Summary: The Caucus Nominating System

Improved Essays
The caucus nominating system, or King Caucus, was beginning to show cracks, demonstrated by the election of 1824 and disagreements about its constitutionality. It would be replaced by the mass party system crafted by Martin Van Buren. The mass party system was upheld as supporting local, constitutional government, replacing a system that favored the wealthy and centralized powers. Van Buren argued that the mass party system would remove sectional conflict and replace it with loyalty to party, until division over slavery returned party alignment on sectional grounds.
The Federalist party was dead by the 1820’s. Everyone referred to themselves as Republicans, even if in name only. With no unifying foe, Republicans had little to rally around.
…show more content…
After Jackson’s loss in the House of Representatives for the Presidency, Van Buren desired to use Jackson’s personal popularity to attract supporters to the new Democratic party, then through the party conduct campaigns and policy fights. The Democrats began to “defend parties as indispensable allies of local democracy,” (Milkin pg. 25). The party system began to be defended as constitutional doctrine since it could create attachment between the people and the government. Parties would also educate the locals about the issues, give the parties the opportunity to discuss and debate the issues where voters could hear both sides. Parties would prepare people to understand and accept political topics and issues, they would also inform and organize voters and serve as a medium between the public and government (Milkis pg. 25, …show more content…
Even before the United States formally annexed western territories, the debate began whether slavery would be allowed to spread. Divisions within the parties over slavery caused division within the Democratic party, the destruction of the relatively new Whig party, and the creation of the Republican Party created in 1854 from Whig remnants and fragments of the Democratic party. Anti slavery parties began to form and win state elections as early as 1840 serving as spoilers for both Democrats and Whigs. The Whig party (created in 1830) lost members in the south because of anti slavery leaders, but they also lost support from their base because they didn’t take a hard stand against the spread of slavery. Democrats lost members with their support of popular sovereignty and their views of conciliation to slaveholders. Many northern Democrats wanted the party to fight against the extension of slavery (Reichley pg.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In his farewell address, George Washington addressed the new two-party system, “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion” (Washington). Although George Washington understood the need for the two-party system, he was fearful that in the end it would evolve into something completely different that would endanger the democracy. Since the creation of the two-party system over 200 years ago, the parties certainly have…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Republican Party Dbq

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Republican party was formed on June 17, 1856. The party was formed to help stop the spread of slavery into western territories, after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska act in 1854. This act would allow the settlers to decide whether or not their state would be a slave state. The name of the party was created by Horace Greeley in a 1854 new york newspaper article. In this article he said: "We should not care much whether those thus united (against slavery) were designated 'Whig,' 'Free Democrat' or something else; though we think some simple name like 'Republican' would more fitly designate those who had united to restore the Union to its true mission of champion and promulgator of Liberty rather than propagandist of slavery."…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Republican Party: The Republican Party began as a series of anti-slavery political meetings throughout the Midwest in 1854. The Whig Party was collapsing, and many Whigs, as well as northern Democrats, opposed the extension of slavery. The Republican Party represented this anti-slavery view and thus gained followers rapidly. The party's first Presidential candidate was John C. Fremont, who ran unsuccessfully in 1856 although he carried eleven northern states.…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the late 1830’s, the Whig Party was very successful. The economic Panic of 1837 set two principles for the success of the Whig Party. The first was that the public attention concentrated on the failings of the Democratic politics (Guelzo, 2001). The second principle was that it produced the largest percentage of new voters in every cycle of the presidency. The good thing about this was that once a person was recruited to a party, they would rarely switch over time.…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Casadee Christensen Short Essay #1 (revised) Choice 1 Voting for our senators and presidents is a valued and important right trusted to Americans. However, fairness in doing so is hard to achieve when voting directly for our leaders is not something all Americans have equal part in. The constitution has set forth different parameters negating any equal influence voters should have based on most definitions of democracy. Alexander Hamilton argued and defended in Federalist 68 that the Electoral College was important for the people as a whole to have power in choosing the president, but still allowed the immediate election to be “made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the situation...”…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is said that necessity is the mother of invention, what must exist, ultimately will. However, thinking such as this prompts the question of what we do and do not need. Our government in America, though relatively young, holds prestige in that its strength comes from a sound and adaptable Constitution that has remained relevant throughout its two and a quarter-century lifespan. The foundation of our political system is sturdy, the founding fathers were meticulous in their conversations in Philadelphia in the year 1787. They covered nearly every possible scenario; allocated power effectively and provided a system of checks and balances on said power.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Republican Party

