The Whig party died because it failed to address the whig voters’ concerns over slave states. The Whigs in charge were too busy trying to find a moderate choice between traditional whig and democratic policies since the Whigs consisted of both northern and southern slave states and were too spineless to pick a side. Zachary Taylor (W), who had never voted or voiced his political opinion prior to running, won the nomination because whig voters in the convention thought being a middle ground candidate was enough to win. And he did win, but…
After Zachary Taylor was president, Winfield Scott (W), who was running a diet-democratic campaign seeing how it worked with Taylor, was running against Franklin Pierce (D), a dark horse candidate who wasn’t even in the running until the 35th ballot at a stalled democratic convention. Scott, having lost the anti-slavery voters of the northern states, had an enthusiasm issue so big that people of the time regard this is one of the least exciting campaigns in presidential history. After Pierce won the election 254 electoral votes to 42, Free Soil and ex-Whig voters coalesced into the republican party. The whig party had been killed.
If your party isn’t giving what people are pleading for or isn’t a real opposition party, it’s easier killing the party and starting fresh with something better than trying to lure the lost party back to your own values. And if we’re already putting forth all that effort to build up a new party when one dies, why not be cool and make a revolutionary vanguard party instead of filling the vacuum in bourgeois elections?
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The Whig party died because it failed to address the whig voters’ concerns over slave states. The Whigs in charge were too busy trying to find a moderate choice between traditional whig and democratic policies since the Whigs consisted of both northern and southern slave states and were too spineless to pick a side. Zachary Taylor (W), who had never voted or voiced his political opinion prior to running, won the nomination because whig voters in the convention thought being a middle ground candidate was enough to win. And he did win, but…
After Zachary Taylor was president, Winfield Scott (W), who was running a diet-democratic campaign seeing how it worked with Taylor, was running against Franklin Pierce (D), a dark horse candidate who wasn’t even in the running until the 35th ballot at a stalled democratic convention. Scott, having lost the anti-slavery voters of the northern states, had an enthusiasm issue so big that people of the time regard this is one of the least exciting campaigns in presidential history. After Pierce won the election 254 electoral votes to 42, Free Soil and ex-Whig voters coalesced into the republican party. The whig party had been killed.
If your party isn’t giving what people are pleading for or isn’t a real opposition party, it’s easier killing the party and starting fresh with something better than trying to lure the lost party back to your own values. And if we’re already putting forth all that effort to build up a new party when one dies, why not be cool and make a revolutionary vanguard party instead of filling the vacuum in bourgeois elections?