Democratic-Republican Party

American

[dem-uh-krat-ik-ri-puhb-li-kuhn pahr-tee] / ˌdɛm əˈkræt ɪk rɪˈpʌb lɪ kən ˈpɑr ti /

noun

U.S. History.

a political party opposed to the Federalist party and advocating states’ rights, active from the 1790s to the 1820s.

Democratic-Republican Party British

noun

US history the antifederalist party originally led by Thomas Jefferson, which developed into the modern Democratic Party

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Middling” people such as artisans, shopkeepers, mechanics and small merchants formed an important part of Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024

During the same period, parties that won repeated elections were able to govern, including the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson’s time, the New Deal Democrats and the Reagan Republicans.

From New York Times • Sep. 17, 2022

Federalist candidate John Adams, who had been Washington's vice president, ultimately prevailed over Thomas Jefferson, former Secretary of State and candidate of the Democratic-Republican Party.

From Salon • Nov. 14, 2021

A tavern keeper’s son from the upstate village of Kinderhook, Van Buren embodied the republic’s open opportunities and rose in politics by diligent service to New York’s Democratic-Republican Party.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Callender sided with the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party, which believed in a limited federal government that would allow states to determine their own future.

From Slate • Aug. 9, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023