The Whigs' Lack of Political Success in the Period 1783-1815
There are a number if contributing factors, both long and short term
that led to the downfall of the Whig party in the years 1783-1815.
Firstly, the Whig party itself had alienated themselves from the King,
George III. Unlike Pitt, whose success derived directly from the Kings
favour, the Whigs had continued to express their views against royal
patronage. The Whigs believed the power of the monarch should be
reduced and made no attempt to hide their ambitions, during the
regency crisis, that the King would not recover. The Whigs had hoped
with the King replaced by the Prince of Wales they would soon be
propelled into office. The friendship alliance between the Whig party
and the Prince of Wales had brought the party into further disrepute
as the reagent had been extremely unpopular with a notorious
reputation for exploiting his position in power. After the
Kings recovery the Whigs further distanced themselves from the
monarchy and therefore their hopes of ever coming to office declined
dramatically.
After the outbreak of revolution in France in 1792 the party faced the
problem of split opinion amongst its members. Although the French
revolution did further the divide between some members, many of the
ideological differences existed prior to the outbreak and were simply
exposed showing the party to be split and erratic. A split and erratic
party would never be elected into office. The ‘Friends of the people’,
established by Lord Gray also added to the lack of party unity.
Fox’s own leadership of the Whig party must also be criticised for the
lack of political succ...
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... astute, did not just admit these
men to the back bench seats but offered them prestigious places as
ministers in his cabinet. This subsequently caused a further
disintegration of the Whig party in politics between the period
1783-1815.
To conclude, the Whigs lack of political success cannot be blamed on
an individual issue. A series of events after the start of the 1780’s
led to Whig party splits and a lack of unity. Unity within the party
was essential to take office. The French revolution was a major
contributor to the Whigs lack of political success as it ont only
weakened the party due to loss of members but also due to the exposure
internal party problems. Unable to recover after the events between
1783 and 1815 the Whig party, in contrast to Pitt’s success posed no
competition to challenge the Tory office.
Throughout American history, politics changed with the times, forming and growing as new situations and environments took place. However, the most drastic differences occurred between 1815 and 1840. During this time, the North and South develop different economic systems, which created political differences between the regions. Between 1815 and 1840, the number of eligible voters drastically increased as politicians utilized a wider variety of campaigning methods in order to appeal to as many voters as possible, all essentially caused by economic growth. Politics grow to include universal white male suffrage, a strong national government, and nationalism versus sectionalism. Economic Growth (American System, Industrial Revolution, Sectional Economies, Internal Improvements & Inventions) caused the political party changes.
Wood should not have focused entirely on his commonly overlooked social and economic forces. Instead, he should have combined his insight along with the insight of other traditional forces to give his book a well-rounded theory behind the American Revolution.
The Jacksonian Democrats and Whigs were predominantly opposing forces in the 1830-1840’s; however, one can see instances where they worked together in certain Political and Economic issues. Economically, the Jacksonian Democrats were against the National Bank and Protective Tariff, while the Whigs supported it, and politically, the Jacksonian Democrats were more liberal, calling for the rapid expansion and growth of the country and slavery while the Whigs were more conservative on the issues of Manifest Destiny and slavery. Jacksonian Democrats were essentially greatly Anti-Federalist, supporting law and actions that reduce the amount of power of the federal government, while the Whigs were mainly federalists who supported the federal government and sought to make it stronger through their various economic and political policies.
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John Tyler was the tenth president of the United States of America. He was born on March 29, 1790 in Charles City County, Virginia. He graduated college in 1807 from College of William and Mary and his belief was Episcopalian. He married on March 29 1813 to Latina Christian and then remarried after she passed away in 1844 to Julia Gardiner. He was vice president from 1840 to 1841 when his successor died and he became president from 1841 to 1845. He was jokingly called “His Accidence” because he was the first vice President to take office of President by the death of his predecessor.
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