PC: Democratic Party w/o Jackson presidency

VioletRiver

This is part of a series of threads I've created regarding a future TL I'll be posting on this site. I was curious what the board's thoughts were on this: could the US Democratic Party evolve along similar lines (i.e. becoming the party of Van Buren, Polk, etc.) without an Andrew Jackson presidency?

Here is a brief series of events I plan to incorporate into my TL based on this scenario:

1821 - Andrew Jackson retires from politics after a brief stint as Military Governor of Florida.

1824 - Jackson supports John C. Calhoun's campaign for US President, abandoning his support for John Quincy Adams. Adams goes on to win a clear majority of electoral votes and becomes the nation's 6th president.

1828 - Factions supporting Calhoun organize a rematch presidential campaign. Senator Martin Van Buren helps organize a party apparatus that becomes known as the "Democrats," named after the philosophy of Jeffersonian democracy. Adams wins reelection under the National Republican banner.

1832 - Van Buren, leader of the opposition, is elected the 6th US President, defeating Henry Clay, John Floyd, and William Wirt.

1836 - Van Buren is reelected to a second term, defeating four candidates of the Whig Party.

1840 - William Henry Harrison becomes the first Whig to be elected President, defeating incumbent Democratic VP William Rives.

1844 - 1840 Democratic VP nominee James K. Polk is elected President, defeating Henry Clay.

1848 - Zachary Taylor is elected President, defeating Lewis Cass (D-MI) and Levi Woodbury (Free Soil-MA).

1852 onward: Relatively similar to OTL with minor differences, including a different mascot for the Democratic Party.

Is this scenario plausible, even if less than likely, or does it rely too much on convergent history?
 

Young Lochinvar

A lot of this is plausible though it needs some more detail.

eg. Explain why Jackson doesn't pursue the Presidency - maybe he's disgraced by Monroe for attacking the Spanish in Florida, maybe he turns to become the Governor of Tennessee and sees that as his pinnacle, etc.

Most importantly for the Does Jackson's extension of the vote to the poor whites still occur? or does the democratic party remain more elitist in it outlook? Does it ever begin it's trend towards the 'support of the common folk' idea which began to crystalise with Jackson?

Why doesn't William Henry Harrison seek re-election? is it age (71 in 1844) or does he still die in office but closer to the end of the presidency?

What are the policy differences regarding Texas and Mexico, and slavery for that matter in this timeline? I'm assuming there's still a Mexican-American war to propel Zachary Taylor to the Presidency but if Martin Van Buren has two terms does that mean Texas is not supported/annexed by the US?

I like the idea of the Democratic party as the party of Van Buren given his importance in setting up the Democratic political machine.

I know this is only a part of a whole, and I want to stress that it does look plausible, but without Jackson I suspect the Democratic party's going to be more different than you've thusfar outlined.
 

VioletRiver

1) I have Jackson retiring, although it is possible he could take another public office.

2) I think the DP will naturally tend towards populist ideals, especially with things like the tariff debate and other issues. Just not with the speed of OTL.

3) Harrison IIRC declined to run for a second term in OTL as it was customary for Whigs to serve one term.

4) I have Texas still being annexed ITTL but without Sam Houston. This prolongs the Texas Revolution a bit but the Mexican-American War still occurs and subsequently the Civil War. More details to come.

5) As far as Polk, I have him becoming an earlier VP candidate and still being active on the national political stage. This is what allows him to still become president on time in my scenario, but I admit it's a longshot.

I appreciate you saying it's plausible, but once I post the full TL with more context it should seem like a more cohesive structure.
 
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