The
Democratic-Republican Party or
Republican Party was an American
political partyA political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
founded in the early 1790s by
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and
James MadisonJames Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along with many other names. In a broader sense the party was the concrete realization of
Jeffersonian democracyJeffersonian Democracy, so named after its leading advocate Thomas Jefferson, is a term used to describe one of two dominant political outlooks and movements in the United States from the 1790s to the 1820s. The term was commonly used to refer to the Democratic-Republican Party which Jefferson...
.
It was formed first in Congress and then in every state to contest elections and oppose the programs of Treasury Secretary
Alexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
. Jefferson needed to have a nationwide party to counteract the Federalists, a nationwide party recently formed by Hamilton. Foreign affairs took a leading role in 1795 as the Republicans opposed the
Jay TreatyJay's Treaty, , also known as Jay's Treaty, The British Treaty, and the Treaty of London of 1794, was a treaty between the United States and Great Britain that is credited with averting war,, resolving issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the American Revolution,, and...
with Britain (then at war with France) and supported good relations with revolutionary France (until Napoleon became a dictator after 1799). The party insisted on a stringent standard for derivation of any proposed powers for the United States Government, and denounced many of Hamilton's measures (especially the
national bankThe First Bank of the United States is a National Historic Landmark located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania within Independence National Historical Park.-Banking History:...
) as unconstitutional. The party was strongest in the South and weakest in the Northeast; it favored
states' rightsStates' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
and the primacy of the yeoman farmers and the planters over bankers, industrialists, merchants, and investors. The Jeffersonians were deeply committed to the principles of
republicanismRepublicanism is the political value system that has been a major part of American civic thought since the American Revolution. It stresses liberty and inalienable rights as central values, makes the people as a whole sovereign, supports activist government to promote the common good, rejects...
, which they feared were threatened by the supposed monarchical tendencies of the Federalists. The party came to power with the election of Jefferson in 1800. The Federalists—too elitist to appeal to most people—faded away, and the Republicans, despite internal divisions, dominated the
First Party SystemThe First Party System is a model of American politics used by political scientists and historians to periodize the political party system existing in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824. It featured two national parties competing for control of the presidency, Congress, and the states:...
until partisanship itself withered away after 1816.
The presidents selected by the party were
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
(1801–1809),
James MadisonJames Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
(1809–1817), and
James MonroeJames Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
(1817–1825). After 1800, the party dominated Congress and most state governments outside
New EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. It selected presidential candidates through its caucus in Congress, but in 1824, that system broke down. The dominant faction of the party supported
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
and evolved into the Democratic Party, a continuation of the original party with a truncated name. The other main faction, led by
John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
and
Henry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
, formed a new party initially known as the
National RepublicansThe National Republicans were a political party in the United States. During the administration of John Quincy Adams , the president's supporters were referred to as Adams Men or Anti-Jackson. When Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States in 1828, this group went into opposition...
; it evolved into the
Whig PartyThe Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, the northern wing of which eventually became the civil-war-era
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Founding
Madison started the party among Congressmen in Philadelphia (the national capital) as the Republican party; then he, Jefferson, and others reached out to include state and local leaders around the country, especially New York and the South. The precise date of founding is disputed, but 1792 is a reasonable estimate; some time in the early 1790s is certain. The new party set up newspapers that made withering critiques of Hamiltonianism, extolled the yeomen farmer, argued for
strict constructionIn the United States, Strict constructionism refers to a particular legal philosophy of judicial interpretation that limits or restricts judicial interpretation. The phrase is also commonly used more loosely as a generic term for conservatism among the judiciary.- Strict sense of the term :Strict...
of the
ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
, favored the French Revolution, strongly opposed Great Britain, and called for stronger state governments than the Federalist Party was proposing.
