At the same time in history, the issue of slavery divided Democrats into the Northern and Southern branches. It would not be hard to guess that the southern Democrats favored slavery. They also believed that a state does have the right to secede from the union if the national government should interfere with slavery. From 1832 to the mid-1850s, under presidents Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, the Democrats usually defeated the opposition Whig Party by slim margins. Both parties ran hard to build grassroots organizations and maximize the attendance of voters, which often reached 80% or 90%. Both parties used patronage broadly to finance their operations, which encompassed emerging big city political machines as well as national
