The
Second Party System is a term of
periodization used by historians and political scientists to name the
political party system existing in the
United States from about 1828 to 1854, after the
First Party System. The system was characterized by rapidly rising levels of voter interest beginning in 1828, as demonstrated by Election Day turnout, rallies, partisan newspapers, and a high degree of personal loyalty to party.
The major parties were the
Democratic Party, led by
Andrew Jackson, and the
Whig Party, assembled by
Henry Clay from the
National Republicans and other opponents of Jackson. Minor parties included the
Anti-Masonic Party, which was an important innovator from 1827 to 1834; the abolitionist
Liberty Party in 1840; and the anti-slavery
Free Soil Party in 1848 and 1852. The Second Party System reflected and shaped the political, social, economic and cultural currents of the
Jacksonian Era, until succeeded by the
Third Party System.