 Instead they made direct appeals to the people through gigantic rallies, parades, and rhetorical rabble-rousing.In addition, the Anti-Masons aided in the rise of the Whig Party as the major alternative to the Democrats, with conventions, newspapers and Anti-Masonic positions on issues including internal improvements and tariffs being adopted by the Whigs.Theodore Roosevelt, before he became president in 1901, was deeply involved in New York City politics.