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Federalists (merchants and large planters): John Adams
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Jeffersonian Republicans (artisans and farmers): Thomas Jefferson -
1800-1820 Jeffersonian Republics ruled presidency and congress; by 1816 Federalist Party nearly extinct
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After election of John Quincy Adams in 1824, organized two party system returns when Jeffersonian Republican party splits in two
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Supporters of Andrew Jackson, who beat John Quincy Adams in 1828, founded Democrat Party
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Supporters of Adams, called National Republicans, took the name Whig Party, a traditional name for British Liberals
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As the issue of slavery brewed in the 1850s, the Whig party became divided between the northern and southern Whigs.
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The Northern Whigs joined the antislavery Democrats and members of a radical antislavery Free Soil Party to form the modern Republican Party
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Republicans gained a political advantage when the Populist movement gained support via small farmers in the west and south
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William Jennings Bryan became Democratic candidate for President in 1896; Democrat Party embraces populism movement in country
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William McKinley, the Republican candidate in 1896 beat out William Jennings Bryan, the Democrat candidate; this large-scale change from a country that supported Democrat ideals to Republican ideals caused a major shift in our nation's politics
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Republican Party splits; Theodore Roosevelt campaigned on third-party ticket, Progressive Party. This allowed for Democrat candidate, Woodrow Wilson to be elected, along with a Democratic congress
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The election of Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt marked a major political change in the US. African Americans began to support the Democratic Party during this time as the New Deal programs were applicable to them.
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A slow motion realignment occurred after the Vietnam War that left the Democrat and Republican parties in a back and forth battle over majority vote