Presidential elections of 1792 and 1796
The elections of 1792 were the first ones to be contested on anything resembling a partisan basis. In most states the congressional elections were recognized, as Jefferson strategist John Beckley put it, as a "struggle between the Treasury department and the republican interest." In New York, the candidates for governor were
John JayJohn Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
, a Federalist, and incumbent
George ClintonGeorge Clinton was an American soldier and politician, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was the first Governor of New York, and then the fourth Vice President of the United States , serving under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He and John C...
, who was allied with Jefferson and the Republicans. Four states' electors voted for Clinton and one (Kentucky) for Jefferson for Vice President in opposition to incumbent
John AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
as well as casting their votes for President Washington. (Before 1804 electors cast two votes together without differentiation as to which office was to be filled by which candidate.)
In
1796The United States presidential election of 1796 was the first contested American presidential election and the only one in which a president and vice- president were elected from opposing tickets...
, the party made its first bid for the presidency with Jefferson as its presidential candidate and
Aaron BurrAaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
as its vice presidential candidate. Jefferson came in second in the electoral college and became vice president. He was a consistent and strong opponent of the policies of the
John AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
administration. Jefferson and Madison were deeply upset by the unconstitutionality of the
Alien and Sedition ActsThe Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress in the aftermath of the French Revolution's reign of terror and during an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War. They were signed into law by President John Adams...
of 1798; they secretly wrote the
Kentucky and Virginia ResolutionsThe Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were political statements drafted in 1798 and 1799, in which the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures took the position that the federal Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional...
, which called on state legislatures to nullify unconstitutional laws. The other states, however, did not follow suit and several rejected the notion that states could nullify federal law. The Republican critique of Federalism became wrapped in the slogan of “Principles of 1798,” which became the hallmark of the party. The most important of these principles were
states' rightsStates' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
, opposition to a strong national government, distrust of the federal courts, and opposition to the navy and the national Bank. The party saw itself as a champion of republicanism and denounced the Federalists as supporters of monarchy and aristocracy.
The party itself originally coalesced around Jefferson, who diligently maintained extensive correspondence with like-minded republican leaders throughout the country. Washington frequently decried the growing sense of "party" emerging from the internal battles among Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams and others in his administration. As warfare in Europe increased, the two factions increasingly made foreign policy the central political issue of the day. The Republicans wanted to maintain the 1777 alliance with France, which had overthrown the monarchy and aristocracy and become a republic. Even though Britain was by far America's leading trading partner, Republicans feared that increased trade would undermine republicanism. The Jeffersonians distrusted Hamilton's national bank and rejected his premise that a national debt was good for the country; Republicans said they were both forms of corruption. They strongly distrusted the elitism of Hamilton's circle, denouncing it as "aristocratic"; and they called for state's rights lest the Federalists centralize ever more power in the national governments.
The intense debate over the
Jay TreatyJay's Treaty, , also known as Jay's Treaty, The British Treaty, and the Treaty of London of 1794, was a treaty between the United States and Great Britain that is credited with averting war,, resolving issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the American Revolution,, and...
in 1794–95, transformed those opposed to Hamilton's policies from a loose movement into a true political party. To fight the treaty the Jeffersonians "established coordination in activity between leaders at the capital, and leaders, actives and popular followings in the states, counties and towns." However they were defeated when Washington mobilized public opinion in favor of the treaty.
Party strength in Congress
Historians have used statistical techniques to estimate the party breakdown in Congress. Many Congressmen were hard to classify in the first few years, but after 1796 there was less uncertainty.
|
Election Year |
| House |
1788 |
1790 |
1792 |
1794 |
1796 |
1798 |
1800 |
1802 |
1804 |
1806 |
| Federalist |
37 |
39 |
51 |
47 |
57 |
60 |
38 |
39 |
25 |
24 |
| Republican |
28 |
30 |
54 |
59 |
49 |
46 |
65 |
103 |
116 |
118 |
| Percentage Republican |
43 |
43 |
51 |
56 |
46 |
43 |
63 |
73 |
82 |
83 |
| Senate |
1788 |
1790 |
1792 |
1794 |
1796 |
1798 |
1800 |
1802 |
1804 |
1806 |
| Federalist |
18 |
16 |
16 |
21 |
22 |
22 |
15 |
9 |
7 |
6 |
| Republican |
8 |
13 |
14 |
11 |
10 |
10 |
17 |
25 |
17 |
28 |
| Percentage Republican |
31 |
45 |
47 |
34 |
31 |
31 |
53 |
74 |
71 |
82 |
- Source: Kenneth C. Martis, The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989 (1989). The numbers are estimates.
