Whig Party

Flyer for a Whig Party meeting in Augusta, Georgia 1844.

The Whig Party, named after the Whigs of England, was formed in America in response to Democrat President Andrew Jackson's actions to increase the power of the executive branch. Henry Clay and Daniel Webster were members of a political party called the National Republicans who began to find common ground with southern Democrats such as John C. Calhoun. They argued that Jackson's powers were becoming "king-like" and begun referring to the Democratic Party as the Tories (Loyalists to the British monarchy during the American Revolution), hence they adopted the title of Whigs for their party.

As a whole, the party was not very successful. Two Whigs were elected to the presidency, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, however neither completed their terms in office. The ultimate downfall of the party was the issue of slavery, with northern Whigs supporting abolitionism and the southern Whigs supporting the current institutions.

References

http://jmisc.net/whigs.htm

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h279.html