What were the differences between the democrats and the whigs?

Democrats vs. Whigs: Democrats believed that government should leave business alone, neither helping nor hindering it.  This philosophy is known as laissez faire.  This way the people would not be burdened with taxes to support big business, and everybody who wasn't too lazy or too ignorant would be able to take care of himself.

The Whigs believed government should protect industry with tariffs on imports, with grants of monopolies, with construction of harbors and railroads, with a national banking system.  This had appeal to northern industrialists and farmers who needed railroads or other help getting their produce to market.  This did not have appeal to most common people because they did not want to pay more taxes to support big business and they did not want to pay higher prices for what they bought because of the tariff.  Southern planters supported the Whig party because they believed it provided better law and order.  They thought too many of the common people of the north who supported the Democrats were rabble who endangered law and order.