Washington refused a second term, political parties took root when election time came around. No one knew that this election in the early stages of Americas development would define the future of the United States of America.

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Thomas Jefferson once said. “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties”. The reason he said this was because he feared a strong central government. Then for some Americans, fears of a strong central government taking advantage came true. This is when the two political parties split.

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How the Two Party System is Destroying American Politics After George Washington’s two terms, the two party system was created, the Federalists and Republicans. Over the history of the United states, the party’s have fractured and changed, but two general parties have consistently remained in power. In the modern era, the party politics is more relevant than ever. From a very early age, “most children learn…to think of themselves as either democrat or republican” (Schmidt, et al, 2015, p.163). This mindset, which continues into adulthood, is encouraged by the parties themselves.

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The creation of the new party, along with the death of the Whig Party, realigned American politics. The central issues were new, as were voter alignments, and the balance of power in Congress. The central issues became

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Ever since the United States became a nation, there has always been a two party system. The two original parties were the Federalist and Democratic-Republican. One was seeking to increase the power of the central government, the other was seeking to decrease it. The Federalist party was founded in 1792 and the Democratic Republican that was founded in 1791 (Insidegov.com, n.d.). The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, believed in the importance of a strong central government to lead the country forward, while the Democratic Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, believed in increasing the average man’s role in government (study.com, 2003-2016).

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