demise of democrats and whigs Flashcards
(6 cards)
negative effect of the kansas-nebraska act on the democrats
The Kansas-Nebraska Act had a negative effect on the unity of the Democrat party because it split the party in 2, Southerners supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Northerners opposed it. In the 1854 midterm election the Democrats suffered as they lost all of their 23 seats in the North, however they retained 63 of their 67 seats in the South, highlighting the divide between sections.
rise of ethnocultural issues
There were debates over the reason for the collapse of the second part system. Some historians argue that it was because of the sectional crisis resulting from the Kansas-Nebraska Act, whereas others (such as William Gienapp) argue that it was because of a Northern rise of ‘ethnocultural’ issues, including temperance, anti-immigration and anti-Catholicism. Effected both Whigs and Democrats.
anti-immigration and anti-catholicism
Immigration to America was rising, between 1845 and 1854 around 3 million immigrants entered the USA. Over 1 million of these were Irish Catholics. Many native-born Americans resented this as they feared that immigration was threating US traditional values. Majority of Americans were Protestant. Native Americans resented the growth in voting power to Catholics particularly in states such as New York and Boston (in Boston the immigration vote increased by 195% in the five years after 1850, while native born only rose by 14%).
Majority of Catholics voted Democrat as the Democrat party seemed to oppose both temperance laws and restrictions on immigrants’ rights.
Native Americans were also concerned with the social and economic consequences of mass immigration, as immigrants provided cheap labour so pulled down wage levels.
They were also concerned about an increase in crime because in Cicinnati the crime rate tripled between 1846 and 1853.
why were the whigs and democrats unable to gain nativist votes
Democrats were unlikely to support the Nativist approach because majority of their votes came from Irish and German Catholics.
The Whigs failed to ‘cash in’ to the rise of nativism because people (like William Seward) thought that they shoud go out of their way to gain some of the immigration votes. For example, in 1852 presidential election some Whigs had been actively Pro-Catholic.
Farmers view on demise of the old parties
It is possible to argue that “Disintegration of loyalty to the old partyies in 1853 had little to do with the sectional conflict” (Farmer) because this disintegration could be attributed to the rise of ‘ethnocultural issues’.
northern political result
Against this backdrop Northerners looked to other parties as they refused to support either the Whigs or the Democrats.
