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Tennessee Democratic Party

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The Tennessee Democratic Party ( TNDP ) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Tennessee . The party was founded in 1826 initially as the Jacksonian Party . The Tennessee Democratic Party was born out of President Andrew Jackson 's populist philosophy of Jacksonian democracy in the mid to late-1820s. After Jackson left office, the Democratic Party struggled in the state as the Whig Party would go on to be the dominant party in Tennessee until its collapse after the 1852 Election . Prior to the Civil War , as a result of the collapse of the former Whig Party , the Democratic Party became the dominant party in the state. After the war ended, the Republican Party would be the dominant political party during Reconstruction , but once Reconstruction ended, the Democratic Party would dominate Tennessee Politics up until 2011 when the Republican Party would gain firm control of Tennessee State Government .

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187-689: Prior to the rise of Jacksonian Democracy, political parties in Tennessee were really non-existent. Since Tennessee was admitted to the Union in 1796, Tennessee had only voted for the Democratic-Republican Party in each Presidential Election from 1796 to 1820 . For the 1824 Presidential Election , Andrew Jackson , a former Military General and then U.S. Senator for Tennessee , decided to run for president against President James Monroe 's then Secretary of State John Quincy Adams ,

374-562: A monarchist . Ultimately, Adams won the presidency by a narrow margin, garnering 71 electoral votes to 68 for Jefferson, who became the vice president. Shortly after Adams took office, he dispatched a group of envoys to seek peaceful relations with France, which had begun seizing American merchantmen trading with Britain after the ratification of the Jay Treaty. The failure of talks, and the French demand for bribes in what became known as

561-582: A Federalist caucus re-nominated President Adams on a ticket with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney , Adams dismissed two Hamilton allies from his Cabinet, leading to an open break between the two key figures in the Federalist Party. Though the Federalist Party united against Jefferson's candidacy and waged an effective campaign in many states, the Democratic-Republicans won the election by winning most Southern electoral votes and carrying

748-775: A Super Minority in both the Tennessee House of Representatives and Tennessee Senate . Currently Tennessee Democrats occupy 24 seats in the Tennessee State House and 6 seats in the Tennessee State Senate . The Tennessee Democratic Party's leadership consists of a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer who are elected by the State Executive Committee. The State's Executive Committee consists of one man and one woman from each State Senate District. On January 16, 2021,

935-889: A close election. Madison initially hoped for a quick end to the War of 1812 , but the war got off to a disastrous start as multiple American invasions of Canada were defeated. The United States had more military success in 1813, and American troops under William Henry Harrison defeated Tecumseh's confederacy in the Battle of the Thames in 1814, crushing Indian resistance to U.S. expansion . Britain shifted troops to North America in 1814 following Napoleon's abdication, and British forces captured and burnt Washington in August 1814. In early 1815, Madison learned that his negotiators in Europe had signed

1122-586: A compromise , in which Missouri would be admitted as a slave state, but slavery would be excluded in the remaining territories north of the parallel 36°30′ north . A bill based on Thomas's proposal became law in April 1820. By 1824, the Federalist Party had largely collapsed as a national party, and the 1824 presidential election was waged by competing members of the Democratic-Republican Party. The party's congressional nominating caucus

1309-663: A diplomatic mission to purchase New Orleans. To the surprise of the American delegation, Napoleon offered to sell the entire territory of Louisiana for $ 15 million. After Secretary of State James Madison gave his assurances that the purchase was well within even the strictest interpretation of the Constitution, the Senate quickly ratified the treaty, and the House immediately authorized funding. The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled

1496-468: A landslide election. Monroe believed that the existence of political parties was harmful to the United States, and he sought to usher in the end of the Federalist Party by avoiding divisive policies and welcoming ex-Federalists into the fold. Monroe favored infrastructure projects to promote economic development and, despite some constitutional concerns, signed bills providing federal funding for

1683-541: A large American army in the process, and set up a network of bases inland. Although there were Loyalists within the Southern colonies, they were concentrated in larger coastal cities and were not great enough in number to overcome the revolutionaries. The British forces at the Battle of Monck's Corner and the Battle of Lenud's Ferry consisted entirely of Loyalists with the exception of the commanding officer ( Banastre Tarleton ). Both white and black Loyalists fought for

1870-718: A large area north of the city (along the Mississippi) becoming known as the German Coast. Still greater numbers immigrated to Texas (especially after 1848), where many bought land and were farmers. Many more German immigrants arrived in Texas after the Civil War, where they created the brewing industry in Houston and elsewhere, became grocers in numerous cities, and also established wide areas of farming. By 1840, New Orleans

