The Democrats trace their roots to the Democratic-Republican Party established by Thomas Jefferson in the 1790s. This party arose from opposition to the policies of the ruling Federalists, which advocated a strong central government and a republic governed by Elites. Members called it the "Republican Party" after the principles of republicanism to which they were devoted. The party is often referred to as the Democratic-Republican Party to distinguish it from the modern Republican Party, which was founded in 1854 and has no connection to Jefferson's party. The Democratic-Republicans favored France over Britain in the wars of the French Revolution that broke out in 1793 and continued until the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815. They saw the independent ("yeoman") farmer as the ideal exemplar of virtue, and distrusted cities, banks, and factories.
The Federalist Party [ Note - Lincoln's Republican Party that we still have today is comparable to the Federalist Party] was a political party during the First Party System in the United States of America, from 1792 to 1816. It was formed by Alexander Hamilton, who built a network of supporters in the United States Congress and in the states about 1792 to support his fiscal policies; it came to support a strong national government, a loose construction of the United States Constitution based on the "Elastic Clause", and a more mercantile, less agricultural economy. [Note- The Federalist Party is comparable to Lincoln's Republican party birthed in 1860, as to their drive for a strong centralized, controlling, Federal Government.] Its main leader was Hamilton, and its great hero was George Washington, even though he was opposed to political parties. In the long run, the party's most influential member was Chief Justice John Marshall. It was opposed by the (Old) Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. This is NOT the same Republican Party of Lincoln and that we have today. (Thomas Jefferson would never approve of the Lincoln Republicans or their methods.)
The Democratic-Republicans won control of the Presidency and Congress in 1800, and managed to eliminate the Federalists as serious rivals by the end of the War of 1812. James Monroe, a Democratic-Republican, was re-elected President without any serious opposition in 1820 in the "Era of Good Feelings".
However factions developed by 1824. In the 1824 presidential election, Democratic-Republican (and many ex-Federalist) supporters of a strong central government supported House Speaker Henry Clay of Kentucky or Secretary of State John Quincy Adams (himself a former Federalist) of Massachusetts. The "Old Republicans" who opposed a strong central government, congregated behind Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford of Georgia. A fourth candidate, war hero General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, based his campaign more on populism than on ideological appeal, but was generally seen as closer to Crawford and the 'Old Republicans' than to the more nationalistic candidates.
Jackson had the most popular and electoral votes but not a majority; he was defeated in the House of Representatives when Clay threw his support to Adams. As a reward, Clay became Secretary of State in what came to be known as the "Corrupt Bargain." Clay and Jackson became political enemies, and in the years of Adams's presidency, Jackson became the center of an opposition that joined his own political supporters with the more elitist Old Republican supporters of Crawford, most notably Martin Van Buren of New York. (The group also included some former Federalists, including such future luminaries as James Buchanan and Roger B. Taney). This new coalition, which would form the basis of the modern Democratic Party, convincingly elected Jackson to the Presidency in 1828.
(Courtesy of Wikipedia)
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See also:
Truth About The Civil War and the Birth of the Republican Party
Lincoln's Take Over Of the Government and the Nation
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