US History Task 2 Rouse, Amanda PDF

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A. The First Party System occurred between 1792 and the 1820s, which was the reason for the rise of partisan politics. That was when the American political system was divided into two parties. These two parties were called the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. Both parties wanted control of the Congress, presidency, and the states. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had many differences when it came to the different parties. Both Hamilton and Jefferson, had different views on how to solve various national problems. At the time, there was an economic crisis that was threatening the nation, and Jefferson and Hamilton had different ideas on how to solve it. Hamilton led people that believed in having a strong federal government, which led to the Federalist party. Jefferson led the group who wanted strong state governments. The Federalists supported the constitution, while the Democratic Republican did not support the constitution because of issues that had not been considered in the new constitution. The issue was that the constitution had outlined the rights of the government and their duties but did not outline the rights of the people. The Federalists were able to argue that the outlining of the Bill of Rights, is the rights that the people have according to the constitution. The Democratic Party thought there was a lack of Bill of Rights in the constitution, and that could lead to tyranny. In conclusion, the rise of political parties was caused by disagreements on policies, distrust, and constitutional disagreement between the two parties. (Norton, 2015) B1. There was a strong rivalry between the Whig and Democratic parties. This rivalry was what led to the development of the Second Party System that we have today. The Whigs party

favored a strong federal government through the power of the congress. The Democratic Party favored states’ rights and did not like the Federal Government involvement in social and economic affairs. The Whigs supported the Protective tariff and the National Bank of the United States, while the Democrats were trying to remove them. Another difference the parties had was who each Party favored. The Democratic party represented more of a lower-class man, who made his money off his land. The Whigs represented industrialists and nationalists and shaped their policies to benefit those types of people. Another major difference these Parties held was expansion. The Democratic Party want to expand quickly to provide more land and profits. The Whigs Party did not think expansion was necessary. All these conflicts between the Parties occurred because of who they supported. A similarity between the two Parties was that they both shared a split between pro-slavery and anti-slavery. After comparing these two Parties, there were mostly just conflicts between them. B2. There were several leaders and constituents within the Democratic and Whig Parties. One of the main leaders of the Whigs Party was Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson and Martin van Buren led the Democratic Party. Along Clay; Daniel Webster, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, and Abraham Lincoln were all leaders of the Whig Party. Free black voters and Protestants often followed the Whig Party, which supported moral reform. Religious people, including German Catholics and Irish people often supported the democratic party. (Norton, 2015)

B3. The expansion of voting was the main contribution that increased the democratization of American politics. Women were still unable to vote, but they could participate in electoral campaigns that made an impact. Property restrictions were also decreased, so people with less property were now able to vote. African American males were also able to vote. The states went through a voting transition as well. They went from choosing electors through a caucus to choosing them by popular vote. By the year 1840 up to 90% of white males were able to vote. The factor of “who” was able to vote was what impacted the democratization of American politics. (Norton, 2015) C1. During the antebellum period, there were many arguments involving pro-slavery and abolitionist. The antebellum period took place after the War of 1812 and before the Civil War. There was a unique tension created in the antebellum period regarding slavery and people against slavery. Both the northern and the southern states had an involvement with slavery. Southern states argued that slavery was ethnically correct. The southern states defended slavery and did not want it to end. They did not believe that African Americans were as significant as white people. James Henry Hammond argued that God and the Bible were correct, and they needed to believe that. The northern states believed that everyone was created equally, so they shall all be treated equally. The pro-slavery states were built with great discrimination against the African American slaves. The northern stated also pointed out that the slaves were terrible for the economy due to diminishing the labor for non-slave workers, because they were not capable to

compete in the market. The northern and southern states had opposing views on slavery leading to the tension created in the antebellum period. (Norton, 2015) C2. The westward expansion increased sectional tensions between the northern and southern states. As the states continued to expand west, each new territory had a leading question on if it will be a pro-slavery or abolitionist. The Democratic party wanted to annex, and there was a Democratic president at the time that supported annex. There needed to be an even amount of free states and slave states as the country expanded west. After the end of the Mexican War, America gained tons of land, leaving the Congress to determine the slave states versus the free states. Congress released the Compromise Act which announced the idea of popular sovereignty. California was classified as a free state and New Mexico and Utah were able to decide for them selves if they were a free state or slave state. The Fugitive Slave Act was announced to arrest and return slaves trying to escape. The free states acted towards getting rid of slavery with underground railroads. These railroads gave slaves a network of secretly and safely escape slavery. There was a ko of tension between the northern and southern states when it came to the westward expansion. (Norton, 2015) C3. There were many events that contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. The Dred Scott v. Sanford case was one event that contributed to the start of the Civil War. Dred Scott was a slave in Virginia who tried to sue for his freedom in court. As the case rose to the Supreme Court

level, justices decided that as a slave, Scott was a piece of property that had no legal rights to a human being. This court decision threatened to recast the political landscape that has been preventing the civil war. The case ruled that African Americans are not American citizens, so they could not sue the federal court if they were free or slaves. Abraham Lincoln’s election was also a cause of the Civil War. He was not included on many southern ballots, but still substantially won the election. Lincoln was a republican that believed in anti-slavery, which feared many Southerners. Another event that contributed to the start of the Civil War was the Fugitive Slave Act being passed. Any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave had to pay a fine. This caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. The underground railroad system also got used a lot more after this Act was passed to help free slaves. The ‘Bleeding Kansas’ riots shocked the Northerners and contributed to the start of the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed allowing them to choose to be either a free state or a slave state. Kansas became a “bloody” state over arguments on weather it should be a free or slave state. This violence was a small taste of what the Civil War brought shortly after. There were several events that contributed to the cause of the Civil War. (Norton, 2015)

References Norton, M.B. (2015). A people & a nation. Retrieved from https://lrps.wgu.edu/provision/53540310...