Second Party System

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The Second Party System was the mid-19th-century American political era defined by fierce competition between the Democratic Party and the Whig Party, high voter turnout, and strong party organization.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf party system
political era
associatedWithEvent Bank War
Compromise of 1850
Mexican–American War
Nullification Crisis
characterizedBy competition between Democratic Party and Whig Party
high voter turnout
strong party organization
country United States
declineCause collapse of the Whig Party
sectional conflict over slavery
emergedDuring Jacksonian democracy era
linked to: Jacksonian era
endedByElectoralChange elections of the mid-1850s
endTime mid-1850s
followed First Party System
followedBy Third Party System
hasFeature mass political rallies
national party conventions
party newspapers
patronage system
spoils system
ideologicalTendency Democrats favored limited federal government
Whigs favored active federal government for economic development
influenced development of modern party organization in the United States
majorParty Democratic Party (United States)
linked to: Democratic Party

Whig Party (United States)
linked to: Whig Party
politicalIssue federal power
internal improvements
national bank
slavery expansion
states' rights
tariffs
politicalLeader Andrew Jackson
Daniel Webster
Henry Clay
John C. Calhoun
Martin Van Buren
precededByElectoralChange election of 1828
regionallyDistinctPatterns North
South
West
socialBase Democrats drew support from small farmers and urban workers
Whigs drew support from merchants, professionals, and many planters
startTime circa 1828
voterTurnout among highest in U.S. history up to that time

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

1852 United States presidential election era Second Party System
Tariff of 1857 debates hasContext decline of the Whig Party
linked to: Second Party System
Pierce–Scott presidential election context Second Party System in United States politics
linked to: Second Party System