Reply #11: In 1800 the parties were the federlist and the Democratic-Republicans

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At the time of the Consitutional Convention two groups aroue, the Federlists whoe supported the Consitution and the Anti-Federlist who opposed the Consitution. After the adopotion of the Consitution these two groups changed, first Madison and other Federlist who wanted a Bill of Rights merged with the Anti-Federlists. Furthermore out of the Anti-Federlist you had the growht of "Democrat Clubs" (the most famous was Tammery Hall of New York City). Under Jefferson these groups started to call themsleves Democratic-Republcians mostly because the term Democrat was viewed with disfavor at the time as Rule by the Common Mob, unlike Democratic-Republican who beleived in a Republic with Democratic Features.

Anyway this Democratic Republican Party under Jefferson became the dominet party after 1800. It was often refrred to at the time as the Republican party. The Federlist became more and more a New England based party and then dissolved after the War of 1812 after it held a Convention to end the war with Britain, AND right after they made that a resolution news arrived of Jackson's defeat of the British at New Orleans AND that a Treaty had been signed with Britian (Destroying what cridibility they had).

With the destruction of the Federlist party the Democratic-Republican Party continued its dominaence of the Government but started to break up along class lines. While Jackson himself was of the Elite of American he represnted the poorer class of people who had been using the Frontier as they Socail Safty Net since the time of the Revolution. In opposition to Jackson the Upper Middle Class formed a new party knwo as the Whigs (Named after the British Whigs who had opposed the King, they opposed the Imperial Presidenty of Jackson and thus the name). Now the Whigs knew they needed votes from the Working Class and small farmers and thus adopted a "Log Cabin" series of Candidates but was always viewed as represnting the Power elites of the US (Through it did cater to adn recruit Anti-Jackson Working class heros like Davy Crockett but never implemented Crockett's proposal to protect the small farmer from colelction on dets and taxes woned by the Farmers).

Anyway, Jackson follows no longer had any problems with the Name Democratic and adopted it formerly as they name dropping all references to the Term Republican. The Whigs were the opposition during this time period with the Democratic Party the Dominate Party. The Whigs and Democrats had suppoted in both North and South, but the primary sipport was in the South with the Large Plantation owners who were tied in with British Bansk (the Democratics were tied in with New York City Banks).

In 1850 the US Congres adopted the "Compromise of 1850" permitting Califronia in as a Free State but adotped a nasty Fugutive Slave Law for the South. The result of this Compromise you had mass movements against Slavery in the North. In 1854 this oppostion lead to the formation of the Republcan Party. In 1856 the Republcan party ran its first Canidate and came in Second to the Democrat (The Whig Canidate came in a distant third and the Whig Party Dissolved).

The dissolvtion of the Whig Party came in two form,. First in the South the old Whigs joined the Democratic party for the Democratic Party of the South controled the Sheriff's Patrol and the milita and both would be neede dinthe upcoming Civil War and the old whigs wanted to control the Militia. In the North the Old Whigs joined the Repblucians and made it not only an Anti-Slavery party but a Pro-Business Party (It is unclear which casue lead Lincoln to go from the Whigs to the Republcians but he did so in the 1850s winning the nomination as a moderate Rebupulcan in 1860).

During the Civil War ALL of the Southern Polticans were Democrats (Through many are referred to as "old Whigs" for that was they first choice). In the North you had two parties, the rump of the Democrats and the Republcans. In 1864 Lincoln techncaily did not run as a Republcian but on the "Union Ticket" of Republcans and War Democrats (Lincoln's Second VP, and later President was a War-Democrat), his opporsition was McCellan as a Democrat but he again supported fighting the war (and these were called the "Peace Democrats").

After the Civil war you again had a relignment, the war and peace Democrats joinging up again to defend President Andrew Johnson. The GOP was by then the Dominent Party with the Democrats as the opposition. The new black voters (almost all in the South) were solid Republicans and stayed active till the sart of Segregation in the 1890s (and most blacks would vote Republican when they could till FDR was President).

This was the Situation till the 1880s, when the Free-Silver party ame into play. The Free Silver party was a party advocating the Free coinage of Silver as money instead of minting Silver coins to a strict ratio with Gold (The net effect of Free Silver would be inflation which what was needed at the time, but the GOP was married to the Gold Standard). During the time period in question (1866-1896) the main differnece between the Democrats and Republcans was on the issue of the Tariff. The GOP wanted high Tariffs to keep forgien goods out, the Democrat wanted the Tariff set to bring in themaximum amont of revneue. Thus the Democrats when in power cut the Tariff and had more money to spend, while the Repubicans would raise the Tariff and have to cut back on spending. This was upset by the Free-Silver Party for both parties were commited to the Gold Standard till 1896. In 1896 the Democratic Party embraced the concept of Free Silver rejecting the Gold Standard AND adopted a polcy of reform. The Free-Silver party would last a few more years but like most third parties was a mechaniasm where the members of one party goes to the other, In the Case of he Free-Silver Party, Ex-republicans becoming Democrats.

Now the GOP used it access to money (It outspent the Democrats in 19896 20-1) to stay in power till 1912 (When the GOP split between Taft adn Therodore Roosevelt) permitting the Democrats to get into power, but the Democrats lost it again in 1920. In the 1920s the Democrats were out of power (and suffered they worse defeat in 1928). In 1932 the Democrats won with FDR and brought a lot of old Republcans with them making the Democratic Party the Dominaet party till Reagan's election in 1980.

Just a brief run down of the Political parties in US History.