The affiliation of many Congressmen in the earliest years is an assignment by later historians; these were slowly coalescing groups with initially considerable independent thinking and voting; Cunningham noted that only about a quarter of the House of Representatives, up till 1794, voted with Madison as much as two-thirds of the time, and another quarter against him two-thirds of the time, leaving almost half as fairly independent.
Albert GallatinAbraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was a Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, politician, diplomat, congressman, and the longest-serving United States Secretary of the Treasury. In 1831, he founded the University of the City of New York...
recalled only two caucuses on legislative policy between 1795 and 1801, one over appropriations for Jay's Treaty, the other over the
Quasi-WarThe Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
, and in neither case did the party decide to vote unanimously.
Organizational strategy
The new party invented some of the campaign and organizational techniques that were later adopted by the Federalists and became standard American practice. It was especially effective in building a network of
newspapersThe history of American newspapers goes back to the 17th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers.-Colonial period:-The New England Courant:...
in major cities to broadcast its statements and editorialize its policies.
Fisher AmesFisher Ames was a Representative in the United States Congress from the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts.-Life and political career:...
, a leading Federalist, used the term "
JacobinA Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
" to link members of Jefferson's party to the radicals of the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. He blamed the newspapers for electing Jefferson; they were, he wrote, "an overmatch for any Government…. The Jacobins owe their triumph to the unceasing use of this engine; not so much to skill in use of it as by repetition."
As one historian explained, "It was the good fortune of the Republicans to have within their ranks a number of highly gifted political manipulators and propagandists. Some of them had the ability… to not only see and analyze the problem at hand but to present it in a succinct fashion; in short, to fabricate the apt phrase, to coin the compelling slogan and appeal to the electorate on any given issue in language it could understand." Outstanding propagandists included editor
William DuaneWilliam Duane is the name of:* William John Duane, Secretary of the Treasury under Jackson* William Duane , American physicist...
and party leaders
Albert GallatinAbraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was a Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, politician, diplomat, congressman, and the longest-serving United States Secretary of the Treasury. In 1831, he founded the University of the City of New York...
,
Thomas CooperThomas Cooper was an Anglo-American economist, college president and political philosopher. Cooper was described by Thomas Jefferson as "one of the ablest men in America" and by John Adams as "a learned ingenious scientific and talented madcap." Dumas Malone stated that "modern scientific...
and Jefferson himself.
Just as important was effective party organization of the sort that
John J. BeckleyJohn James Beckley was an American political campaign manager and the first Librarian of the United States Congress, from 1802 to 1807...
pioneered. In 1796, he managed the Jefferson campaign in Pennsylvania, blanketing the state with agents who passed out 30,000 hand-written tickets, naming all 15 electors (printed tickets were not allowed). He told one agent, "In a few days a select republican friend from the City will call upon you with a parcel of tickets to be distributed in your County. Any assistance and advice you can furnish him with, as to suitable districts & characters, will I am sure be rendered." Beckley was the first American professional campaign manager, and his techniques were quickly adopted in other states.
