Why did the Whig Party in the U.S. call themselves Whigs?
Formed in 1834 to oppose President Andrew Jackson, the Whig Party took its name from the British anti-monarchical party, the Whigs, to underline their conflict with the man they viewed as “King Andrew.”
The word “Whig” itself was an old pejorative term meaning “cattle-driver.”
In the 1836 presidential election, the party offered three regional candidates, Daniel Webster, for the northeast, Hugh Lawson White for the south, and William Henry Harrison for the west.
They were all defeated by Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren.
