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Democratic-Republican Party Facts & Worksheets

The Democratic-Republican Party, originally called the Republican Party, was the first opposition political party in the United States.

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The Democratic-Republican Party, originally called the Republican Party, was the first opposition political party in the United States.

See the fact file below for more information on the Democratic-Republican Party or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Democratic-Republican Party worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ORGANIZATION AND EARLY YEARS

  • The Democratic-Republican Party was one of the first two political parties in United States history, and it was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison on May 13, 1792.
  • Dissatisfied with the policies of the government under President George Washington, they formed a political association that championed republicanism, political equality, and expansionism.
  • They favored keeping the U.S. as an agricultural country and proposed to serve as the agricultural provider for the rest of the world.
  • In the 1788–89 presidential election, George Washington won and appointed Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, and James Madison as a key adviser and ally in Congress.
  • Hamilton established the First Bank of the United States and assumed the debt of state governments, believing that it would foster a prosperous and stable country.
  • This did not sit well with Jefferson and Madison, who later established a party called the Democratic-Republican Party.
  • Its rival was the Federalist Party, a political party formed by Hamilton and his followers. It favored economic growth and fostered friendly relationships with Great Britain.
  • After Britain entered the French Revolutionary War in 1793, the Democratic-Republican Party supported France to the ire of the Federalists.
  • With the political arena divided and the presidential elections approaching, the opposing parties rallied for support from the people. Federalist John Adams ended up winning the election.
  • He immediately sent envoys to France for peaceful negotiations, but France declined, resulting in a quasi-war.
  • His administration also passed laws against immigrants – Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) and the Jay Treaty (US-Great Britain relationship advancement). The Democratic-Republicans opposed and claimed the laws were unconstitutional.
  • The growing unpopularity of the Federalists immediately paved way to the domination of the Democratic-Republican Party after Thomas Jefferson was voted the third president.

POLITICAL ENDEAVORS

  • Jefferson’s Presidency
    • He promoted the notion that all adult white men should have the right to vote and serve in elected office as long as they owned a minimal amount of property.
    • His party supported the idea that all U.S. families have to own farms and working-class people have to prioritize public service if they owned enough property to feed and house their families.
    • He went against the Federalist principles that harbored aristocratic attitudes by placing too much power in the central government to benefit the affluent at the expense of the common man.
  • Madison’s Presidency
    • Madison spearheaded the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain over British violations of U.S. maritime rights. It was resolved when both sides agreed to the Treaty of Ghent.
    • He became a supporter of industrialization and maintained the country’s economic ties with Europe.
    • With American people celebrating severance of ties from Britain, the Federalist Party slid towards national irrelevance.
    • The Tariff of 1816 was enacted, and the Second Bank of the United States was established.
    • In the 1816 presidential election, the Democratic – Republican Party was able to seat its third president in James Monroe as the Federalist party collapsed.
  • Monroe’s Presidency
    • He served as president in the “Era of Good Feelings” due to the lack of partisan conflict.
    • He approved the funding of infrastructure projects, such as national roads to promote economic development despite some constitutional concerns.
    • Monroe also supported the Missouri Compromise, admitting Missouri as a slave state.
    • He acquired Eastern and Western Florida and remained neutral in European affairs, but he would not accept new colonization of Latin America by European powers.

THE FINAL YEARS OF THE PARTY

  • Over time, the party existed less as a united political group. The coalition of personal and sectional factions formed within.
  • As the 1824 presidential elections came, the leaders of the two major factions, Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams, were both nominated for the presidency.
  • Two more Democratic-Republicans were also nominated: William H. Crawford and Henry Clay.
  • Adams’ Presidency
    • He proposed that the federal government develop and conserve the public domain, using funds from the sale of public lands.
    • Adams also initiated the development of the arts and sciences through the establishment of a national university, the financing of scientific expeditions, and the erection of an observatory, despite numerous oppositions and charges of corruption and plunder.
  • The Democratic-Republican faction soon gained ground when Andrew Jackson won the presidency.
  • The party emphasized local and humanitarian concerns, states’ rights, agrarian interests, and democratic procedures.
  • During Jackson’s presidency, they finally omitted the Republican label and called themselves simply Democrats or Jacksonian Democrats. The name Democratic Party was formally adopted in 1844.

Democratic-Republican Party Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Democratic-Republican Party across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Democratic-Republican Party worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Democratic-Republican Party, originally called the Republican Party, which was the first opposition political party in the United States.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Democratic-Republican Party Facts
  • The United States
  • US Political Parties
  • 19th-Century America
  • Addressing 19th-Century Problems
  • In a Nutshell
  • Opposing Sides
  • The Highest Seal
  • Wisdom in Politics
  • Election Campaign
  • Wordfind

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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