The Whig Party was a political party that existed in the United States during the mid-19th century. Alongside the slightly larger Democratic Party, it was one of the two major parties in the United States between the late 1830s and the early 1850s. Four presidents (William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Millard Fillmore) were affiliated with the Whig Party for at least part of their terms. Other prominent members of the Whig Party include Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams. The Whig base of support was centered among entrepreneurs, professionals, planters, social reformers, devout Protestants (particularly evangelicals), and the emerging urban middle class. It had much less backing from poor farmers and unskilled workers.
The party was hostile toward manifest destiny, territorial expansion into Texas and the Southwest, and the Mexican–American War. It disliked strong presidential power as exhibited by Jackson and Polk, and preferred congressional dominance in lawmaking. They favored an economic program known as the American System, which called for a protective tariff, federal subsidies for the construction of infrastructure, and support for a national bank.