Title: Whig Party - Ohio History Central
Headings: Whig Party
Whig Party
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Content: The Whig Party believed in a strong federal government, similar to the Federalist Party that preceded it. The federal government must provide its citizenry with a transportation infrastructure to assist economic development. Many Whigs also called for government support of business through tariffs. Tariffs were taxes placed on foreign-made goods sold in the United States. These taxes would increase the price of foreign goods, making American products more attractive to the consumer. Whigs also believed that the government should play a role in creating a moral citizenry. The government should support temperance, public education, observance of the Sabbath, and, according to some Whigs, abolitionism. At the same time that the Whig Party formed, the Democratic Party also existed. The Democrats, as a whole, believed that the states should retain as much power as possible. The federal government should only have a bare minimum number of powers, and these powers should consist only of ones necessary for the federal government to function.