Compare and contrast the three different two-party systems in US history between 1790 and 1861 the Federalist vs Democratic Republicans and the whigs vs Democratics and Republicans vs Democratics?

Answer 1

Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists; they wanted the country to have a strong federal government. Their opponents, the Anti-Federalists, objected to the Constitution for the United States, on the grounds that the states were being asked to give up too much of their power to the federal government.

Seldom has an American political party fallen from public favor quite so fast as did the Federalist party. In 1798, in the wake of the XYZ Affair, the Federalists were at the height of their popularity. But, this popularity did not last for long. Within the next two years, they would be turned out of office forever. The biggest reason for the downfall was because of the topic of taxation.

In 1834, a new coalition formally organized the Whig Party. The name was a reference to the British Whig party, whose members traditionally opposed royal authority. With the formation of the Whigs, a second two-party system emerged. The party was formed because of the policies of President Andrew Jackson.

By 1835, the United States was filled with prosperity. Southern cotton was again selling well in Europe. The nation also embarked on the construction of canals and railroads. However, when cotton prices collapsed in England, fear turned to panic, and panic led to depression. The result was hard times between 1837 to about 1840. The man who would inherit this disaster was President Andrew Jackson's handpicked successor, Martin Van Buren.

The origin of the Democratic party seems to be uncertain. Some historians have traced its beginnings to the Democratic-Republican party that Thomas Jefferson created back in the 1790's. Most historians, however, regard Andrew Jackson's election to office as the Democratic Party of today, which began in 1828.

The Democratic Party began to split, with the election of 1860, over the issue of slavery. The Republican Party dates back to 1854, as an anti-slavery movement against the enforcement of slavery. It was based on the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in May of 1854, which permitted slavery in Kansas and Nebraska if the people who lived there voted for it.

In the election of 1856, the Republicans ran their first candidate for President of the United States. His name was John Charles Fremont. The party didn't win, even though 1860 wasn't very far away.

In 1860, the Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln to run for President. Lincoln won the election easily over the Democrats, which had split their votes. Northern Democrats had nominated Steven Douglas, and Southern Democrats chose Vice President John C. Breckinridge. Lincoln won the majority of the electoral vote, but only took less than 40 percent of the popular vote.