# 1834 Midterm Elections Second-term [[Andrew Jackson]] administration midterm. The **[[Whig Party]]** — founded 1833-1834 by [[Henry Clay]], [[Daniel Webster]], and others in opposition to "King Andrew" Jackson's executive-power expansions — fielded its first organized congressional campaigns. The Second Party System (Whigs vs. Democrats) was operationally formed by this election. ## Result - **House:** Democrats held majority (~143 of 242 seats in the 24th Congress); Whigs ~75 seats - **Senate:** Democrats held narrow majority; Whigs emerged as organized opposition - **Chambers flipped:** None — Democratic control held, but Whig opposition formalized - **Net change:** First major-party Whig presence; the Second Party System begins operationally ## Notable - The **Whig Party founding** consolidated anti-Jackson factions (former National Republicans, Anti-Masonic Party remnants, Southern states-rights opponents of Jackson on tariff and Indian-removal grounds) - Jackson's removal of federal deposits from the [[Second Bank of the United States]] in 1833 had triggered the Senate's March 1834 censure of Jackson — the first presidential censure in American history (later expunged) - The 24th Congress (1835-1837) was the venue for early **gag rule** debates over the suppression of anti-slavery petitions ## Connections - [[Andrew Jackson]] — Sitting president. - [[Henry Clay]] — Whig Party founder. - [[Daniel Webster]] — Whig Party founder.