Notes from Wednesdays Class FEB 27,2008

Democratic – Republican
1816-1828
- One party rule
- Jacksonian/van Buren v.s. Clay/Calhoun. Spells the demise.
(Era of good feelings)

Whigs vs. Democrats
1829-1860
- Era of very effective party convention
(1831, anti-masons, were the first to have a party convention)
- Conscience vs Cotton spells the demise of the Whigs.
(The Father of political parties – Martin Van Buren)
[Era of stump speeches and Bandwagons]

What was the motivation for the formation of the Whig party?
The general dislike of Andrew Jackson.
[Andrew Jackson was a soldier, became a general, and then became the first governor of Florida. He was considered a free spirit, he was unpredictable]
- The Whig party was formed to represent the capitalist class.
- 2 states claim to be the birth place of the Republican Party.
o Jackson Michigan, and Ripon Wisconsin
- Year 1854, was when the first Republican convention was helped.
- What were free soilers about? They thought that the government should give the land in the western territories to the people for free!
-1860 it’s a free for all for political parties. There are the North/South Democrats, there are the Republicans, the free soilers, etc.

Democrats vs Republicans
1861-1896
- Extreme partisan era
- Two parties alternate control of Congress
-Economic Panic in 1893 and Democratic Split between populists and Party elite spell their demise.
(Era of Carpet Baggers)
- Most of the Democrats were split at the time, so the Republicans of the north moved down South, and easily won elections down South where they wouldn’t normally win!

Democrats and Republicans
1892 - 1932
- Republican Dominance
- Bother Congress and the President was dominated by The Republican Party
-Great Depressions spells the demise
-Only because the Republican party was split, Woodrow Wilson won, he wasn’t even part of any major party! Woodrow Wilson also won Re-election due to the World War I lurking in the shadows!


Democrats and Republicans
1933-1980

-Democratic Dominance
- New Deal Politics, all the dramatic expansion of the national government.

1980- Present
- The South Turns Republicans
- Intense electoral competition.


Well, I’ll get the homework up soon enough! I’ll get that up by this weekend, so you guys can finish your assignments and then you can check for the answers here, just to make sure that you had the right answers!