As a show of defiance to the ruling Federalist regime, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison founded the Democratic - Republican Party in 1791. This would also become the United States’ first opposition party. Jefferson and his followers had liberal views on how the country ought to have been run. Jefferson, having served as George Washington’s first secretary of state, had in his opinion experience in the regime that he saw as elitist. Jefferson’s supporters wanted a system of government that looked out for all Americans, regardless of social class. They also felt that power was centralized in government. The Federalist regime had ruled by a firm grip, giving Jefferson and his supporters a course to rally behind (Weeks, 2015).
When Jefferson won the presidency, he mainly kept to his party’s ideologies. A case in point is him walking to his inauguration instead of riding on horseback. As president, he also retired the national debt and significantly reduced the size of the armed forces. By the end of his Rule in 1809, Jefferson had largely satisfied his support base in sticking to most of his promised decentralization of government. His party continued enjoying leadership till 1829 when Quincy Adams’ term came to an end.
James Madison was elected America’s fourth president after the end of Jefferson’s time. He was keen on driving the country to prosperity in the post-war era. The country’s institutions had been tested and by a large part, strengthened by the Napoleonic wars. Madison found himself having to excise more power to govern the country, which received criticism for being reminiscent of the Federalist regime (Weeks, 2015). Madison, unlike Jefferson, sought a non-partisan country. He wanted to merge the national leadership style of federalism with the populist liberalism of his sponsor party (Weeks, 2015). Jefferson had openly accused Madison of a federalist rule.
James Monroe became the US president in 1817. He was no stranger to power and Washingtonians as he has served earlier as secretary of state. His reign has been affectionately dubbed “the era of good feelings.” He mostly retained Madison’s appointees in continuing with his precedence (Cunningham, 1996). Similar to George Washington, Monroe embarked on a nationwide tour. He made a less extensive tour of the West and South, two years after visiting New England and Mid-Atlantic states in 1817. This was a clear evidence of a president keen on winning over Federalist approval. The term “era of good feelings” was coined by a Federalist newspaper editor who welcomed the potential demise of one-sided rivalry (Cunningham, 1996). Monroe was good with forging new alliances and making friends across the political divide. To the president, uniting the country was paramount.
The Federalists welcomed him as a celebrated hero of the post-revolution era. In Boston, Monroe met, privately with leading opponents of his party. It was also in Boston where he received his warmest welcome with banquets and streets lined up with thousands of people. His national ratings were at their assumed all-time high. His mission proved successful’ when in 1820 he was re-elected, getting all but one of the electoral votes (Cunningham, 1996). At that point, Monroe had managed to eliminate partisan divide, but the de-unified his party that was now loosely bound having deviated from its founding ideals (Cunningham, 1996).
The election of 1824 exposed rifts in the Democratic - Republican Party as it saw the party’s two leading divides nominate John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. The race was so competitive that the presidency had to be decided by the House of Representatives (Foner, 1976). It was the only time the Democratic-Republican president did not enjoy full party support (Foner, 1976). After that election, the party split into two; the defectors were led by Adams and Henry Clay. John Quincy was an embattled president who was constantly trying to mend his relationship with Crawford and also with the opposition. The end of his rule in 1829 saw the end of his party’s hold on national power.
Madison, Monroe and John Quincy Adams did not successfully represent Jefferson’s intended party as they all had less strict interpretations of what Jefferson intended. Madison had founded the party with Jefferson, but his approach was to include federalism to help him govern. Monroe took a populist approach to the presidency and was not keen on a political rivalry with the federalists. This gained him far-reaching nationalistic support. Many might question his intentions in seeking approval with the Federalists as just plain politicking. Monroe, however, insisted he was after a unified nonpartisan country.
Adam’s presidency was hard fought and proved tragic to the party. He had failed to unite the party and with him, saw the end of their long reign (Weeks, 2015). Adams, however, was probably the closest to Jefferson’s ideologies as he favored the common person over the industrially affluent class. Jefferson himself kept some federal institutions, as they were essential to running a government. A genuinely liberal America is yet to be realized, and it questionable whether the fourth, fifth and sixth presidents could have achieved it.
References
Cunningham, N. E. (1996). The Presidency of James Monroe. University Press of Kansas.
Foner, P. S. (1976). The Democratic-Republican societies, 1790-1800: A documentary sourcebook of constitutions, declarations, addresses, resolutions, and toasts. Greenwood Pub Group.
Weeks, W. E. (2015). John Quincy Adams and American global empire. University Press of Kentucky.
