The political rivalry of Hamilton and Jefferson resulted in the formation of two opposing camps behind each leader: the Federalists behind Hamilton and the Jeffersonians, or Republicans, or Democratic-Republicans, behind Jefferson. The Federalists held sway from 1789 to 1800, through the presidencies of the extremely popular George Washington (who was nominally nonpartisan but generally favored Federalist policies) and John Adams, a staunch Federalist. But Jefferson edged Adams in the famously close and nasty presidential campaign of 1800. This result ushered in the sharp decline of the Federalists who were encumbered by some bad policy decisions of the previous Adams presidency such as the Alien and Sedition Acts.
The Democratic-Republicans took charge with 6 straight presidential election wins through the Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe administrations leading up to 1824. Through this period, the Democratic-Republicans were so popular and powerful, that many outside the party took on a kind of “me-too” identity by calling themselves National Republicans and advocating similar policies although with a more conservative cast. At the time of the 1824 election, you could hardly say there were two major political parties. The choice voters were given was among 4 individuals of varying shades of Democratic-Republican: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and a guy named W.H. Crawford. As might be expected, none got a majority, and the election was thrown into the House of Representatives as per Article II of the Constitution. In the subsequent maneuverings, Clay supporters threw their votes to Adams, prompting the rest of the candidates to accuse the two of a “corrupt bargain.” When Adams became president and named Clay secretary of state, those suspicions seemed confirmed.
Anger in the camp of Andrew Jackson over the very idea that the presidency could be determined by Congressional machinations led to the renaming of the Democratic-Republicans to Democrats, headed by Jackson, and to a re-dedication to the cause of popular sovereignty for the next election of 1828. For the most part, this so-called “founding” of the Democratic party is misunderstood as such. It was really just a renaming and re-focusing of the party on the cause of the common man, continuing the general philosophies of the Democratic-Republican party founded by Jefferson, but distinguished more sharply in profile from many of the quasi, me-too factions that had sprung up. Jackson ended up trouncing Adams in 1828, and his provocative policies engendered the formation in the 1830s of the opposing Whig party , which was the precursor of the modern-day Republican party.
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