The emergence of the new organizational strategies can be seen in the politics of Connecticut around 1806, which have been well documented by Cunningham. The Federalists dominated Connecticut, so the Republicans had to work harder to win. In 1806, the state leadership sent town leaders instructions for the forthcoming elections. Every town manager was told by state leaders "to appoint a district manager in each district or section of his town, obtaining from each an assurance that he will faithfully do his duty." Then the town manager was instructed to compile lists and total the number of taxpayers and the number of eligible voters, find out how many favored the Republicans and how many the Federalists, and to count the number of supporters of each party who were not eligible to vote but who might qualify (by age or taxes) at the next election. These highly detailed returns were to be sent to the county manager and in turn were compiled and sent to the state manager. Using these lists of potential voters, the managers were told to get all eligible people to town meetings and help the young men qualify to vote. The state manager was responsible for supplying party newspapers to each town for distribution by town and district managers. This highly coordinated "get-out-the-vote" drive would be familiar to modern political campaigners, but was the first of its kind in world history.
Revolution of 1800
The party's electors secured a majority in the 1800 election, but an equal number of electors cast votes for Jefferson and
Aaron BurrAaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
. The tie sent the election to the House, and Federalists there blocked any choice. Finally Hamilton, believing that Burr would be a poor choice for president, intervened, letting Jefferson win (a move that would result in the collapse of the Federalist Party and Hamilton's death, four years later, at the hands of Burr in a pistol duel). Starting in 1800 in what Jefferson called the “Revolution of 1800”, the party took control of the presidency and both houses of Congress, beginning a quarter century of control of those institutions. A faction called “Old Republicans” opposed the nationalism that grew popular after 1815; they were stunned when party leaders started a
Second Bank of the United StatesThe Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank of the United States lost its own charter. The Second Bank of the United States was initially headquartered in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, the same as the First Bank, and had branches throughout the...
in 1816.
In 1804, the party's Congressional caucus for the first time created a sort of national committee, with members from 13 states charged with "promoting the success of the republican nominations." That committee later was disbanded and did not become permanent. Unlike the Federalists, the party never held a national convention, but relied instead on its Congressional caucus to select the national ticket. That caucus, however, did not deal with legislative issues, which were handled by the elected Speaker and informal floor leaders. The state legislatures often instructed members of Congress how to vote on specific issues. More exactly, they "instructed" the senators (who were elected by the legislatures), and "requested" the Representatives (who were elected by the people.) On rare occasions a senator resigned rather than follow instructions.
The opposition Federalist Party, suffering from a lack of leadership after the death of Hamilton and the retirement of
John AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, quickly declined; it revived briefly in opposition to the
War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, but the extremism of its
Hartford ConventionThe Hartford Convention was an event spanning from December 15, 1814–January 4, 1815 in the United States during the War of 1812 in which New England's opposition to the war reached the point where secession from the United States was discussed...
of 1815 utterly destroyed it as a political force.
Monroe and Adams, 1816–1828
In rapidly expanding western states, the Federalists had few supporters. Every state had a distinct political geography that shaped party membership. In Pennsylvania, the Republicans were weakest around Philadelphia and strongest in
Scots-IrishScotch-Irish Americans are an estimated 250,000 Presbyterian and other Protestant dissenters from the Irish province of Ulster who immigrated to North America primarily during the colonial era and their descendants. Some scholars also include the 150,000 Ulster Protestants who immigrated to...
settlements in the west. Members came from all social classes, but came predominantly from the poor, subsistence farmers, mechanics and tradesmen. After the
War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, partisanship subsided across the young republic—people called it the
Era of Good FeelingsThe Era of Good Feelings was a period in United States political history in which partisan bitterness abated. It lasted approximately from 1815 to 1825, during the administration of U.S...
. James Monroe narrowly won the party's nomination for President in Congress over
William CrawfordWilliam Harris Crawford was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as United States Secretary of War from 1815 to 1816 and United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1816 to 1825, and was a candidate for President of the United States in 1824.-Political...
in 1816 and defeated Federalist
Rufus KingRufus King was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress. He also attended the Constitutional Convention and was one of the signers of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
in the general election.
