President Infinity 1832 Election

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*This scenario has been greatly updated by the Historical Scenario Commission on July 22, 2017. Version 2.0 can be downloaded here: United States – 1832 v. 2.0

Jacksonian Democracy is all the rage. For the common man, Jackson is a godsend; for the property-owning elite, he is a demagogue. Three anti-Jackson parties emerge to stop him from winning reelection. Can three parties undo the four-year old Democratic Party, or will they merely make it much easier for the Democrats to win another four years?

The National Republicans is a new party, composed primarily of former Federalists and Adams Men (supporter of John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson). They hope to continue Republican values, but at a national level, hoping to blend state-lines in order to become machine that can compete with the European great powers. In this election, the unify around their leader Henry Clay.

The Democratic Party establishment supports incumbent president Andrew Jackson. He continues his war against the state banks, the elites, and against the native tribes living on the continent.

The Anti-Mason party is a mostly single-issue party of anti-Jacksonians that believe that masonic lodges are controlling the government. While they align with Jackson’s attack on elites, they have little in common with him outside of this issue. William Wirt, arguably the most influence attorney general, who had served for both Monroe and JQ Adams, is their choice for president.

The Nullifiers, or Independent Democrats, are former supporters of Andrew Jackson that feel that the president has waged a war on States’ Rights. The select John Floyd of Virginia as their presidential choice.

The election allows for many what-if scenarios:

  • What if the anti-Jackson National Republicans rallied behind former president John Quincy Adams as the strongest option to defeat Andrew Jackson?
  • What if Daniel Webster, the icon of New England, or War of 1812 hero, William Henry Harrison competed with Henry Clay for the National Republican nomination?
  • What if John C. Calhoun was the Nullifier/Independent Democrat nominee?
  • What if Northern Democrats urged the architect of the Democratic Party, Martin Van Buren, to challenge Jackson for the nomination.

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