2057-413: A large debt is a major legacy of the party. Andrew Jackson believed the national debt was a "national curse" and he took special pride in paying off the entire national debt in 1835. Politicians ever since have used the issue of a high national debt to denounce the other party for profligacy and a threat to fiscal soundness and the nation's future. The affiliation of many Congressmen in the earliest years

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2244-571: A law that would allow the Governor to declare Martial Law in individual counties in order to combat the influence of the Ku Klux Klan . However, by 1869 Republican dominance in state politics began to subside as Democrats in the state took control of state government. The Democratic Party would then work to undo the reforms enacted by the Brownlow administration over the next few years. By

2431-480: A leading Federalist, used the term " Jacobin " to link members of Jefferson's party to the radicals of the French Revolution . He blamed the newspapers for electing Jefferson and wrote they were "an overmatch for any Government.... The Jacobins owe their triumph to the unceasing use of this engine; not so much to skill in use of it as by repetition". As one historian explained: "It was the good fortune of

2618-467: A major part of the coalition that propelled Jackson to victory in the 1828 election. The Democratic-Republican Party invented campaign and organizational techniques that were later adopted by the Federalists and became standard American practice. It was especially effective in building a network of newspapers in major cities to broadcast its statements and editorialize its policies. Fisher Ames ,

2805-488: A national university, a naval academy, and a national astronomical observatory. His requests to Congress galvanized the opposition, spurring the creation of an anti-Adams congressional coalition consisting of supporters of Jackson, Crawford, and Vice President Calhoun. Following the 1826 elections, Calhoun and Martin Van Buren (who brought along many of Crawford's supporters) agreed to throw their support behind Jackson in

2992-440: A naval flotilla was sent to Charleston harbor, and the threat of landing ground troops was used to compel the collection of tariffs. A compromise was reached by which the tariffs would be gradually reduced, but the underlying argument over states' rights continued to escalate in the following decades. The second issue concerned slavery, primarily the question of whether slavery would be permitted in newly admitted states. The issue

3179-694: A period known as the Era of Good Feelings . Lacking an effective opposition, the Republicans split into rival groups after the 1824 presidential election : one faction supported President John Quincy Adams , while another faction backed General Andrew Jackson . Jackson's supporters eventually coalesced into the Democratic Party, while supporters of Adams became known as the National Republican Party , which itself later merged into

3366-724: A political party, but distinct and consistent voting blocs emerged in Congress by the end of 1793. Jefferson's followers became known as the Republicans (or sometimes as the Democratic-Republicans) and Hamilton's followers became the Federalists . While economic policies were the original motivating factor in the growing partisan split, foreign policy became even more important as war broke out between Great Britain (favored by Federalists) and France , which Republicans favored until 1799. Partisan tensions escalated as

3553-421: A potential tyrant. With Clay's backing, Adams won the contingent election. After Clay accepted appointment as Secretary of State, Jackson's supporters claimed that Adams and Clay had reached a " Corrupt Bargain " in which Adams promised Clay the appointment in return for Clay's support in the contingent election. Jackson, who was deeply angered by the result of the contingent election, returned to Tennessee, where

3740-765: A result of the Whiskey Rebellion and Washington's subsequent denunciation of the Democratic-Republican Societies , a type of new local political societies that favored democracy and generally supported the Jeffersonian position. Historians use the term "Democratic-Republican" to describe these new organizations, but that name was rarely used at the time. They usually called themselves "Democratic", "Republican", "True Republican", "Constitutional", "United Freeman", "Patriotic", "Political", "Franklin", or "Madisonian". The ratification of

3927-549: A result of the debate over the Jay Treaty . Though he was defeated by Federalist John Adams in the 1796 presidential election , Jefferson and his Republican allies came into power following the 1800 elections. As president, Jefferson presided over a reduction in the national debt and government spending, and completed the Louisiana Purchase with France . Madison succeeded Jefferson as president in 1809 and led

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4114-422: A series of racist laws known as Jim Crow Laws , that specifically codified racist views into law. Because of these laws passed after the end of Reconstruction, generations of African American citizens would face extreme racial discrimination in everyday life, the rise of lynching, and the rise of segregation. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, Tennessee voters would only elect and vote mainly for Democrats to

