The Modern Whig Party of Virginia

The Whig Party in Virginia was founded in 1833.  It was founded in opposition to the policies of U.S. president Andrew Jackson and in support of States Rights.  In particular, the Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the executive branch and favored a program of modernization and economic protectionism.  This name was chosen to echo the American Whigs of 1776, who fought for independence, and because "Whig" was then a widely recognized label of choice for people who saw themselves as opposing autocratic rule.  Whigs, especially in the North, vigorously opposed the Mexican War (1846–1848), a conflict that led to increased sectional friction as the federal government attempted, without great success, to strike a balance between the interests of North and South, free and slave, when admitting the newly captured territory into the Union. By 1856, that friction had destroyed the party, both within the state and nationally, forcing its members to affiliate with different parties dictated largely by their stance on slavery and secession. 

In the years leading up to the American Civil War (1861–1865), many prominent former Virginia Whig Party members, such as John Minor Botts, were vocal in their resistance to Democratic calls for secession. Other prominent Virginia Whigs included Mexican War heroes Zachary Taylor, who served as U.S. president from 1849 until 1850, and Winfield Scott, who ran unsuccessfully for the office in 1852. 

The formation of the Whig Party was more than simply a rebuke of Jackson, however. Its development in Virginia, for one, reflected social and political changes in the state's burgeoning commercial economy. Party members embraced the political ideology of "positive liberalism," which favored government action on behalf of the common good. In practice, this meant promoting internal improvements, public education, strong banking, and high tariffs. The party's at times moralistic belief in a government that could affect positive change was evidenced in its support of the temperance movement.

Whig Party in Virginia
Whig Party in the US