Difference between revisions of "Whig Party"
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As a whole, the party was not very successful. Two Whigs were elected to the presidency, [[William Henry Harrison]] and [[Zachary Taylor]], however neither completed their terms in office. The ultimate downfall of the party was the issue of [[slavery]], with northern Whigs supporting abolitionism and the southern Whigs supporting the current institutions. | As a whole, the party was not very successful. Two Whigs were elected to the presidency, [[William Henry Harrison]] and [[Zachary Taylor]], however neither completed their terms in office. The ultimate downfall of the party was the issue of [[slavery]], with northern Whigs supporting abolitionism and the southern Whigs supporting the current institutions. | ||
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| + | ==Whig Presidents== | ||
| + | * [[William Henry Harrison]] | ||
| + | * [[John Tyler]] | ||
| + | * [[Zachary Taylor]] | ||
| + | * [[Millard Fillmore]] | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 20:12, July 15, 2007
The Whig Party, named after the Whigs of England, was formed in America in 1833 in response to Democrat President Andrew Jackson's actions to increase the power of the executive branch. Henry Clay and Daniel Webster were members of a political party called the National Republicans who began to find common ground with southern Democrats such as John C. Calhoun. They argued that Jackson's powers were becoming "king-like" and begun referring to the Democratic Party as the Tories (Loyalists to the British monarchy during the American Revolution), hence they adopted the title of Whigs for their party.
As a whole, the party was not very successful. Two Whigs were elected to the presidency, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, however neither completed their terms in office. The ultimate downfall of the party was the issue of slavery, with northern Whigs supporting abolitionism and the southern Whigs supporting the current institutions.