Whig Party (USA)

In the USA, political party formed in 1832 to oppose the autocratic presidency of Andrew Jackson. Whig candidate presidents include General William Henry Harrison, 1840; John Tyler 1841–1845; General Zachary Taylor, 1849–1850; and Millard Fillmore 1850–1853. The party diverged over the issue of slavery: the northern Whigs joined the Republican party and the southern or ‘Cotton’ Whigs joined the Democrats. The title was taken from the British Whig Party, which supported Parliament against the king. During the American Revolution, colonial patriots described themselves as Whigs, while those remaining loyal to Britain were known as Tories.