For the last few elections, Henry Clay and the Whigs have been scrambling to respond to the Democratic coalition that Andrew Jackson built. But they’ve finally learned how to campaign and are ready to go after the Average Joe vote. Can William Henry Harrison out-Jackson the Democrats?
By 1836, it was clear that the Jackson Revolution was here to stay. The Democrats had totally transformed American politics, specifically the electoral process! But could they benefit a candidate other than Andrew Jackson? Martin Van Buren was ready to put the party organization to the test.
The election of 1828 served as the white, rural laborer's revenge on the big-government establishment. While the Jackson years made a lot of other people’s lives worse, the recognition of popular vote was an area of progress. But now that he was in charge, Jackson had a lot of hype to live up to. Could he could hold it all together and earn another win?
People were pretty pissed about the way the election of 1824 ended. After the Corrupt Bargain between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson immediately started campaigning for the next election and built up a coalition of supporters, ready to oppose the new administration at every turn. Would he get his revenge in 1828?
Since we're moving into this second political phase in the Election Tuesdays series, I wanted to pause and recap some of the things I learned in the first two months of this project! Hopefully, you learned something, too!
In the first two decades of the 1800s, the Democratic-Republicans out-president'ed the Federalists so bad, they didn't even exist anymore. In the Era of Good Feelings, everyone belonged to the same party. But as James Monroe’s second term was ending, it was clear that the good feelings wouldn't last forever. That brings us to the most exciting election yet!
James Monroe shares a distinction with George Washington as the only presidents to run for office unopposed. The Democratic-Republican Party was so dominant (and Americans were feeling so patriotic) that no one challenged Monroe for reelection. BUT there were some deep, deep divisions bubbling under the surface. Issues that are a footnote in this election made the Civil War inevitable, 40 years later.
America’s first declared war was fought almost entirely in James Madison's second term. Would the Republicans look like heroes? Or would they be remembered as the idiots who got us into the country's most boring war?
Our favorite Constitution author, James Madison, was going for a repeat win. But, as you may be aware, the War of 1812 started in 1812! It’s America’s first wartime election! And you better believe it complicated Madison’s chances.
It's finally time for another election without an incumbent president! The two pillars of American partisanship, Hamilton and Jefferson, were gone. What was next for America?
Election Tuesdays 