There were fully formed two parties system began to operate at the national level, with each party committed to play its own role and willing to accept the legitimacy of its opposition. The anti-Jackson forces was known as "Whigs." Jackson's supporters called themselves Democrats. The Democrats seemed like expanding economic and political opportunities for white males. They believed that the role of government should be limited, but it should include efforts to remove obstacles to opportunity and to avoid creating new ones. It was implied that they were defending the Union, which Jackson believed was essential to the economic they