Lesson 5: Rise of the Whig Party

Lesson Focus

Discover how opposition to President Andrew Jackson led to the rise of the Whig Party. We'll explore their fight against presidential power, their brief successes, and the internal conflicts that ultimately caused the party's downfall.

People to Know

Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler

Learning Objectives

• List three key causes of the severe economic panic and depression that began in 1837.
• Explain why President Tyler’s conflicts with his own Whig party led to an ineffective and divided government.

Growing opposition to President Andrew Jackson's powerful presidency led his political rivals, including Henry Clay, to form a new party.

Taking the name Whigs, they were too divided to unite behind one candidate in the 1836 election, instead running three favorite sons from different states.

This split strategy failed, allowing Jackson’s chosen successor, Martin Van Buren, to easily win the presidency and continue Democratic party control of the White House.

Soon after Van Buren took office, the panic of 1837 struck the nation. Its causes included the withdrawal of British investments, Jackson's past economic policies, and the lack of a national bank to stabilize the economy.

Banks failed, people hoarded money, and businesses closed, leading to massive unemployment and farm foreclosures.

Pay special attention to how this created a severe depression, setting the stage for major political change in the next election.

In response to the depression, President Martin Van Buren followed a philosophy of laissez-faire, believing the government should not interfere in the economy.

Instead of creating a new national bank, he proposed the Independent Treasury System, where the government would store its own funds in vaults, backed by gold and silver.

This system, passed in 1840, was designed to protect government money from the unstable banking system but did little to relieve the depression.

The Whigs used the ongoing depression to their advantage in the election of 1840. They decided not to create a platform, or statement of beliefs, to avoid showing their internal divisions.

Instead, they nominated war hero William Henry Harrison and ran a “Log Cabin” campaign, portraying him as a simple man while attacking Van Buren as an out-of-touch aristocrat.

This populist strategy worked, resulting in a decisive victory for Harrison and his running mate, John Tyler.

The Whigs' victory was short-lived, as President William Henry Harrison died just one month after his inauguration. Vice President John Tyler, a former Democrat who supported states' rights, became president.

He clashed with Whig leaders like Henry Clay by vetoing key party legislation, such as bills to create a new national bank.

Note that this conflict shattered the Whig party. By 1842, Tyler was a president without a party, and the government became ineffective.