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.\u00a0 This era featured numerous pressing political issues and resulted in remarkable shifts in the political landscape.\u00a0 The tension also created significant divides both between and within political parties.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

In its effort to appease voters from all areas and walks of life, the Democratic party under Jackson and Van Buren featured striking hypocrisies.\u00a0 The most obvious example, the gag rule, challenged its most fundamental principle: preserving equal rights and the true meaning of the Constitution.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Grounded solely in their opposition to Jackson, members of the Whig party had various disagreements threatening their unity.\u00a0 Most notably, the Whigs consisted of the most adamant abolitionists alongside many wealthy Southern slaveholders.\u00a0 Clearly, this recipe for disaster could not last for long.\u00a0 The lack of organization and unity rendered the party unsuccessful initially in national elections, most importantly the 1836 presidential race.\u00a0 The Whigs, however, impressively consolidated forces prior to their victory in the 1840 election with William Henry Harrison.\u00a0 The triumph delayed inevitable doom for the divided party.<\/p>\n

I found Wilentz’s treatment of the various political struggles to be discombobulating.\u00a0 I had difficulty in identifying which party, faction, or politician supported each side.\u00a0 I felt the narration of the Whigs’ consolidation and democratization in Chapter 16 was particularly fascinating and well-framed.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.\u00a0 This era featured numerous pressing political issues and resulted in remarkable shifts in the political landscape.\u00a0 The tension also created significant divides both between and within political parties.\u00a0 The Democrats efforts to … <\/p>\n

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