What is the Whig Party? A Look at a short-lived 19 th century political party…

Their origins…  A party made up of the leading Americans who hated Andrew Jackson  Many were formerly Democrats within Jackson’s political party  Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams  Supported Clay’s “American System”, tariffs, and federal control of banking & currency

1. William Henry Harrison  Beats Martin Van Buren’s re-election bid in the Election of 1840  Runs on campaign slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!”  Whigs publicize him as “war hero” and “a common man” (He was from wealthy aristocratic family.)  Gives Inauguration Speech on cold rainy day with no jacket…dies in 1 month.  Loser….

2. John Tyler  Ran as Harrison’s Vice President  Not expected to be president, just get Southern votes for Harrison  Reversed and vetoed many Whig economic policies, angering his own party  Nicknamed “His Accidency”  The Whigs soon kicked him out of the party

3. Zachary Taylor  “Old Rough and Ready”  Won Presidency as a war hero from the Mexican War  Died 16 months into office  Speculation into whether or not he was poisoned led to a 1990’s historical study; his remains were examined but the results were inconclusive…

4. Millard Fillmore  Took over for Taylor when he died suddenly  Went easy on slavery just 7 years before the nation would split into Civil War  Seen as failure for doing nothing to stop growing conflict  Loser…

The Legacy of the Whigs…  Party grew split over slavery issue  Reputation for being old, fussy, white dudes  The 4 Whig presidents are all ranked in the top 15 worst presidents of the 42.  The Whig Party may yet return again one day……………

WHIGS FOREVA !!!!

Knowledge Checkpoint  Would the Whigs have any success today? Why or why not?  Why do you think these presidents are generally ranked so low when comparing all presidents?