oystertoadfish has issued a correction as of 21:52 on Jan 24, 2016

Corek has issued a correction as of 00:48 on Jan 25, 2016

QuoProQuid has issued a correction as of 02:33 on Jan 31, 2016

• Party Affiliation: Democratic Party
  
• Notable Positions: President of the United States, Military Governor of Florida, United States Senator from Tennessee, United States Representative from Tennessee, General in the American Army
  
• Biography: Andrew Jackson is the first “self-made man” of the United States and the first Westerner with a real chance of winning the White House. Born in Waxhaw, South Carolina to Scotch-Irish immigrants, Jackson spent his early life fighting in the Revolutionary War and studying law. In 1788, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he fell in love with Rachel Donelson Robards, who had been abandoned by her husband. A prosecutor, judge, congressman, and senator, Jackson distinguished himself within Tennessee as an advocate of the people. It was only in the Battle for New Orleans in 1814, however, that he became known nationally. Hoping to use the victory to support themselves, Madison and Monroe elevated the battle in almost mythic proportions. Consequently, Jackson has become a type of modern George Washington. In 1824, Jackson lost the Presidential Election despite winning the popular vote. This injustice has further increased his fame.
  
• Platform: Jackson remains the leader of the Jacksonian Revolution, a man committed to popular democracy and opposed to all forms of corruption. Having witnessed first-hand the willingness of party leaders to exchange federal funding for political favors, Jackson has come out against the American System and the Bank of the United States. He sees both projects as a thinly veiled patronage program and its leader, Henry Clay, as a man who will defraud the poor to enrich the American aristocracy. If re-elected, Jackson will abolish the Bank and the tariff regime instuted by Clay. Jackson and his supporters have worked to ensure the common man’s place in political society and has been involved in abolishing various tax, literacy, and property restrictions on voting rights. In foreign affairs, Jackson is committed to American expansionism. Jackson was the main driver behind the Indian Removal Act, which allowed the President to relocate southern Indian tribes west of the Mississippi River. While many political elites were horrified by the brutality of Jackson’s actions, and have labeled the forced removal as the “Trail of Tears,” these actions have been applauded by lower class citizens who see Indians as a threat to their communities, families, and personal security. Jackson himself thinks the Indians are a threat to Western civilization. Jackson has also tried to expand the United States into Mexico, with little success. If re-elected, Jackson hopes to convince Mexico to sell Texas and formally admit it into the Union. Since becoming President, Jackson has become increasingly opposed to abolitionism and sees the movement as a threat to the Union. He has recently recommended Congress prohibit the circulation of anti-slavery texts in the South to avoid “painful excitement.”

• Party Affiliation: Democratic Party
  
• Notable Positions: United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, United States Secretary of State, Governor of New York, United States Senator from New York
  
• Biography: A member of America’s insular Dutch community, Van Buren gained fame for his ability to interact with people from multiple, ethnic, income, and societal groups. An accomplished lawyer, political organizer, and multi-linguist, Van Buren first came to public attention at the age of 18, when he was selected as a delegate for the Democratic-Republican Party convention in Troy, New York. Afterward, Van Buren made a name for himself by leading the “Bucktails,” a faction dedicated to thwarting the corrupt Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton, and his Erie Canal Project. In 1821, Van Buren joined the United States Senate, where he supported Andrew Jackson and avoided involving himself in the Corrupt Bargain. As a result, Jackson considers Van Buren a close friend. Calhoun’s attempts to destroy Van Buren’s career has only strengthened their partnership. Many partymen believe Van Buren will be Jackson’s successor.
  
• Platform: Van Buren’s relationship with the American System is complicated, reflecting his often convoluted political alliances. When he was appointed to the United States Senate in 1821, it was because he had positioned himself as an opponent to DeWitt Clinton and his internal improvement programs. After joining, however, he aligned himself with Clay in supporting road repairs and canal construction. At one point in his career, Van Buren embraced Monroe’s recommendation that the Congress pass a constitutional amendment explicitly allowing internal improvement projects, before deciding that an amendment was unnecessary. Though he voted for tariffs in 1824 and 1828, he later abandoned protectionism in favor of free trade. In 1832, Van Buren stands as a loyal Jacksonite, firmly opposed to federally-funded internal improvement projects, the Bank of the United States, and the American System. He also sides with Jackson on the Indian Removal Act and in opposing Nullification. In foreign affairs, Van Buren supports closer ties with America’s traditional ally, France, and improved relations with the country as Secretary of State. He has also been ceaseless in his attempts to open up foreign markets to American goods and was integral in opening the Middle East to American trade. Though many fear that Van Buren is a crypto-abolitionist, Jackson has assured the party that Van Buren will do nothing to oppose its expansion. While Van Buren has opposed Jackson in the matter of replacing political appointees with loyal Jacksonians, Van Buren has secretly been filling the State Department with his personal allies.

