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Federalists
Strong division developed over the fiscal program of the secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and he and other proponents of a strong central government formed the Federalist Party in 1791. Differences with the opposition were intensified by ideological attitudes toward the French Revolution, and by 1795 administration supporters had hardened into a regular party, which succeeded in electing John Adams to the presidency in 1796. -
Anti-Federalists
A political coalition of politicians who unsuccessfully opposed the strong central government envisioned in the U.S. Constitution and who led to the addition of a Bill of Rights. They feared the authority of a single national government, inadequate separation of powers, and loss of immediate control over local affairs. In 1971, they became the nucleus of the Jeffersonian Republican Party as strict constructionists of the new Constitution and in opposition to a strong national fiscal policy. -
Democratic-Republicans
Jefferson’s supporters first adopted the name Republican to emphasize their antimonarchical views. The Republicans contended that the Federalists harboured aristocratic attitudes and that their policies placed too much power in the central government and tended to benefit the affluent at the expense of the common man. Although the Federalists soon branded Jefferson’s followers “Democratic-Republicans,” the Republicans officially adopted the derisive label in 1798. -
Jacksonian Democrats
Jacksonian Democracy refers to the ascendancy of Andrew Jackson and the Democratic party after 1828. It alludes to the entire range of democratic reforms that proceeded alongside the Jacksonians’ triumph—from expanding the suffrage to restructuring federal institutions. From another angle, Jacksonianism appears as a political impulse tied to slavery, the subjugation of Native Americans, and the celebration of white supremacy. -
The Party of Lincoln (Republicans)
Former members of the Whig Party met to establish a new party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories. The Whig Party opposed the “tyranny” of President Andrew Jackson. By February 1854, anti-slavery Whigs had begun meeting in the upper midwestern states to discuss the formation of a new party. One such meeting, in Wisconsin on March 20, 1854, is generally remembered as the founding meeting of the Republican Party. -
Roosevelt Democrats
The New Deal was supported by Southern and Western business interests, the Northern white urban working class and many Wall Street financiers. These groups were against the Republican Party of Herbert Hoover, which represented the mostly white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) capitalist elite. The Southern and Western businesses wanted federal financing for infrastructure and development projects. The Northern white working class wanted higher wages. The Wall Streeters wanted to liberalize trade. -
Modern Republicans
The second half of the 20th century saw election or succession of Republican presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Conservatives dominated the domestic policies of the time. Ever since Reagan left office in 1989, he has been the iconic conservative Republican, and Republican presidential candidates frequently claim to share his views and aim to establish themselves and their policies as the more appropriate heir to his legacy. -
Modern Democrats
The Liberals became a recognizable political party in the mid-19th century. Dedicated to the extension of civil rights and social welfare, they opposed the Conservative Party. The Social Democratic Party was formed in 1981 and joined Liberals. The Alliance of Liberals and Social Democrats polled 25 percent of the popular vote in the 1983 general election. On March 3, 1988, the two parties formally merged as the Social and Liberal Democratic Party, and in 1989 the party adopted the present name.