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The Beginning of Parties
Political parties were not created until the late 1600’s. The Romans created two groups, the patricians and the plebeians. The middle class included wealthy merchants and was known as the plebeians and the patricians had noble families in their party. -
Tories and Whigs
In 1678, a rumor was spread and it threatened the life of King Charles. The people who wanted the king to call a new parliament were known as the Petitioners and the people who did agree with the king were called Abhorrers. Later on the names were changed and the petitioners became known as whigs, and the Abhorrers were renamed Tories. The Tories wanted a strong king and the Whigs wanted more rights and have more control over the peoples government. -
The Federalists
The first U.S. political party was the federalists and it was created the year of 1787. The federalists were created by Hamilton and other leaders. Hamilton and others wanted a strong central government. -
The Formation of the Democratic- REpublican Party
In 1796, the anti-federalist formed the Democratic-Republican party. The Democratic- Republican party was hosted by Jefferson. The people in the party included planters, small farmers, and artisans. -
The Democratic Party
In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected as president. Jackson was a Democratic- Republican from Tennessee and his party and himself sided with the South and West. Jackson decided to change his parties names to Democrats. -
The Republican Party and the Formation of the Main Parties
In 1854, antislavery forces and free soil forces created the Republican party. The Republicans first presidential candidate was run in 1856, by John C. Fremont. In 1860, four major parties were created. The parties were Northern Democrat, Southern Democrat, Republican, and the Constitutional Union Party.