The Democratic-Republican Party was an American political party formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison around 1792 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. From 1801 to 1825, the new party controlled the presidency and Congress as well as most states during the First Party System. It began in 1791 as one faction in Congress and included many politicians who had been opposed to the new constitution. They called themselves "Republicans" after their ideology, republicanism. They distrusted the Federalist commitment to republicanism. The party splintered in 1824, with the faction loyal to Andrew Jackson coalescing into the Jacksonian movement (which acquired the name "Democratic Party" during Jackson's presidency), and the faction led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay forming the short-lived National Republican Party (later succeeded by the Whig Party). - Source: Wikipedia
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