4301-459: A short time during Reconstruction. There were thousands of people on the move, as African Americans tried to reunite families separated by slave sales, and sometimes migrated for better opportunities in towns or other states. Other freed people moved from plantation areas to cities or towns for a chance to get different jobs. At the same time, whites returned from refuges to reclaim plantations or town dwellings. In some areas, many whites returned to

4488-475: A significant Super Majority in Tennessee's Congressional delegation. The last time Tennessee's Congressional Delegation had a plurality of Democrats was as recent as 2010 when Tennessee Democrats controlled 5 out of the state's 9 House Seats. Currently Tennessee does not have an elected Democrat statewide. Tennessee has not elected a Democrat statewide since former Governor Phil Bredesen won re-election in 2006. Since 2011, Tennessee Democrats have been in

4675-478: A successful "second war of independence", the Federalist Party slid towards national irrelevance. The subsequent period of virtually one-party rule by the Democratic-Republican Party is known as the " Era of Good Feelings ." In his first term, Madison and his allies had largely hewed to Jefferson's domestic agenda of low taxes and a reduction of the national debt, and Congress allowed the national bank's charter to expire during Madison's first term. The challenges of

4862-545: A third term, the 1796 presidential election became the first contested president election. Having retired from Washington's Cabinet in 1793, Jefferson had left the leadership of the Democratic-Republicans in Madison's hands. Nonetheless, the Democratic-Republican congressional nominating caucus chose Jefferson as the party's presidential nominee, in the belief that he would be the party's strongest candidate;

5049-583: A threat to freedom. 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. Jefferson was especially averse to a national debt, which he believed to be inherently dangerous and immoral. After the party took power in 1800, Jefferson became increasingly concerned about foreign intervention and more open to programs of economic development conducted by

5236-520: A total of 260,000, out of a total white Southern population at the time of around 5.5 million. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6% in the North and about 18% in the South. Northern military deaths were greater than Southern military deaths in absolute numbers, but were two-thirds smaller in terms of proportion of the population affected. After

5423-522: A trend of Tennessee voters only electing Whig Party Candidates in each Presidential Election from the Election of 1836 to the Election of 1852. For other offices during this time, it was a mix bag of Whigs and Democrats until the Whig Party's collapse in 1854. In 1856 , Tennessee would vote for a Democrat for the first time since 1836 , when Tennessee voted for James Buchanan for President . By

5610-467: Is an assignment by later historians. The parties were slowly coalescing groups; at first there were many independents. Cunningham noted that only about a quarter of the House of Representatives up until 1794 voted with Madison as much as two-thirds of the time and another quarter against him two-thirds of the time, leaving almost half as fairly independent. Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie , also referred to as

5797-538: The National Gazette , a newspaper which recast national politics not as a battle between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, but as a debate between aristocrats and republicans. In the 1792 election , Washington effectively ran unopposed for president, but Jefferson and Madison backed New York Governor George Clinton 's unsuccessful attempt to unseat Vice President John Adams . Political leaders on both sides were reluctant to label their respective faction as

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5984-558: The 15th Amendment (which extended the right to vote to African American males), African Americans in the South were made free citizens and were given the right to vote. Under Federal protection, white and black Republicans formed constitutional conventions and state governments. Among their accomplishments were creating the first public education systems in Southern states, and providing for welfare through orphanages, hospitals and similar institutions. Northerners came south to participate in politics and business. Some were representatives of

6171-519: The 2024 Democratic National Convention became the first state delegation to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris and her 2024 Presidential Campaign . Currently Tennessee's Congressional Delegation contains only one Democrat out of the state's nine U.S. House of Representatives seats. Prior to the 2022 Midterm Elections , the Republican Super Majority redrew Nashville into three Congressional Districts to ensure that they have

6358-609: The British Isles before the American Revolution . In the 1980 census , 34% of Southerners reported that they were of English ancestry; English was the largest reported European ancestry in every Southern state by a large margin. The early colonists engaged in warfare , trade, and cultural exchanges. Those living in the backcountry were more likely to encounter Creek Indians , Cherokee , and Choctaws and other regional native groups. The oldest university in

6545-804: The Chesapeake Bay . The next region to be settled was the Deep South, beginning in Province of Carolina and later the Province of Georgia . The last region to be settled was Appalachia, also settled by the Scotch-Irish . King Charles II of England granted the Charter of Carolina in 1663 for land south of the British Colony of Virginia and north of Spanish Florida . He granted the land to eight lords proprietor . Charles granted

