What Role Did Political Parties Play In Democratization?

The 1830’s marked a new beginning in American Politics; the Second Party System. This is a period in time where the Whigs and Democrats emerged as the major political parties. The Whig Party was created by those who were against Presidents Jackson’s policies and who opposed the Democratic Party, while the Democratic-Republicans converted to Democrats. Although both parties aided in democratization, the parties ran on very different platforms (Norton, 2015).
The Whig Party was similar to the Federalist Party in terms of favoring a powerful central government. They supported the national bank and paper currency. This Party believed in moral and social reform which included the development of schools and abolishing alcohol consumption. The