In the early years of the party, the key central organization grew out of caucuses of Congressional leaders in Washington. However, the key battles to choose electors occurred in the states, not in the caucus. In many cases, legislatures still chose electors; in others, the election of electors was heavily influenced by local parties that were heavily controlled by relatively small groups of officials. Without a significant Federalist opposition, the need for party unity was greatly diminished and the party's organization faded away.
James MonroeJames Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
ran under the party's banner in the 1820 election and built support by consensus. Monroe faced no serious rival and was nearly unanimously elected by the electoral college. The party's historic domination by the Virginian delegation faded as New York and Pennsylvania became more important. In the 1824 election, most of the party in Congress boycotted the caucus; only a small rump group backed
William CrawfordWilliam Harris Crawford was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as United States Secretary of War from 1815 to 1816 and United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1816 to 1825, and was a candidate for President of the United States in 1824.-Political...
. The Crawford faction included most "Old Republicans", who remained committed to states' rights and the Principles of 1798, and distrustful of the nationalizing program promoted by
Henry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
and
John C. CalhounJohn Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
.
Thomas Jefferson wrote on the state of party politics in the early 1820s:
In the aftermath of the disputed
1824In the United States presidential election of 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, after the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The previous years had seen a one-party government in the United States, as the Federalist Party had dissolved, leaving...
election, the separate factions took on many characteristics of parties in their own right. Adams' supporters, in league with Clay, favored modernization, banks, industrial development, and federal spending for roads and other
internal improvementsInternal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canals, harbors and navigation improvements...
, which the Old Republicans and the Jackson men usually opposed. Writing in his personal journal on December 13, 1826, President Adams noted the difficulty he faced in attempting to be nonpartisan in appointing men to office:
Presidential electors were now all chosen by direct election, except in South Carolina, where the state legislatures chose them. White manhood
suffrageSuffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
was the norm throughout the West and in most of the East as well. The voters thus were much more powerful, and to win their votes required complex party organization. Under the leadership of
Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
, a firm believer in political organization, the Jacksonians built strong state and local organizations throughout the country. The Old Republicans, or "Radicals," mostly supported Jackson and joined with supporters of incumbent Vice President Calhoun in an alliance. President Adams was defeated by Andrew Jackson in the election of
1828The United States presidential election of 1828 featured a rematch between John Quincy Adams, now incumbent President, and Andrew Jackson, the runner-up in the 1824 election. With no other major candidates, Jackson and his chief ally Martin Van Buren consolidated their bases in the South and New...
.
Party name
Political parties were new in the United States, and people were not accustomed to having formal names for them. There was no single, official name for the party. Party members generally called themselves "Republicans" and voted for what they called the "Republican Party," "republican ticket," or the "republican interest". Jefferson and Madison often used the terms "republican" and "Republican party" in their letters. The 1804 congressional caucus that renominated Jefferson described itself as a, "regular republican caucus." "Democratic" was also common, the two terms often used interchangeably. The term "Democratic Republican" was adopted by historians mainly to avoid confusion with the modern
Republican PartyThe United States Republican Party is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States after its great rival, the Democratic Party. It emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas Nebraska Act which threatened to extend slavery into the territories, and to promote more vigorous...
, which was founded in 1854 and named in honor of Jefferson's party. This name was used by contemporaries only occasionally.
The term "republican" was in widespread usage from the 1770s to describe the political values of the nation, especially the emphasis on civic duty and the opposition to corruption, elitism, aristocracy and monarchy. The word is used in the U.S. Constitution.
"Democratic" derives from the Greek δημοκρατία (demokratia) meaning "rule of the people." The word originally applied to the government of ancient
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Since this term was associated with the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, it suggested pro-French sentiment. The
Democratic-Republican SocietiesDemocratic-Republican Societies were local political organizations formed in the United States in 1793-94 to promote republicanism and democracy and to fight aristocratic tendencies...
were formed to support French diplomat Citizen Genêt in 1793-1794. Although these societies were distinct from the party, membership overlapped. Federalists often called their opponents "Democrats" or "Jacobins" to associate them with
mob ruleOchlocracy or mob rule is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of legitimate authorities.As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning "the fickle crowd", from which the English term "mob" was originally derived in the...
and the excesses of the French Revolution. President
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
wrote, "You could as soon scrub the blackamore white, as to change the principles of a profest Democrat; and that he will leave nothing unattempted to overturn the Government of this Country."
