The Whig Party: A Short-Lived Movement with a Long Legacy

By: in60Learning

Narrated by: Brian Boland

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The Whigs were a party born out of opposition. Whigs came from all sorts of political beliefs - abolitionists and slaveholders alike banded together out of a mutual dislike for President Andrew Jackson’s expansive power system. The little they had in common defines their legacy today: They upheld the Constitution and Federal law, advocated for the rights of Native Americans, supported free public education, and encouraged women’s participation in political campaigns. While their diversity in beliefs allowed the Whigs to accomplish many different goals at the local level, this ultimately led to their dissolution in the 1850s. Still, this short-lived party left a long-lasting impact on American politics.

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Deeply unsatisfactory

I expected the text to be written at an introductory level, so fair dinkum, but I also found many basic mistakes and mischaracterizations. At one point, Calhoun is called "anti-slavery" rather than "pro-slavery"; Winfield Scott is repeatedly referred to as an "abolitionist" when he did not advocate immediate abolition in the slave states. Whigs' opposition to the Mexican War is treated as an opportunistic political gambit that failed, rather than a principled stand related to concerns over the expansion of slavery or constitutional overreach by the President. The theme of Whigs' differences from one state to another is hit so hard as practically to drown out unifying themes, such as promotion of the American System or opposition to the expanding role of the executive branch. Instead, the author foregrounds Whigs' role in advocating for educational reform, which is certainly an interesting theme, but a naïve listener would come away thinking that Horace Mann was a more important figure for the Whigs than Henry Clay. In one place, the text clumsily and tediously tries to splain prejudice "against people with darker skin" as though racism was some exotic thing nobody has heard of. The reader does not help the situation. He had to cram a lot of material into 60 minutes, so he had to read fast, but his execution was sloppy, including a persistent tendency to substitute one word for another (e.g. reading "comprising"
as "compromising", "anti-Jacksonians" as "anti-Jacksons", "disparate" as "dispirit", etc.). On balance, I'm afraid most listeners would be more likely to be misled than informed by this presentation.

A Must Listen!

I received this book as a holiday gift from in60Learning but felt the need to leave a review for it because everyone should give it a try. This book should be heard, at least, by all Americans!! This tells the history of the Whig party. A party that played quite a large role in our country's politics and how said politics are done today. I personally do not remember ever learning about this part of our history in school but I should have. This is the beginning to the end of the Whig party and all the things they did/stood for, as divided as they were. The narration was excellently done with Brian Boland reading at a nice pace. He made it even more of an enjoyable listen. I highly recommend this book to those wanting to know more about America as well as our political system.