• Party Affiliation: National Republican Party
  
• Notable Positions: Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, United States Representative from Kentucky, United States Senator from Kentucky, President of the American Colonization Society
  
• Biography: Henry Clay is one of the most influential men in the country and the leading figure of the post-Macon United States Congress. Born in Hanover County, Virginia, Clay unexpectedly joined the planter class at age four when his father died, leaving him and his brother with two slaves each. Using his family’s connections, Clay became friends with George Wythe, who was a mentor to Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and many other prominent Virginians, and was eventually admitted to the bar. Known for his oratory and legal skills, Clay was admitted to the United States Senate despite being under the constitutionally required age of thirty. Clay’s support for the War of 1812 allowed him to accelerate his career and achieve the Speakership. Under Clay, the position has evolved from a mere parliamentarian to one of political power second only to the President. In 1824, Clay orchestrated the Corrupt Bargain, which denied Jackson the Presidency. Jackson has hated Clay ever since.
  
• Platform: Henry Clay has presented himself as a defender of a strong economy and national unity. Since 1816, Clay has advocated loudly on behalf of the American System, a federally-funded internal improvements project intended to make America self-sufficient. Rooted in the ideas of Alexander Hamilton, the American System uses tariffs and the national bank to support better infrastructure and, principally, a national road and canal network. However, the benefits of this program have mainly been felt along the eastern seaboard and in the manufacturing sector, leading many Jacksonians to accuse Clay of corruption. In his speeches, he urges the country for patience and to avoid poorly conceived impulses, like abolishing the Bank of the United States or nullifying federal laws. In foreign policy, Clay is known as a jingoist and has frequently called the country to assist in revolutions abroad. He was a key figure in supporting the War of 1812, an early supporter of the independence movements in Latin America, and has recently taken on the cause of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. Though he strongly supports slavery, and rarely goes anywhere without one or two slaves accompanying him at all times, Clay reluctantly supported the Missouri Compromise as a way of ensuring national unity. Though he believes that the Native Americans are lower lifeforms who can never be assimilated into the American nation, he believes that their right to land should be respected.

• Party Affiliation: National Democratic Party
  
• Notable Positions: United States Representative from Pennsylvania
  
• Biography: John Sergeant comes from a long line of American politicians and political thinkers. The son of Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant, a representative of New Jersey at the Second Continental Congress, John has enjoyed has enjoyed the privileges of his family’s prominence. In 1800, Sergeant was appointed deputy attorney general for Philadelphia, despite having just having been admitted to the bar. In 1808, John Sergeant joined the Federalist Party and was one of the few remaining Federalists still in power when the party collapsed. Recently, he has aligned himself with Henry Clay.
  
• Platform:Sergeant is an avid proponent of Henry Clay’s American System and the Bank of the United States and has done everything within his power to support both. When the Jacksonians began their attack on the bank in 1823 for being too generous to foreign borrowers, Sergeant travelled to Europe and personally renegotiated loans to the Bank. When Jackson vetoed the American System, Sergeant tried various parliamentary maneuvers to try and overcome his veto. Aside from his support of the American System, Sergeant is a notable abolitionist who voted against the Missouri Compromise because it expanded slavery. He is involved in several anti-slavery societies in New Jersey.

• Party Affiliation: Independent Democrat Party
  
• Notable Positions: Governor of Virginia, United States Representative from Virginia, Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
  
• Biography: The Floyd family seems to embody the principles of the American nation. John Floyd’s father was a famous pioneer who helped settle Kentucky before being killed by native tribes and his cousins participated in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Despite this fame, Floyd has spent most of his childhood in intense poverty and was only able to escape hardship by joining the U.S. military as a surgeon during the War of 1812. Disgusted by the disorganization he saw in the field, Floyd first joined politics as a strong nationalist who believed cooperation was necessary to ensure independence. Though Floyd remained a committed nationalist in foreign policy and military affairs, various domestic issues slowly turned him toward the national government. When Jackson failed to act against tariffs immediately and instead announced that he would be running with a Northern merchant-abolitionist, Floyd became a symbol of Southern defiance. Many hope that Floyd will throw the election of Vice President to the Senate as a way of preventing Van Buren’s election.
  
