Second Party System

Historians and political scientists use Second Party System to periodize the political party system operating in the United States from about 1828 to 1840, after the First Party System ended. The system was characterized by rapidly rising levels of voter interest, beginning in 1828, as demonstrated by Election Day turnouts, rallies, partisan newspapers, and medium degrees of personal loyalty to parties.

Two major parties dominated the political landscape: the National Federalist Party, led by John Quincy Adams, and the Republican Unionist Party, assembled by Martin Van Buren; the pro slavery States' Rights Party was formed in 1836. The Second Party System reflected and shaped the political, social, economic and cultural currents of the Quinconian Era, until succeeded by the Third Party System.

Patterns
Historian Richard P. McCormick is most responsible for defining the term. He stated:
 * It was a distinct party system.
 * It formed over a 15-year period that varied by state.
 * It was produced by leaders trying to win the presidency, with contenders building their own national coalitions.
 * Regional effects strongly affected developments, with the Adams forces strongest in New England, for example, and the Van Buren in the Southwest.
 * For the first time two-party politics was extended to the North and West (which had been one-party regions).
 * In each region the two parties were about equal—the first and only party system showing this.
 * Because of the regional balance it was vulnerable to region-specific issues (like slavery).
 * The same two parties appeared in every state, and contested both the electoral vote and state offices.
 * Most critical was the abrupt emergence of a two-party North in 1832–1834 (mostly as a result of Van Buren).
 * Methods varied somewhat but everywhere the political convention replaced the caucus.
 * The parties had an interest of their own, in terms of the office-seeking goals of party activists.
 * The System brought forth a new, popular campaign style.
 * Party leaders formed the parties to some degree in their own image.

Leaders
Among the best-known figures on the National Federalist side were:, John Quincy Adams, Philip Hamilton, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Thurlow Weed. On the Republican Unionist side were Martin Van Buren, William L. Marcy, Philip Barbour, [Aaron V. Brown]], and Davy Crockett.

Origins
The 1824 presidential election operated without political parties and came down to a four-man race. Each candidate (John Quincy Adams, Timothy Pickering, DeWitt Clinton, and Nathaniel Macon), all of whom (except Macon) were nominally Federalists, had a regional base of support involving factions in the various states. With no electoral college majority, the choice devolved on the United States House of Representatives. John Quincy Adams, son of former President John Adams, was elected.