How did the Democratic Party start?

How did the Democratic Party start?

Matthew Jones (Political Science Instructor) gives expert video advice on: What does the Democratic Party stand for?; How did the Democratic Party start?; How has the Democratic Party evolved since Andrew Jackson? and more...

The Democratic Party is the oldest political party in the United States and the oldest political party in terms of a democracy in the world. It can trace its origins in one sense back to Thomas Jefferson and 1792 when Thomas Jefferson and James Madison started to become unhappy with George Washington and the Federalist Party. So, he kind of started what he called the Democratic-Republican Party at that point in time. And that party really came into power with the election of Thomas Jefferson in his presidency starting in 1801. But then again, in another sense, the Democratic Party didn't come into it's own until the presidency of Andrew Jackson and until the 1830's. And Jackson kind of turned the Democratic-Republican Party into the Democratic Party, started the Democratic National Committee, and that sort of thing, and kind of created more of an organization to it. The Democratic-Republican Party had started to gain factions within itself, and so he kind of tried to organize one faction to be the dominant faction there, and that's really where the Democratic Party started.