Claims to the party's heritage
The
Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
is often called "the party of
JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
," while the modern
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
is often called "the party of
LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
."
The Jeffersonian Republican party split into various factions during the 1824 election, based more on personality than on ideology. When the election was thrown to the
House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
,
House SpeakerThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Henry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
backed
Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
to deny the presidency to
SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, a longtime personal rival and a hero of the
War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
The Jacksonians held their first national convention as the "Republican Party" in 1832. By the mid-1830s, they referred to themselves as the "Democrat Party," but also as "Democratic Republicans." The name "Democratic Party" has been official since 1844.
Leaders of the Democrat Party have traced their party's lineage to Jefferson and his Republican Party.
Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
wrote that the party's name had changed from Republican to Democratic and that Jefferson was the founder of the party.
Thomas Jefferson RandolphThomas Jefferson Randolph of Albemarle County was a planter and politician who served in the Virginia House of Delegates, was rector of the University of Virginia, and was a colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War...
, grandson of Jefferson, told the
1872 Democratic National Convention of his "life of eighty years spent in the Democratic-Republican party". In 1991 the Democratic Party-controlled United States Senate passed "A bill to establish a commission to commemorate the bicentennial of the establishment of the Democratic Party of the United States," thus endorsing the view the party was founded by Jefferson (as opposed to Jackson).
The Adams/Clay alliance became the basis of the
National Republican PartyThe National Republicans were a political party in the United States. During the administration of John Quincy Adams , the president's supporters were referred to as Adams Men or Anti-Jackson. When Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States in 1828, this group went into opposition...
, a rival to the Jacksonian party. This party favored a higher tariff in order to protect U.S. manufacturers, as well as public works, especially roads. Many former members of the defunct Federalist Party, including
Daniel WebsterDaniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
, joined the party. After Clay's defeat by Jackson in the 1832 presidential election, the National Republicans were absorbed into the
Whig PartyThe Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, a diverse group of Jackson opponents. Taking a leaf from the Jacksonians, the Whigs tended to nominate non-ideological war heroes as their presidential candidates.
The modern Republican Party was founded in 1854 to oppose the expansion of slavery into new states. Most northern Whigs defected to the new party. The name was chosen to harken back to Jefferson's party.
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and other members sought to combine Jefferson's ideals of liberty and equality with Clay's program of using an active government to modernize the economy. The modern ideological party division, with Republicans as the pro-business party and Democrats as the party of economic
populismPopulism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, originated at the time of the 1896 presidential election in which Republican
William McKinleyWilliam McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
defeated Democrat
William Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
.
Party Presidents
Three
United States PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
s were elected following a process that selected them as a national nominee of the Republican party:
- Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
(1801–1809)
- James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
(1809–1817)
- James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
(1817–1825)
Candidates
- (a) Jefferson did not win the presidency, and Burr did not win the vice presidency. However, under the pre-12th Amendment
The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the President and Vice President. It replaced Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, which provided the original procedure by which the Electoral College functioned. Problems with the original procedure arose in...
election rules, Jefferson won the vice presidency due to dissension among Federalist electors.
- (b) Jefferson and Burr received the same number of electoral votes. Jefferson was subsequently chosen as president by the House of Representatives.
- (c) Crawford and Gallatin were nominated by a group of 66 Congressmen that called itself the "Democratic members of Congress". Gallatin later withdrew from the contest. Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
, and Henry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
ran as Republicans, although they were not nominated by any national body. While Jackson won a plurality in the electoral college and popular vote, he did not win the constitutionally required majority of electoral votes to be elected president. The contest was thrown to the House of Representatives, where Adams won with Clay's support. The electoral college chose John C. CalhounJohn Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
for vice president.
