Answer

How Whigs and Democrats Differed on Questions of Race and Slavery

The Democrats and Whigs happen to be among the political parties that have experienced significant clashes in the political history of the U.S.  Between 1834 and 1854, the Second Party System” in which the Democrats and the Whigs fought from, features two robust political cultures that collided over various policies, with the two factions embracing ideologically consistent stances (Rocklin, 2018). Even though the system always focused on suppressing anti-racism and anti-slavery sentiments or keeping slavery and notions of race out of the spheres of national politics, this goal was not often accomplished (Rocklin, 2018). When the Whigs and the Democrats addressed slavery and racism, their breakdown was significant. Whereas the Democrats occupied a middle position by trying to compromise between the South and the North, the Whigs sided with most of the great slavery opponents in the North together with most of the largest slaveholders in the South.

According to Rocklin (2018), the Whigs’ northern wing was in support of greater federal authority, whereas its southern wing occupied the extreme end in its support for the rights of the states. Even though the Democratic Party was majorly inclined towards relative harmony over slavery, the Whigs sharply conflicted over slavery and racism regulations. Rocklin (2018) asserts that several factors drove the Whigs to unity including classical fear of the republican, particularly a centralized Democratic Party. It is vital to note that a centralized Democratic Party was a common culture of politics that emphasized a unified social fabric, as opposed to atomizing individualism. This political culture also prioritized mutual trust of every other as gentlemen with the ability to agree not to focus the pursuit of political interest or gain at the expense of the stability of its society and the Union (Rocklin, 2018). This culture greatly conflicted with the Whigs’ economically capitalistic political culture.

The economically capitalistic political culture inspired the southern and northern Whigs to resist Democrats’ views against slavery and racism. Rocklin (2018) asserts that the Southern Whigs understandably and honestly perceived themselves as greater supporters of slavery relative to southern Democrats, as they prioritized the stability of slavery and racism. Nonetheless, it is vital to note that Northern anti-slavery Whigs opposed the westward expansion of slavery, which in turn provided sufficient grounds for policy consensus focused on the protection of slavery against abolitionism while resisting its spread to novel territories (Rocklin, 2018).

In conclusion, it can be noted that the Whigs and the Democrats differed from each other in terms of their political ideologies on policies associated with slavery and racism.