US HISTORY TALKS 6
Running head: US HISTORY TALKS 1
USA History Talks
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Abstract
The antebellum period witnessed significant events that shaped the history of the United States. The emergence of partisan politics in the United States and the consequent development of the democratic and the Whig parties were partly due to the underlying differences in the views about slavery. The second party movements and the rise in the number of competing ideologies would eventually lead to the changing scope of democracy in the United States. This paper notes that the leaders in the Whig and the Democratic parties disagreed on the principle and the application of reason in the issue of slavery. The problem would eventually lead to divisions and tensions between the rival factors an argument that led to the civil war. The Westward expansion would lead to pressures and concerns around the coexistence between the South and the North. The emergence of civil war and the resultant conflicts was an indication of the underlying issues around the impacts of issues such as legalization, political debates, and territorial issues in the emergence of civil wars.
- A
As early as George Washington’s administration the American setting had already begun to experience simmering differences that would eventually lead to partisan factions. One of the major concerns related to the emergence of political differences within Washington’s cabinet and in the broader populace. The variance between those in favor of a strong federal government and those in favor of a strong state government formed part of the initial origins of partisan politics (Stewart, 1989). The emergence of the federalist and the Democratic-Republican parties would set the stage for the development of two factions, one that supported the constitution and another that was keen on anti-federalism. The varying opinions would set the stage for the emergence of partisan politics, which would eventually lead to the splitting of the United States into partisan political affiliations.
- (1) The Whig and the Democratic Parties
The Whig party and the Democratic Party had different objectives, which made them appeal to varying categories of people in the populace. The Whig party, for instance, used a conservative approach in the party’s journey towards achieving a platform among the people. The party was keen on the issue of the expansion of cotton plantations and the effect of slavery. The Democrats, on the other hand, would tend to attract the second-class citizens and conservative White Americans who believed in the evil that comprised slavery (Kelch & Smith, 1977). The party was able to also endear to the White Americans who were against the promotion of tyranny in the governance system in the United States. Conversely, the Whig Party endeared more to White Americans, landowners and slave owners who were keen on propagating slave trade and tyranny of the ruling party. In essence, this category also included individuals with a strong view of slave rights and the need for an equitable society.
- (2)The Leaders And Constituents
The leaders of the Whig party were keen on modernization and economic development, which meant that leaders would share certain ideologies. The leaders, in this case, included Henry Clay and later Zachary Taylor. The majority of the leaders had state frontiers, which they managed and sort to influence towards adopting a specific direction. The Whigs constituted of professionals and business classes of Americans who were keen on economic development and the marginalization of the second class citizens (Clay, 1884). The Democratic Party, on the other hand, was led by Andrew Jackson in the 1820s and the 1830s and Martin Van Buren. The Democrats’ constituents were more of the poor and the protestant who was keen on the abolishment of the slave trade.
- (3) Second Party System contributed to an increased democratization of American politics
The rise of the second party system in the year 1832 would lead to an increase in the overall extent of voter awareness and interests in the voting system. The partisan identification, in this case, would lead to changes in the political, social and economic currents in the social context. The second party system would ensure a significant turnaround from the initial approach in the year 1924 when only one party and person contested the elections. The second party system would, therefore, open up the political space and provided the Americans with the chance to vote and take part in the democratic process pitting more than one political party. The shift towards greater public participation and involvement would, therefore, lead to a more deliberate focus on the diversity in the political options and alternatives for the people to make choices from in the elections.
- C
The slavery, antislavery and proslavery arguments during the Antebellum American setting was calls that often centered around the struggle between the abolishment or the continuation of the slave trade. The period leading up to the civil war witnessed a significant backlash between those opposed to the slave trade and those keen on furthering the approach. The defenders of the slave trade argued that the trade was an essential part of the success of the American economy and that this would affect most of the other related commerce components. The American economic system was so profoundly –enshrined in the achievements of the slave trade that it was impossible to consider the abolishment of the trade without considering the implications on the economy. On the other hand, the abolitionist argument used the moralistic view of the slave trade as evil and immoral as a tool towards illuminating the challenges and concerns that African Americans faced in their life of slavery.
The reasonable argument was also based on the need to enhance a balance in the treatment of slaves as a way of retaining the slave trade while being conscious of the needs of the slaves. The proslavery argument was therefore furthered by slave owners and people in business with enormous investments in the slave business. The abolitionist discussion was led by Africanists with a need to fight the inhumane handling of the slaves.
C (2.) The Westward Expansion
The Westward expansion was the source of a major confrontation between the North and the South when talks about the possible expansion of the slave trade into the west commenced. The North had fundamental differences that would occasionally contribute to extents of conflict based on the differences in the ideological standards between the two regions. The Native Americans would eventually be forced to move further into the reserves, an issue that had lasting implications on the tense relations between the Native Americans and the whites. The sectional tension would eventually lead to military conflicts that contributed to massive deaths and injuries especially among the African Americans (Aley, 2008). The idea was to drive slavery further, into the southwest and finally into Texas. The tensions would eventually take a war frontier as the two leading factions engaged in a significant Westward expansion trajectory. The desire by the southern states to push for slavery at all cost would eventually become the basis for the tension and the resultant civil war between the southern states and the northern states. The movement that began after the first colonial settlement would lead to massive concerns around the implications that the idea of populating the land with European settlers would have on the formation of the frontier settlements and the eventual attempt to expand the aspect of slavery in the South.
- C (3)
The eventual outbreak of the Civil was due to some critical factors. One of these issues was the introduction of significant legislation. The fugitive Act was among this significant legislation. The Act would force federal officers to take action and arrest any runaway slave. The Act would also seek to punish any officers who failed to capture these runaway slaves. The Act would eventually lead to the abolitionists rising in arms against the law. The second issue was the emergence of the territorial wars between the Southerners and the Northerners, which would eventually lead to the civil war (McConnell, 2013). The two regions would subsequently end up in territorial conflicts that end being part of the reason for the civil rights movements. Finally, the political debate over the moral status of the slave trade would also emerge as a critical factor on the emergence of the civil war. The varying views between the proponents and the opponents of the slave trade would eventually lead to civil conflict.
References
Aley, G. M. (2008). Westward expansion, John Tipton, and the emergence of the American Midwest 1800-1839. doi:10.31274/rtd-180813-9894
Henry Clay’s Speech concerning the Whig Party* (1834): Henry Clay’s Letter to the Whig Party Convention** (1839). (n.d.). The Evolution of Political Parties, Campaigns, and Elections: Landmark Documents, 1787–2007, 70-76. doi:10.4135/9781483330723.n11
Kelch, R. A., & Smith, E. A. (1977). Whig Principles and Party Politics: Earl Fitzwilliam and the Whig Party, 1748-1833. The American Historical Review, 82(1), 100. doi:10.2307/1857204
McConnell, S. (2013). Secession as an International Phenomenon: From America’s Civil War to Contemporary Separatist Movements ed. by Don H. Doyle. Civil War History, 59(3), 388-390. doi:10.1353/cwh.2013.0059
Stewart, R. (1989). The Whig Decade. Party and Politics, 1830–1852, 48-61. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-19653-1_4