Between 1820 and 1840, a few personalities as well as several issues entered the political picture that caused the entire political system to become more defined. At the center of this definition were the political parties, so to speak, that were involved at the time. When strong minds collide with strong ideas and issues, the product is a drastic change. For a while, the distinctions of the political parties in America had been fading, but the presidential election of 1824 marked the beginning of the re-emergence of the two-party political system in America. One could argue that this particular election was not at all about a two party system because of its four candidates; John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Samuel Crawford, and Henry Clay, but this argument would be incorrect. In this election no one candidate obtained a majority vote in the electoral college, therefore, the decision of the presidency went to the House of Representatives.
At that point, the will of the people was suddenly the will of Henry Clay, who, realizing he had no chance to win, chose which candidate he would throw his support behind. At that point, it became painfully obvious that it would not do to have eighty people running for president because no one candidate would ever receive a majority vote. This election also became the stage to introduce some of the up and coming leaders of the nation, and their ideas, to the general public. J.Q. Adams eventually won the election of 1824, and although he was just as smart as his father, he was considered one of the worst presidents in American history. His administration was a series of disasters culminating in the Tariff of Abominations in 1828. Thus, needless to say, Jackson won over J.Q.
The Research paper on The urgent need of Reformation of the Philippine Political Party System from Multi- Part to Two- Party
... the government. But in a plurality election with multi-party system, though an infinite number of political parties is allowed, the result of ... from reality as they are performing well the functions of candidate selection, leadership formation, interest aggregation and agenda development, for this ...
Adams in the election of 1828. Jacksons presidency is where one starts to see that two party system really take shape. Jacksons popularity came from the fact that he was seen as a man of the common people. He was a strong president and one could make a case that this was either in spite of or because of the fact that he was head-strong by nature. Jacksons personality made him an easy target for opposition. That opposition was Henry Clay and their main point of disagreement was the Bank of the United States.
Clay was for the Bank of the United States and thought that he could trap Jackson with it by pushing through the re-charter in 1832-four years early. Clay knew that Jackson would veto the bill and therefore he thought that Jackson would lose votes and thus lose the election. Well, the bill was passed, and just like Clay thought, when Jackson got his hands on it, he chewed it up and spit it back out right in Clays face. Jackson mainly objected to it because of its reliance on foreign capital and its prejudice against small western banks and poor families. So, not remarkably, the main issue of the 1832 election was the Bank of the United States. Clay ran against Jackson and for the fourth and last time, Clay came out in defeat. Andrew Jackson got to enjoy an-other term in office and as a gesture of friendship, Jackson decided to crush the Bank of the United States in what is known as the battle between Chestnut Street and Wall Street.
This was because Jackson was taking money out of the Bank of the United States and putting it in what became known as pet banks. The battle over the banks pointed out the obvious differences between Jackson and Clay. These distinctions played a large hand in the forming of the two party system. The question of States rights was also a pressing issue in American politics. The election of 1836 featured two presidential candidates and two parties: Martin Van Buren, a democrat, and William Henry Harrison, a Whig. The Democrats were heavily in favor of states rights. They favored the common man and believed that everyone should be able to participate in the political process.
The Essay on Andrew Jackson Secretary Of State
... finally this was over and the Bank of the United States became just another bank and Jackson had won the bank war and his second term ... year 1824 a presidential election was held. The candidates up for election were Andrew Jackson, John Adams, Henry Clay, and John Calhoun. The main ...
They also believed that in order to be elected to the presidency, a candidate must appeal to the common people. The Whigs, on the other hand, favored protective tariffs, internal improvements, public schools and roads, as well as reform movements all of which were to rely heavily on the federal government. Because of these distinctions between the wants of some citizens and the wants of others, two parties quickly began to emerge and take shape. As ideas formed and strong-willed people started of back them, it is not at all surprising that distinctive differences between political parties began to form. In most political situations, there are two ways of looking at it and as people mix and have opposing views, friction occurs and sides are taken. Superficially, this would seem to be a negative effect of democracy, but, disagreement, compromise, cloak room meetings, political loyalties, and debate between the two party system are the greatest representations of what an effective democracy is. Bibliography Bailey, Thomas A.
The American Pageant. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1998. 234-296. The Two Party System. Online. Internet.
22 September 2001. Available www.infoplease.com..
