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.