Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party active in the middle of the 19th century in the United States. Four presidents belonged to the party while in office. It emerged in the 1830s as the leading opponent of Jacksonian democracy, pulling together former members of the National Republican (one of the successors of the Democratic-Republican Party) and the Anti-Masonic Party. It had links to the upscale traditions of the long-defunct Federalist Party. Along with the rival Democratic Party, it was central to the Second Party System from the early 1840s to the mid-1860s. It originally formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson (in office 1829–1837) and his Democratic Party. In particular, the Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the presidency and favored a program of modernization, banking and economic protectionism to stimulate manufacturing. It appealed to entrepreneurs, planters, reformers and the emerging urban middle class, but had little appeal to farmers or unskilled workers. It included many active Protestants and voiced a moralistic opposition to the Jacksonian Indian removal. Party founders chose the "Whig" name to echo the American Whigs (aka the Patriots) of the 18th century who fought for independence. The political philosophy of the American Whig Party was not related to the British Whig party. Historian Frank Towers has specified a deep ideological divide:
Wolverine Citizen
In 1850, Francis H. Rankin, Sr. came to Flint, Michigan and opened the "Genesee Whig". Six years later it was renamed "The Wolverine Citizen and Genesee Whig". Later yet, Genesee Whig was dropped from the title. The paper was used to support the formation of the Republican Party from the remains of the Whig Party and the anti-slavery section of the Democratic Party. During the American Civil War, the newspaper switch to daily publication for 18 months. The paper was very supportive of the Federal side. 
When, Francis, Jr. was thirteen, he started working at the press. In 1881, he gained half interest in the "Citizen". He continued the paper after his father's death until 1915.