US History-Task 2
Part A:
When the constitution was signed, it created two groups of people: Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The Federalists agreed with the body, which means the Anti-Federalists did not agree with it. Anti-Federalists believed that signing the constitution meant a weakening of the states. But they saw the states as the chief protectors of individual rights and believed that weakening the states would promote the rise of arbitrary power (Norton, 2015).
Around the time Thomas Jefferson became president, the First Party was in full effect. The First Party consisted of two parties, the Democratic-Republicans, and the Federalists. At this time, the party's beliefs were still very much the same Federalists wanted a government very involved, and Democratic-Republicans did not. As the first organized political dissenters in the United States, the Democratic societies alarmed officials who had not yet accepted the idea that one component of a free government was an organized, loyal opposition (Norton, 2015).
Part B:
1. Second party system started between the late 1820s-1850s and was the Democrats versus the Whig Party. Democrats aimed for westward expansion so there could be growth for independent land ownership, while the Whig Party wanted to grow the country's commercial development. The Whig Party also supported a national bank and paper currency, and Democrats believed in a government that had few said so and disagreed with a national bank.
2. With the Whig party supporting moral reform, they got support from free black voters. The Whig's support for moral reform appealed to evangelical Protestants and free black voters (Norton, 2015). Since the Whigs appealed to evangelical voters who believed in Christianity, it pushed other religions to vote Democratic. At the Presidential Election of 1840, the leader of the Whig Party was General William Henry Harrison. The Democrats had reelected Van Buren. Democrats had the upper hand over voters of other religions, such as Catholics, Mormons, and religious freethinkers.
3. Democratization is the process of trying to grow political participation. They grew involved by throwing election day parties for the white men. At this time, just about all white men could vote, no matter their social status, which helped involvement grow. At these election parties, they were dependent on socializing, newspapers, peer pressure, and drinking.
Part C:
1. People who lived in the north are what we would consi...
