Democratic-Republican Party, first opposition in the . Organized in 1792 as the , its members held power nationally between 1801 and 1825. It was the direct antecedent of the present .During the two administrations of Pres. George Washington (1789–97), many former —who had resisted adoption of the new federal (1787)—began to unite in opposition to the fiscal program of , secretary of the treasury. After and other proponents of a strong central government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution formed the in 1791, those who favoured and a strict interpretation of the Constitution rallied under the leadership of , who had served as Washington’s first secretary of state. Jefferson’s supporters, deeply influenced by the ideals of the (1789), first adopted the name Republican to emphasize their antimonarchical views. The Republicans contended that the Federalists harboured aristocratic attitudes and that their policies placed too much power in the central government and tended to benefit the affluent at the expense of the common man. Although the Federalists soon branded Jefferson’s followers “Democratic-Republicans,” attempting to link them with the excesses of the French Revolution, the Republicans officially adopted the derisive label in 1798. The Republican coalition supported France in the European war that broke out in 1792, while the Federalists supported Britain (see ). The Republicans’ opposition to Britain unified the faction through the 1790s and inspired them to fight against the Federalist-sponsored (1794) and the (1798).Asher B. Durand: portrait of James MadisonJames Madison, detail of an oil painting by Asher B. Durand, 1833; in the collection of The New-York Historical Society.(more)James MonroeJames Monroe, oil sketch by E.O. Sully, 1836, after a contemporary portrait by Thomas Sully; in Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia.(more)Notwithstanding the party’s antielitist foundations, the first three Democratic-Republican presidents—Jefferson (1801–09), (1809–17), and (1817–25)—were all wealthy, aristocratic Southern planters, though all three shared the same liberal political philosophy. Jefferson narrowly defeated the Federalist in the ; his victory demonstrated that power could be transferred peacefully between parties under the Constitution. Once in office, the Democratic-Republicans attempted to scale back Federalist programs but actually overturned few of the institutions they had criticized (e.g., the was retained until its charter expired in 1811). Nevertheless, Jefferson made a genuine effort to make his administration appear more democratic and egalitarian: he walked to the for his inauguration rather than ride in a coach-and-six, and he sent his annual message to Congress by messenger, rather than reading it personally. Federal excises were repealed, the national debt was retired, and the size of the armed forces was greatly reduced. However, the demands of (such as the in 1803) often forced Jefferson and his successors into a nationalistic stance reminiscent of the Federalists., The Republican Party (more frequently referred to by historians as the Democratic-Republican Party or as the Jeffersonian Republican Party), [a] was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s., Democratic-Republican Party, first U.S. opposition political party. After proponents of a strong central government formed the Federalist Party (1791), those who favored states’ rights and a strict interpretation of the Constitution formed the Republican Party under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson in 1792..