1790 1800 1810 1820 18301812 18161788 1792 1796 1804 1808 1824 1828 1832 1836

During the 1790s, two parties began to form around di�erences of opinion within Washington’s cabinet. Federalists, behind Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong central government that could promote manufacturing and commerce. Supporters of Secretary of State Thomas Je�erson, who began to call themselves Democratic-Republicans, believed in small central government and an agricultural society.

After the Constitution was rati�ed, there were no political parties. George Washington was elected without opposition.

The election of 1800 was a critical moment in American democracy — the �rst peaceful exchange of power between two parties.

The Democratic-Republicans gradually adopted Federalist programs, including support for manufacturing and commerce and a stronger central government.

Federalists opposed the War of 1812, and the American victory cost them support.

By 1820, the Federalists could no longer �eld a Presidential candidate.James Monroe won re-election without opposition, and the “Era of Good Feelings” began.

In 1824, four men ran for President, all calling themselves Democratic-Republicans. Andrew Jackson won the most votes, but no candidate won a majority of the electoral vote. The election went to the House of Representatives, which chose John Quincy Adams.

By 1828, supporters of Andrew Jackson had begun calling themselves Democrats. They wanted small government, and they opposed trade protection, national banks, and paper money. Supporters of John Quincy Adams, calling themselves National Republicans, wanted a strong central government that would support internal improvements and promote commerce.

In New York and New England, opposition to Jackson organized the Anti-Masonic Party, which feared the role of Freemasons in government. In 1832, they held the �rst presidential nominating convention in the U.S.

DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN

FEDERALIST

DEMOCRATIC

NATIONALREPUBLICAN

ANTI-MASONIC

WHIGJohn Quincy Adams

Thomas Je�erson

John Adams

George Washington George Washington

John Adams

Thomas Je�erson Thomas Je�erson James Madison James Madison James Monroe

James Monroe

Charles Pinkney Charles Pinkney DeWitt Clinton Rufus King

Henry Clay

William Crawford

Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson

John Quincy Adams

Andrew Jackson

Henry Clay

William Wirt

Martin Van Buren

William Henry Harrison

Hugh Lawson White

Daniel Webster

Willie Person Magnum

POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1788–1840

Political parties have shifted many times in 220 years of national politics. Even when parties have kept the same names for long periods, their issues, principles, demographics, and regional support all change over time.

This chart shows the evolution of political party systems in the U.S. since 1789. Each “party system” is a roughly de�ned time period in which two major political parties, each with fairly consistent supporters and beliefs, dominated the political scene.

The colored lines represent organized parties that had a signi�cant impact on national politics, electing members of Congress or receiving more than 1% of the vote for President. Where the lines merge and split, parties split or party a�liations changed dramatically in a short period of time.

Presidential candidates are also listed for each party, with the winning candidate in bold:

Winning CandidateCandidate

© Copyright LEARN NC 2009. May be reproduced for noncommercial purposes so long as attribution is provided, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license. Visit us on the web at www.learnnc.org.

1820 1830 1840 1850 18601824 1828 1832 1836 1844 1848 1852 1856

By 1820, the Federalists could no longer �eld a Presidential candidate.James Monroe won re-election without opposition, and the “Era of Good Feelings” began.

In 1824, four men ran for President, all calling themselves Democratic-Republicans. Andrew Jackson won the most votes, but no candidate won a majority of the electoral vote. The election went to the House of Representatives, which chose John Quincy Adams.

By 1828, supporters of Andrew Jackson had begun calling themselves Democrats. They wanted small government, and they opposed trade protection, national banks, and paper money. Supporters of John Quincy Adams, calling themselves National Republicans, wanted a strong central government that would support internal improvements and promote commerce.

In New York and New England, opposition to Jackson organized the Anti-Masonic Party, which feared the role of Freemasons in government. In 1832, they held the �rst presidential nominating convention in the U.S.

By 1836, opponents of Jackson’s Democrats had organized into the Whig Party. They opposed what they saw as Jackson’s autocratic rule, and they supported social, economic, and moral reforms. In 1836, they ran four regional candidates, hoping to split the electoral vote and throw the election to the House of Representatives, where the Whig majority would pick a President. But their strategy failed.

The “Know-Nothing” Party organized in opposition to immigration, especially of Catholics. At �rst they worked in secret, and when asked about their activities, they replied “I know nothing.” In the 1850s, they renamed themselves the American Party, and in 1856, with the Whig Party breaking up, they ran Millard Fillmore for President.

The Liberty Party was organized in the 1840s to advocate for the abolition of slavery. It had little success but was an important forerunner to other anti-slavery e�orts.

The Free Soil Party opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories — a popular issue in the wake of the Mexican War (1846–48). Running on the slogan “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free Men,” they elected several men to Congress.

In 1854, Whigs and Free-Soilers joined forces to create the Republican Party. Republicans opposed the expansion of slavery and adopted a progressive platform, supporting railroads, the growth of cities, education, and homesteads for farmers.

Divided over the issue of slavery, the Whig party split in the 1850s. Most Northern Whigs joined the new Republican Party, while many Southern Whigs became Democrats. The remaining Whigs ran former President Millard Fillmore on a joint ticket with the American Party in 1856.

In the 1850s, Democrats adopted some Whig positions, such as support for railroads. Northern and southern Democrats also agreed that slavery should be permitted in the western territories. As a result, by 1856, the Democrats were nearly the only party in the South.

The Democrats, �nally split over slavery, could not agree on a candidate in 1860. Northern and Southern Democrats ran separate candidates, and their division allowed the Republicans to capture the White House.

DEMOCRATIC

NATIONALREPUBLIC AN

ANTI-MASONIC

WHIG

KNOW-NOTHING AMERICAN

LIBERTY

FREE SOIL REPUBLICAN

CONSTITUTIONALUNION

NORTHERNDEMOCRATIC

SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC

John Quincy Adams

James Monroe

Henry Clay

William Crawford

Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson

John Quincy Adams

Andrew Jackson

Henry Clay

William Wirt

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren James Polk

Zachary Taylor

Franklin Pierce

Win�eld Scott

Lewis Cass James Buchanan

Henry ClayWilliam Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison

Hugh Lawson White

Daniel Webster

Willie Person Magnum

Millard Fillmore

James Bierney James Bierney

Martin Van Buren

John P. Hale

John C. Fremont Abraham Lincoln

Stephen Douglas

John C. Breckenridge

John Bell

A few remaining Whigs and Know-Nothings ran John Bell on the Constitutional Union ticket in 1860, advocating simply to keep the Union as it was.

POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1820–1860

Political parties have shifted many times in 220 years of national politics. Even when parties have kept the same names for long periods, their issues, principles, demographics, and regional support all change over time.

This chart shows the evolution of political party systems in the U.S. since 1789. Each “party system” is a roughly de�ned time period in which two major political parties, each with fairly consistent supporters and beliefs, dominated the political scene.

The colored lines represent organized parties that had a signi�cant impact on national politics, electing members of Congress or receiving more than 1% of the vote for President. Where the lines merge and split, parties split or party a�liations changed dramatically in a short period of time.

Presidential candidates are also listed for each party, with the winning candidate in bold:

Winning CandidateCandidate

© Copyright LEARN NC 2009. May be reproduced for noncommercial purposes so long as attribution is provided, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license. Visit us on the web at www.learnnc.org.

Prohibition Party

Republican Party

Socialist Party of America