• Platform: While Jackson sees the national government as the most effective vehicle to oppose the tyrannous American System, the Independent Democrat Party view the individual states as the best way to stop tyranny. Created by Vice President Calhoun to oppose the Tariff of Abominations, the Independent Democrat Party, also known as the Nullifiers, believe that individual states have the power to nullify federal laws within their borders and are a revival of old Anti-Federalist ideals. Though Floyd does not deny that the United States needs internal improvements, Floyd embraces subsidiarity and argues that the states, not the national government, can most competently distribute resources and need to spearhead internal improvement projects. Unlike other Nullfiers, who have joined the party to save slavery, Floyd opposes the institution on economic grounds, calling it insufficient and unsustainable. Following the Nat Turner slave rebellion, Floyd urged Virginia to discuss gradual abolition but failed to follow up on the proposal when it was narrowly voted down by the assembly. In foreign affairs, Floyd is a jingoist who wanted America to aggressively pursue land in the Oregon territory and against the all other imperial powers. He hopes to align America with the newly independent republics in South America, though many suspect that there are ulterior motives for this. Since 1832, most of Floyd’s family has converted to Catholicism. Many Southerners fear that Floyd himself is a crypto-Catholic who only seeks ties with South America as a way of promoting Papism in the United States.

• Party Affiliation: Federalist Party
  
• Notable Positions: Adviser to Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin
  
• Biography: Henry Lee is a prominent American economist who affiliates with the Ricardian economics, which rejects mercantilism and instead embraces the theories of comparative advantage and specialization. Though not well-known in his native Massachusetts, Lee is popular in England, where he provides an American perspective on British economic policy. In 1830, Lee ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Representatives. His opponent, Nathan Appleton, later wrote the Tariff of 1832.
  
• Platform: Reflecting the disorganization of the Nullifier Party, Henry Lee is not aware that he has been nominated and disagrees with John Floyd on almost every policy issue. Floyd is a Northerner who opposes slavery and a Federalist, who believes in a robust, centralized national government. Lee’s only credential for the party is his opposition to tariffs. During the Adams and Jackson administrations, Henry Lee advocated for free trade and assisted Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin articulate his opposition to the American System. His position on all other issues is unknown.

• Party Affiliation: Anti-Masonic Party
  
• Notable Positions: United States Attorney General, Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
  
• Biography: William Wirt is an unusual figure in the United States but has been nationally prominent since the early 1800s. In 1807, Wirt was appointed to be the prosecutor in Aaron Burr’s trial for treason by President Jefferson, who knew him personally. Though Burr was found not guilty, Wirt’s actions, which included an eloquent four hour monologue, made Wirt a prominent legal figure. In 1816, Wirt was appointed as the United States Attorney General. Though many expected Wirt to struggle in such a small position, Wirt single-handedly transformed the position into a position of major authority and power within the United States government. He is currently the longest serving Attorney General in American history. In his private life, Wirt is known as a “country gentlemen” and has often taken advantage of others’ hospitality. Despite his party affiliation, Wirt is a former Freemason and considers many Masons to be "intelligent men of high and honourable character."
  
• Platform: In 1826, a little-known writer named William Morgan threatened to reveal the hidden secrets of the Freemasons and the shadowy leaders who ran it. When Morgan mysteriously vanished, a wave of populist anger and fear was unleashed against the shadowy Freemasons, who seemed to dominate positions of power across the country. Though initially a single-issue party, dedicated to removing all Masons from public office, the organization has gone through a peculiar evolution over the past few years. After winning the Governorship in Vermont, the Anti-Masonic Party mysteriously attracted many of Clay’s wealthy supporters, including former President John Quincy Adams. Under the watch of these patrons, the Anti-Masonic Party has become a major weapon against Andrew Jackson, who is a Freemason, and Jacksonian Democracy, because Anti-Masons believe that the Freemasons will manipulate low-information voters into supporting the Order. Also mysterious is William Wirt’s approach to Freemasonry. Though the party’s platform highlights its opposition to secret organizations, Wirt, himself, seems to have no problems with Freemasonry and prefers to highlight his support for the American System. Wirt is also notable for his support of Indian tribes. Wirt has argued that the Cherokee Nation is a sovereign nation and not subject to state or federal laws. Wirt opposes slavery on moral grounds, but has previously owned slaves. He once tried to form a personal colony in Florida, which he dubbed “Wirtland,” using severely underpaid German immigrants as an alternative to slaves. The project failed.

• Party Affiliation: Anti-Masonic Party
  
• Notable Positions: Founder of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Pennsylvania Attorney General Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
  
• Biography: Amos Ellmaker is a lawyer and political figure little known outside of Pennsylania. Born in 1787 to a middle-class family, Ellmaker attended Princeton College under the supervision of Pennsylvania Attorney General Thomas Elder. Ellmaker briefly served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives before volunteering to serve in the state’s militia in the War of 1812. Though he was offered an appointment as Secretary of War by James Monroe, Ellmaker refused the position as it would mean leaving the state. Ellmaker is one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
  
• Platform: Ellsworth is a little-known politician but committed to removing all Masons from political office. He believes in internal improvement projects, particularly in the need to improve the country’s roadways and canals. He does not own slaves but has made no statements about the issue.

QuoProQuid has issued a correction as of 23:14 on Jan 31, 2016