Whigs

the name of a political party. The term is of uncertain derivation. It originated in Scotland, where it was applied to the peasantry who were opposed to the high-handed proceedings of the crown. Transferred to England it became the name of the political party that stood for parliamentary government and democratic tendencies in particular. At the time of the American Revolution, the English Whigs, led by William Pitt and Edmund Burke, maintained the justice of the American cause. The Tories may be described in brief as the party in favor of the royal authority. The terms Whigs and Tories were transferred to American soil. The American patriots called themselves Whigs. Those who opposed the Revolution were called Tories. In British politics, the Whigs were succeeded by the Liberal party, the Tories by the Conservative party. In American politics, the term Whigs was revived in 1834. A combination of Northern and Southern Whigs was formed under Adams and Clay in favor of a policy of internal improvements and what is known as a broad or loose construction of the Constitution. In other words, the Whigs believed in enlarging the scope of the national government. They elected Harrison and Tyler. Among the prominent leaders of the party were Clay, Webster, Choate, Seward, Weed, Greeley, Stevens, Toombs, Ewing, Giddings, and Corwin. In 1852 the Whigs were disrupted. The Northern Whigs became Free-Soilers and later Republicans; the Southern Whigs became known as the Southern Democrats.