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Thomas Jefferson started the first Republican party. At the same time, Alexander Hamilton started the Federalist party. The Federalists wanted a stronger government, while the Republicans did not.
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Around this time, the Jeffersonian Rupublican's gained strength over the Federalists. In 1816, the Federalist party barely exsited. Part of the reason that Alexander Hamilton died and the Federalists were left with no power. These 8 years were peaceful because the Republicans had no conflicts with the Federalists.
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At this time the National Republican and Democratic parties were formed. In the election of 1824, Andrew Jackson won. John Quicy Adams was in second place, but since he had more House support, he won over Jackson. Jackson's party became the Democrats and Adam's party become the National Republicans. These were the first two parties used many campaign tactics that we use today.
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After losing to Andrew Jackson two elections in a row, the National Republicans weren't doing so well. The National Republicans regrouped and became the Whig Party. The Whig party was more united than the Democrats.
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Slavery divided both of the parties in the 1850's. The Northern Whigs and anti-slavery Democrats joined forces to create the Rupublican Party. This party opposed slavery. Since part of the Whig party left to create the Republicans, the Whig Party died out.
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Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist, used a donkey and a elephant to respresent the two parties. The donkey represents the Democrats and the elephant re[resents the Republicans. These two animals have become offical symbols of the party.
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In the 1960's the Democrats supported civil rights for African Americans. The southern Democrats did not like this. The Republican Party won 7 out of the 10 elections from 1968 - 2004.The Republicans controlled the presidency, not the Congress. Democrats were the ones who were controlling Congress. This switched when Bill Clinton became president.
