| Aim
What can the statistics tell us about the rise and fall
of the second two-party system? How did the breakdown
of this system contribute to the onset of the Civil
War?
Overview
It is appropriate in this presidential election year
to examine the antebellum era through the lens of elections
and electoral politics.
Although an “era of good feeling” had followed
the War of 1812, signs of political dissention were
appearing as early as the presidential election of 1824.
The issues contested in elections and debated in the
legislatives sessions from 1824 to 1861 were critical
ones: the direction that the economy of the new Republic
ought to take; the role that federal government should
play in that development; territorial expansion and,
above all, the status of slavery in the new territories.
This lesson is designed to help students understand
the relevance of elections and the two-party system
to historical events. In this particular period in history,
the two-party system served to preserve stability in
the country for several decades; its demise preceded,
and contributed to, the outbreak of the Civil War. Looking
at the data derived from elections, students have an
opportunity to study our democracy at a time when the
contest for power proved momentous.
Objectives
1. Students will consider the impact of the expansion
of suffrage on antebellum party alignment.
2. Students will examine the important political issues
of elections from 1824 to 1861 as well as the outcomes
of those elections. Once students have determined who
controlled the presidency, the House of Representatives
and the Senate during that time, they will be able to
offer suggestions about the effect of the election results
on the fate of pending issues.
3. Students will examine the rise of the two major political
parties and oppositional parties in antebellum elections
and identify the significance of these parties to the
growing sectional division in the country.
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