See also
- First Party System
The First Party System is a model of American politics used by political scientists and historians to periodize the political party system existing in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824. It featured two national parties competing for control of the presidency, Congress, and the states:...
- History of the United States Democratic Party
The history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....
- List of political parties in the United States
Biographies
- Cunningham, Noble E. In Pursuit of Reason The Life of Thomas Jefferson (ISBN 0-345-35380-3) (1987)
- Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. "John Beckley: An Early American Party Manager," William and Mary Quarterly, 13 (Jan. 1956), 40-52, in JSTOR
- Miller, John C. Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox (1959), full-scale biography
- Peterson; Merrill D. Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography (1975), full-scale biography
- Remini, Robert. Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union (1991), a standard biography
- Rutland, Robert A., ed. James Madison and the American Nation, 1751-1836: An Encyclopedia. (1994)
- Schachner, Nathan. Aaron Burr: A Biography (1961),full-scale biography
- Wiltse, Charles Maurice. John C. Calhoun, Nationalist, 1782-1828 (1944)
State studies
- Beeman, Richard R. The Old Dominion and the New Nation, 1788-1801 (1972), on Virginia politics
- Formisano, Ronald P. The Transformation of Political Culture. Massachusetts Parties, 1790s-1840s (1984) (ISBN 0-19-503509-7)
- Gilpatrick, Delbert Harold. Jeffersonian Democracy in North Carolina, 1789-1816 (1931)
- Goodman, Paul. The Democratic-Republicans of Massachusetts (1964)
- Klein, Philip Shriver. Pennsylvania Politics, 1817-1832: A Game without Rules 1940.
- Prince, Carl E. New Jersey’s Jeffersonian Republicans: The Genesis of an Early Party Machine, 1789-1817 (1967)
- Risjord; Norman K. Chesapeake Politics, 1781-1800 (1978) on Virginia and Maryland
- Tinkcom, Harry M. The Republicans and Federalists in Pennsylvania, 1790–1801 (1950)
- Young, Alfred F. The Democratic Republicans of New York: The Origins, 1763-1797 (1967)
Newspapers
- Humphrey, Carol Sue The Press of the Young Republic, 1783-1833 (1996)
- Knudson, Jerry W. Jefferson And the Press: Crucible of Liberty (2006) how 4 Republican and 4 Federalist papers covered election of 1800; Thomas Paine; Louisiana Purchase; Hamilton-Burr duel; impeachment of Chase; and the embargo
- Jeffrey L. Pasley. "The Tyranny of Printers": Newspaper Politics in the Early American Republic (2003) (ISBN 0-8139-2177-5)
- Stewart, Donald H. The Opposition Press of the Federalist Era (1968), highly detailed study of Republican newspapers
- National Intell & Washington Advertister. Jan 16, 1801. Issue XXXIII COl. B
- The complete text, searchable, of all early American newspapers are online at Readex America’s Historical Newspapers, available at research libraries.
Primary sources
- Adams, John Quincy. Memoirs of John Quincy Adams: Comprising Portions of His Diary from 1795 to 1848 Volume VII (1875) edited by Charles Francis Adams; (ISBN 0-8369-5021-6). Adams, son of the president, switched and became a Republican in 1808
- Cunningham, Noble E., Jr., ed. The Making of the American Party System 1789 to 1809 (1965) excerpts from primary sources
- Cunningham, Noble E., Jr., ed. Circular Letters of Congressmen to Their Constituents 1789-1829 (1978), 3 vol; reprints the political newsletters sent out by congressmen
- Kirk, Russell ed. John Randolph of Roanoke: A study in American politics, with selected speeches and letters, 4th ed., Liberty Fund, 1997, 588 pp. ISBN 0-86597-150-1; Randolph was a leader of the "Old Republican" faction
- Smith, James Morton, ed. The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, 1776-1826 Volume 2 (1994)
External links