Democratic-Republican Party

Definition

The Democratic-Republican Party was an American political party formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1791–93 to oppose the centralizing policies of the new Federalist Party run by Alexander Hamilton, who was Secretary of the Treasury and chief architect of George Washington's administration.

Related terms

Federalist Party: A major early American political party that favored strong centralized government, commercial interests, and diplomatic relations primarily with Britain.

States' Rights: The rights and powers held by individual US states rather than by the federal government.

Jeffersonian Democracy: A term used to describe an idealized version of governance proposed by Thomas Jefferson, which emphasizes agrarianism, strict interpretation of the Constitution, and decentralized government.