Three diagrams that chart the Evolution of the Political Parties. First party system (1792–1820) Source http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5123 Antebellum Political parties (1820–1860) Source http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/12357 Early 20th Century Political parties (1896–1929) Source http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/13939 The third chart (1896-1929) was edited to include additional labels. Textual data was lost in the edit. See source link for original pdf file with textual data intact.

1. 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830
1812 18161788 1792 1796 1804 1808 1824 1828 1832 1836
During the 1790s, two parties began to form around differences of opinion
withinWashington’s cabinet. Federalists, behind Secretary of theTreasury
Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong central government that could
promote manufacturing and commerce. Supporters of Secretary of State
Thomas Jefferson, who began to call themselves Democratic-Republicans,
believed in small central government and an agricultural society.
After the Constitution was ratified,
there were no political parties.
GeorgeWashington was elected
without opposition.
The election of 1800 was a
critical moment in American
democracy — the first peaceful
exchange of power between
two parties.
The Democratic-Republicans gradually
adopted Federalist programs, including
support for manufacturing and commerce
and a stronger central government.
Federalists opposed theWar of 1812, and
the American victory cost them support.
By 1820, the Federalists could no
longer field a Presidential candidate.
James Monroe won re-election
without opposition, and the“Era of
Good Feelings”began.
In 1824, four men ran for President, all calling themselves
Democratic-Republicans. Andrew Jackson won the most
votes, but no candidate won a majority of the electoral
vote.The election went to the House of Representatives,
which chose John Quincy Adams.
By 1828, supporters of Andrew Jackson had begun
calling themselves Democrats.They wanted small
government, and they opposed trade protection,
national banks, and paper money. Supporters of
John Quincy Adams, calling themselves National
Republicans, wanted a strong central government
that would support internal improvements and
promote commerce.
In NewYork and New England, opposition to
Jackson organized the Anti-Masonic Party,
which feared the role of Freemasons in
government. In 1832, they held the first
presidential nominating convention in the U.S.
DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN
FEDERALIST
DEMOCRATIC
NATIONAL
REPUBLICAN
ANTI-MASONIC
WHIGJohn Quincy Adams
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
GeorgeWashington GeorgeWashington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson James Madison James Madison James Monroe
James Monroe
Charles Pinkney Charles Pinkney DeWitt Clinton Rufus King
Henry Clay
William Crawford
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Henry Clay
WilliamWirt
MartinVan Buren
William Henry Harrison
Hugh LawsonWhite
DanielWebster
Willie Person Magnum
POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1788–1840
Political parties have shifted many times in 220 years of national politics. Even when parties
have kept the same names for long periods, their issues, principles, demographics, and
regional support all change over time.
This chart shows the evolution of political party systems in the U.S. since 1789. Each“party
system”is a roughly defined time period in which two major political parties, each with fairly
consistent supporters and beliefs, dominated the political scene.
The colored lines represent organized parties that had a significant impact on national
politics, electing members of Congress or receiving more than 1% of the vote for President.
Where the lines merge and split, parties split or party affiliations changed dramatically in a
short period of time.
Presidential candidates are also listed for each party, with the winning candidate in bold:
Winning CandidateCandidate
© Copyright LEARN NC 2009. May be reproduced for noncommercial purposes so long as attribution is provided, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license. Visit us on the web at www.learnnc.org.

