Political Divisions – U.S. to 1877

Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

Chapters 14 through 16 in Wilentz explored the chaotic politics prevalent during Andrew Jackson’s second term and Martin Van Buren’s term as president. This era featured numerous pressing political issues and resulted in remarkable shifts in the political landscape. The tension also created significant divides both between and within political parties. The Democrats efforts to attract nationwide appeal led to catastrophic contradictions, and the Whig’s hatred for Jackson provided only an ephemeral glue to hold together members with sharply different ideologies.

In its effort to appease voters from all areas and walks of life, the Democratic party under Jackson and Van Buren featured striking hypocrisies. The most obvious example, the gag rule, challenged its most fundamental principle: preserving equal rights and the true meaning of the Constitution. Like MASPEED (http://sites.davidson.edu/his141/november-5th-post/), I was shocked at the gag rule’s blatant disregard for substantial Constitutional ideals, as it solely served to appease Jackson’s slaveholding constituency in the South. Not surprisingly, contradictions in policies such as this one resulted in factions within the Democratic party, as divides within the Democratic party manifested themselves more than ever.

Grounded solely in their opposition to Jackson, members of the Whig party had various disagreements threatening their unity. Most notably, the Whigs consisted of the most adamant abolitionists alongside many wealthy Southern slaveholders. Clearly, this recipe for disaster could not last for long. The lack of organization and unity rendered the party unsuccessful initially in national elections, most importantly the 1836 presidential race. The Whigs, however, impressively consolidated forces prior to their victory in the 1840 election with William Henry Harrison. The triumph delayed inevitable doom for the divided party.

I found Wilentz’s treatment of the various political struggles to be discombobulating. I had difficulty in identifying which party, faction, or politician supported each side. I felt the narration of the Whigs’ consolidation and democratization in Chapter 16 was particularly fascinating and well-framed. Overall, despite the headache I got sorting through the issues, Wilentz did a fairly nice job of investigating the crazy politics of the 1830’s.

It often seems as though the current political climate is the height of inefficiency and divisiveness. This, however, is wildly inaccurate, as the American government has been divided along party and geographic lines since its creation. One of the issues that created the worst rifts in the early nation was slavery. Many of the same arguments that occur today were just as present hundreds of years ago. Politicians argued over the intentions of the Constitution and the scope of national government. They refused to cooperate and took steps to secure their own self-interests over national good. Although the terms of the argument have certainly changed, we no longer debate the legality of slavery or property requirements for suffrage, today’s political fights are just as fierce and contentious as they were during the Missouri controversy. In addition, just as is done today the fundamental principles of America such as freedom and individuality were used to support a wide range of positions that often contradicted each other in their employment of these ideals. This, some would say, leads to slaveholders’ need to be beloved by their slaves. This is touched on in the Paternalism in the American South post, which posits that the disparity between American conceptions of freedom and the injustice of slavery creates the paternalistic attitude asserted by proponents of slavery. Even more interesting is the “necessary evil” approach to the slavery issue. Just as today many admit that the environment is a growing moral and practical issue, some choose to push the issue off as a necessary evil for growth and progress. As soon as we, as a society and a nation, transcend one issue, another arises. Thus, just as the country was engaged in political turmoil in the 1800’s and is still today, there will probably still be political debates another two hundred years from now. The strength of the American political system is its ability to survive political fads and stand as a framework for political progress at any point in its history.

Tag: Political Divisions

Dishevelled Democracy

Political Turmoil