Editing Whig Party (United States) (section)

=== Factions ===
The Whigs suffered greatly from factionalism throughout their existence and weak party loyalty, which stood in contrast to the strong party discipline that was the hallmark of a tight Democratic Party organization.<ref>Lynn Marshall. "The Strange Stillbirth of the Whig Party", ''American Historical Review'', (1967) 72#2 pp. 445–68 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1859236 online].</ref> Forged out of opposition to Jackson's perceived executive tyranny, the early Whig Party was divided between former National Republicans who favored federal measures to promote economic development and Southern states' rights advocates who wished to keep federal intervention in the economy to a minimum.<ref>Holt (1999), pp. 28–29</ref> By the 1840s, Southern Whigs like [[John M. Berrien]] of Georgia and [[John Botts]] of Virginia endorsed interventionist measures, but other Southern Whigs like [[William Cabell Rives]] of Virginia actively sought to shift the party away from economic nationalism.<ref>Holt (1999), pp. 286–288</ref>

The Whig Party faced persistent sectional divisions regarding slavery. Northern Whigs tended to be more anti-slavery than Northern Democrats, but during the 1830s, Southern Whigs tended to be more pro-slavery than their Democratic counterparts.<ref>Holt (1999), p. 44</ref> By the late 1840s, Southern Democrats had become more insistent regarding the expansion of slavery and more open to the prospect of [[secession in the United States|secession]] than their Whig counterparts.<ref>Holt (1999), pp. 463–464</ref> Northern Whigs divided into two major factions concerning slavery: the anti-slavery Conscience Whigs and the pro-South Cotton Whigs. While the "Consciences" were noted for their moral opposition to slavery–many, like John Quincy Adams, brought over their crusading fervor from their Anti-Masonic days.<ref>Wilentz, (2016) p. 145.</ref>

The other faction was tied to the cotton-based textile industry, which depended on Southern cotton. They de-emphasized the slavery issue. In Massachusetts, notable Consciences included [[Charles Sumner]], [[Henry Wilson]] and [[Charles Francis Adams, Sr.|Charles Francis Adams]] while the Cottons were led by such figures as [[Edward Everett]], [[Robert C. Winthrop]] and [[Abbott Lawrence]].<ref>{{cite book|author=John R. McKivigan|title=Abolitionism and American Politics and Government|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WBW2tvCheJYC&pg=PA120|year=1999|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=120|isbn=978-0815331070}}</ref> During the mid-1850s, several Conscience leaders played an important role in the founding of the Republican Party.<ref>{{cite book|author1=L. Sandy Maisel|author-link1=L. Sandy Maisel|author2=Mark D. Brewer|title=Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YLcllGsX-4C&pg=PA38|year=2008|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|page=38|isbn=978-0742547643}}</ref>