2. 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860
1824 1828 1832 1836 1844 1848 1852 1856
By 1820, the Federalists could no
longer field a Presidential candidate.
James Monroe won re-election
without opposition, and the“Era of
Good Feelings”began.
In 1824, four men ran for President, all calling themselves
Democratic-Republicans. Andrew Jackson won the most
votes, but no candidate won a majority of the electoral
vote.The election went to the House of Representatives,
which chose John Quincy Adams.
By 1828, supporters of Andrew Jackson had begun
calling themselves Democrats.They wanted small
government, and they opposed trade protection,
national banks, and paper money. Supporters of
John Quincy Adams, calling themselves National
Republicans, wanted a strong central government
that would support internal improvements and
promote commerce.
In NewYork and New England, opposition to
Jackson organized the Anti-Masonic Party,
which feared the role of Freemasons in
government. In 1832, they held the first
presidential nominating convention in the U.S.
By 1836, opponents of Jackson’s Democrats had
organized into theWhig Party.They opposed what
they saw as Jackson’s autocratic rule, and they
supported social, economic, and moral reforms. In
1836, they ran four regional candidates, hoping to
split the electoral vote and throw the election to the
House of Representatives, where theWhig majority
would pick a President. But their strategy failed.
The“Know-Nothing”Party organized in opposition to immigration, especially
of Catholics. At first they worked in secret, and when asked about their
activities, they replied“I know nothing.”In the 1850s, they renamed
themselves the American Party, and in 1856, with theWhig Party breaking up,
they ran Millard Fillmore for President.
The Liberty Party was organized in the 1840s
to advocate for the abolition of slavery. It had
little success but was an important forerunner
to other anti-slavery efforts.
The Free Soil Party opposed the expansion of slavery
into the western territories — a popular issue in the
wake of the MexicanWar (1846–48). Running on the
slogan“Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free
Men,”they elected several men to Congress.
In 1854,Whigs and Free-Soilers joined forces to
create the Republican Party. Republicans opposed
the expansion of slavery and adopted a progressive
platform, supporting railroads, the growth of cities,
education, and homesteads for farmers.
Divided over the issue of slavery, theWhig party split
in the 1850s. Most NorthernWhigs joined the new
Republican Party, while many SouthernWhigs
became Democrats.The remainingWhigs ran former
President Millard Fillmore on a joint ticket with the
American Party in 1856.
In the 1850s, Democrats adopted someWhig
positions, such as support for railroads. Northern
and southern Democrats also agreed that slavery
should be permitted in the western territories. As
a result, by 1856, the Democrats were nearly the
only party in the South.
The Democrats, finally split over slavery, could
not agree on a candidate in 1860. Northern and
Southern Democrats ran separate candidates,
and their division allowed the Republicans to
capture theWhite House.
DEMOCRATIC
NATIONAL
REPUBLICAN
ANTI-MASONIC
WHIG
KNOW-NOTHING AMERICAN
LIBERTY
FREE SOIL REPUBLICAN
CONSTITUTIONAL
UNION
NORTHERN
DEMOCRATIC
SOUTHERN
DEMOCRATIC
John Quincy Adams
James Monroe
Henry Clay
William Crawford
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Henry Clay
WilliamWirt
MartinVan Buren MartinVan Buren James Polk
ZacharyTaylor
Franklin Pierce
Winfield Scott
Lewis Cass James Buchanan
Henry ClayWilliam Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
Hugh LawsonWhite
DanielWebster
Willie Person Magnum
Millard Fillmore
James Bierney James Bierney
MartinVan Buren
John P. Hale
John C. Fremont Abraham Lincoln
Stephen Douglas
John C. Breckenridge
John Bell
A few remainingWhigs and Know-Nothings
ran John Bell on the Constitutional Union
ticket in 1860, advocating simply to keep the
Union as it was.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1820–1860
Political parties have shifted many times in 220 years of national politics. Even when parties
have kept the same names for long periods, their issues, principles, demographics, and
regional support all change over time.
This chart shows the evolution of political party systems in the U.S. since 1789. Each“party
system”is a roughly defined time period in which two major political parties, each with fairly
consistent supporters and beliefs, dominated the political scene.
The colored lines represent organized parties that had a significant impact on national
politics, electing members of Congress or receiving more than 1% of the vote for President.
Where the lines merge and split, parties split or party affiliations changed dramatically in a
short period of time.
Presidential candidates are also listed for each party, with the winning candidate in bold:
Winning CandidateCandidate
© Copyright LEARN NC 2009. May be reproduced for noncommercial purposes so long as attribution is provided, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license. Visit us on the web at www.learnnc.org.

3. Prohibition Party
Republican Party
Socialist Party of America