Monday, Mar. 29, 2010
The Modern Whig Party
You don't hear much about Whiggery these days, but for some 20 years in the 19th century, the anti-Jacksonian Whig Party was a central presence on the American political scene. Several Presidents were Whigs; even Abraham Lincoln started off as one. The party didn't have a united stance on slavery, though: "Conscience Whigs" broke off from "Cotton Whigs," and eventually the Whigs were no more.
Or so we thought. Recently a Modern Whig Party has begun to take shape, spearheaded by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. According to its website, the party "came out of a long hibernation to restore the power to the people and to internally improve America's socioeconomic system." They're back!