    • 1081 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The party was originally meant to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act. They were against the spread of slavery. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican President. Lincoln only won 40% of the popular vote to secure the presidency and won none of the southern states. This caused most of the south to secede.…

    • 1081 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Political parties in America serve seven different function that help maintain order in the democracy, from managing a peaceful transfer, to collaborating with individuals to reconcile conflicting interests, to staffing the government, and linking the various branches in a understandable way. First, politics helps manage the transfer of power in the United States. While other nations, particularly dictatorships, may struggle or resist political changes, here in the United States the parties take pride in providing a peaceful, even respectful element of changing of the guards. Secondly, political parties offers a choice of rival candidates and programs to the general population.…

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When the founding fathers convened in 1787, they had no intention of including political parties in the United States system of government. Today, it is nearly impossible to consider an election without the two party system. When George Washington left office in 1797, he warned the people against breaking up into factions. In the current state of affairs with the 2016 election , America currently faces a predicament where the presidential candidates do not necessarily agree with the people’s principles. Many voters are picking their candidate simply because they could never vote for the other, as both of the candidates are out of touch with the people and involved in scandals.…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What Caused The Civil War

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages

    To start this, the election of “Republican Party” Abraham Lincoln- Which opposed slavery was closely elected. This was of course, considered a menace to the slavery business, and one by one - Starting with South Carolina withdrew from the Union, to establish the new “Confederate”. This was inadmissible towards the Union.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From my studies in this class, it is clear that the north and the south developed different politics, economics and culture. These differences become increasingly deep seeded and entrenched as time went on. These caused friction on several issues like states rights versus federal power, taxes and other cultural issues. While there are several reasons for the war those stems from any number of these differences; we will focus our attentions on the few that were central to the conflict as sighted by major players in the conflict. Historical background that builds to the conflict will be considered as well.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Political Parties Decline

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Some say that political parties are declining in America and therefore are less effective, which is true, but we won’t see them disappear any time soon. Whether in local or federal level parties remain the key factor in which a person votes, the government is structured around the dynamics of the main political parties , but they are not without their weaknesses and because of that have become less efficacious in nature. The political process in the United States is a unique and complex structure originating from the basic concepts of social contracts which requires detailed analysis to fully understand how they fit into our government, starting with the nomination and election of candidates. First off, everyone is aware that the United…

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Prisoner's Dilemmas

    • 1605 Words
    • 7 Pages

    I argue that the creation of political parties in the United States Congress both addresses and enhances the collective action issues known as the prisoner’s dilemma, agency loss, and the tragedy of the commons, due to their constant clashes of ideological ambitions. The formation of Congress was most likely the first act of collective action before the official constitution was drafted. Two opposing sides, one the heavily populated states argued for a legislative body based on population. And the second, which was a coalition of less populated states, wanted an equal number of representatives. The two sides came together, debated the merits of each proposals, and finally came to a mutual compromise.…

    • 1605 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Despite the U.S constitution focus in creating a strong, and organized government; the framers of the US Constitution, were not in favor of political parties because they” believed that parties were a source of corruption and an impediment to the freedom of people to judge issues on their merits”. (Encyclopedia, 2015). Despite its disapproval, political parties were still implemented, due to its strength of being able to execute important duties in the American government. Political parties carry the responsibility of bringing our people together to achieve control of the government, develop policies favorable to their interests or the groups that support them, and organize and convince voters to elect their candidates to office (Scholastic.com,…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This party felt the threats of pro-slavery Democrats and their harsh ways of taking over government. The pro-slavery Democrats were voting against liberty. Because of this uproar, we found ourselves being led by the first Republican president in 1860, Abraham Lincoln. With the commencement of the Civil War, the Democrats in the North were divided based on how they supported the military policies created by Abraham Lincoln. There were War Democrats who supported the policy, and the Copperheads who opposed the situation.…

    • 1342 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays