Editing Democratic-Republican Party (section)

== Ideology ==
{{Further|Jeffersonian democracy|Thomas Jefferson#Political, social and religious views}}
The Democratic-Republican Party saw itself as a champion of republicanism and denounced the Federalists as supporters of monarchy and aristocracy.<ref name="sharp/">James Roger Sharp, ''American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis'' (1993).</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2019}} Ralph Brown writes that the party was marked by a "commitment to broad principles of personal liberty, social mobility, and westward expansion."{{sfnp|Brown|1999|p=19}} Political scientist James A. Reichley writes that "the issue that most sharply divided the Jeffersonians from the Federalists was not states rights, nor the national debt, nor the national Bank... but the question of social equality."{{sfnp|Reichley|2000|p=52}} In a world in which few believed in democracy or egalitarianism, Jefferson's belief in political equality stood out from many of the other leaders who held that the wealthy should lead society. His opponents, says Susan Dunn{{who|date=November 2022}}, warned that Jefferson's "Republicans would turn America upside down, permitting the [[hoi polloi]] to govern the nation and unseating the wealthy social elite, long accustomed to wielding political power and governing the nation."<ref>Susan Dunn, ''Jefferson's second revolution: the election crisis of 1800 and the triumph of republicanism'' (HMH, 2004) p 1.</ref> Jefferson advocated a philosophy that historians call [[Jeffersonian democracy]], which was marked by his belief in [[agrarianism]] and [[limited government|strict limits on the national government]].{{sfnp|Appleby|2003|pp=1–5}} Influenced by the Jeffersonian belief in equality, by 1824 all but three states had removed property-owning requirements for voting.{{sfnp|Reichley|2000|p=57}}

Though open to some redistributive measures, Jefferson saw a strong centralized government as a threat to freedom.{{sfnp|Reichley|2000|pp=55–56}} Thus, the Democratic-Republicans opposed Federalist efforts to build a strong, centralized state, and resisted the establishment of a national bank, the build-up of the army and the navy, and passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.{{sfnp|Reichley|2000|pp=51–52}} Jefferson was especially averse to a national debt, which he believed to be inherently dangerous and immoral.{{sfnp|McDonald|1976|pp=42–43}} After the party took power in 1800, Jefferson became increasingly concerned about foreign intervention and more open to programs of economic development conducted by the federal government. In an effort to promote economic growth and the development of a diversified economy, Jefferson's Democratic-Republican successors would oversee the construction of numerous federally funded infrastructure projects and implement protective tariffs.{{sfnp|Brown|1999|pp=19–20}}

While economic policies were the original catalyst to the partisan split between the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists, foreign policy was also a major factor that divided the parties. Most Americans supported the French Revolution prior to the [[Execution of Louis XVI]] in 1793, but Federalists began to fear the radical egalitarianism of the revolution as it became increasingly violent.<ref name="auto1"/> Jefferson and other Democratic-Republicans defended the French Revolution{{Sfnp|Reichley|2000|pp=35–36}} until [[Napoleon]] ascended to power.{{sfnp|Wilentz|2005|p=108}} Democratic-Republican foreign policy was marked by support for expansionism, as Jefferson championed the concept of an "[[Empire of Liberty]]" that centered on the acquisition and settlement of western territories.{{sfnp|Wood|2009|pp=357–358}} Under Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, the United States completed the Louisiana Purchase, acquired [[Spanish Florida]], and reached a treaty with Britain providing for shared sovereignty over [[Oregon Country]].{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} In 1823, the Monroe administration promulgated the [[Monroe Doctrine]], which reiterated the traditional [[United States non-interventionism|U.S. policy of neutrality]] with regard to European wars and conflicts, but declared that the United States would not accept the recolonization of any country by its former European master.<ref name="JMforeign">{{cite web |url=https://millercenter.org/president/monroe/foreign-affairs |title=James Monroe: Foreign Affairs |date=October 4, 2016 |publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia |access-date=February 25, 2017}}</ref>

=== Slavery ===
From the foundation of the party, slavery divided the Democratic-Republicans. Many Southern Democratic-Republicans, especially from the Deep South, defended the institution. Jefferson and many other Democratic-Republicans from Virginia held an ambivalent view on slavery; Jefferson believed it was an immoral institution, but he opposed the immediate emancipation of all slaves on social and economic grounds. Instead, he favored gradual phasing out of the institution.{{sfnp|Wilentz|2005|pp=136–137}} Meanwhile, Northern Democratic-Republicans often took stronger anti-slavery positions than their Federalist counterparts, supporting measures like the abolition of slavery in Washington. In 1807, with President Jefferson's support, Congress [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves|outlawed]] the [[Atlantic slave trade|international slave trade]], doing so at the earliest possible date allowed by the Constitution.{{sfnp|Wilentz|2005|pp=218–221}}

After the War of 1812, Southerners increasingly came to view slavery as a beneficial institution rather than an unfortunate economic necessity, further polarizing the party over the issue.{{sfnp|Wilentz|2005|pp=218–221}} Anti-slavery Northern Democratic-Republicans held that slavery was incompatible with the equality and individual rights promised by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They further held that slavery had been permitted under the Constitution only as a local and impermanent exception, and thus, slavery should not be allowed to spread outside of the original thirteen states. The anti-slavery positions developed by Northern Democratic-Republicans would influence later anti-slavery parties, including the [[Free Soil Party]] and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].{{sfnp|Wilentz|2005|pp=225–227}} Some Democratic-Republicans from the border states, including [[Henry Clay]], continued to adhere to the Jeffersonian view of slavery as a necessary evil; many of these leaders joined the [[American Colonization Society]], which proposed the voluntary recolonization of Africa as part of a broader plan for the gradual emancipation of slaves.{{sfnp|Wilentz|2005|pp=228–229}}