6732-495: The Civil War and Reconstruction era (1865–1877). Following effects included thousands of lynchings (mostly from 1880 to 1930), a segregated system of separate schools and public facilities established from Jim Crow laws that remained until the 1960s, and the widespread use of poll taxes and other methods to deny black and poor people the ability to vote or hold office until the 1960s. Scholars have characterized pockets of

6919-686: The Democratic Party as the Civil Rights Movement began to pick up steam. Since 1952, Tennessee has only voted Democratic in Presidential Election four times in 1964 , 1976 , 1992 , and 1996 . Since the late 1960s Republicans began to chip away at the control that the Democratic Party held in the state starting in 1967 when Howard Baker was elected to the US Senate , followed by Bill Brock's election to

7106-474: The Democratic Party , which dominated presidential politics in the decades prior to the Civil War. Supporters of John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay would form the main opposition to Jackson as the National Republican Party , which in turn eventually formed part of the Whig Party , which was the second major party in the United States between the 1830s and the early 1850s. The diverse and changing nature of

7293-634: The Free Soil Party and the Republican Party . 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. Madison and Jefferson formed

7480-621: The Freedmen's Bureau and other agencies of Reconstruction; some were humanitarians with the intent to help black people. Some were adventurers who hoped to benefit themselves by questionable methods. They were all condemned with the pejorative term of carpetbagger . Some Southerners would also take advantage of the disrupted environment and made money off various schemes, including bonds and financing for railroads. White Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and efforts became known as scalawags . Secret vigilante organizations such as

7667-412: The Jay Treaty with Britain further inflamed partisan warfare, resulting in a hardening of the divisions between the Federalists and the Republicans. By 1795–96, election campaigns—federal, state and local—were waged primarily along partisan lines between the two national parties, although local issues continued to affect elections, and party affiliations remained in flux. As Washington declined to seek

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7854-492: The Ku Klux Klan  – an organization sworn to perpetuate white supremacy  – had arisen quickly after the war's end in the 1860s, and used lynching , physical attacks, house burnings and other forms of intimidation to keep African Americans from exercising their political rights. Although the first Klan was disrupted by prosecution by the Federal government in the early 1870s, other groups persisted. By

8041-469: The Monroe Doctrine , which reiterated the traditional 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. From the foundation of the party, slavery divided the Democratic-Republicans. Many Southern Democratic-Republicans, especially from the Deep South, defended

8228-875: The Napoleonic Wars continued, the British government announced the Orders in Council , which called for a blockade on French-controlled ports. In response to subsequent British and French searches of American shipping, the Jefferson administration passed the Embargo Act of 1807 , which cut off American trade with Europe. The embargo proved unpopular and difficult to enforce, especially in Federalist-leaning New England , and expired at

8415-524: The National Road and other projects. Partly due to the mismanagement of national bank president William Jones , the country experienced a prolonged economic recession known as the Panic of 1819 . The panic engendered a widespread resentment of the national bank and a distrust of paper money that would influence national politics long after the recession ended. Despite the ongoing economic troubles,

8602-544: The New Deal era , and gave rise to the political bosses in both Memphis and Nashville . In Memphis, E.H. Crump rose to power using his influence statewide politics to build political power in Memphis and to get folks that he approved of elected to office. He welded a lot of power until the mid-1940s before his influence began to wane and finally ended in the 1950s. In the 1950s, Tennessee voters began shifting away from

8789-626: The Patriot cause . Virginia would provide leaders such as commander-in-chief George Washington , and the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson . In 1780 and 1781, the British largely halted reconquest of the northern states and concentrated on the south, where they were told there was a large Loyalist population ready to leap to arms once the royal forces arrived. The British took control of Savannah and Charleston, capturing

8976-593: The Republican Party took control of Tennessee State Government in March 1865. Along with control of the General Assembly , Republicans controlled the Governor's office for the first time with the election William G. Brownlow . During the years Republicans had control of the General Assembly, they expanded the right to vote to newly freed slaves, disenfranchised former Confederates, and passed

9163-936: The Southern States , the American South , the Southland , Dixieland , or simply the South ) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau . It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the Western United States , with the Midwestern and Northeastern United States to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south. Historically, the South was defined as all states south of

9350-422: The Southern United States , that objected to Hamilton's Anglophilia and accused him of unduly favoring well-connected wealthy Northern merchants and speculators. Madison emerged as the leader of the congressional opposition while Jefferson, who declined to publicly criticize Hamilton while both served in Washington's Cabinet, worked behind the scenes to stymie Hamilton's programs. Jefferson and Madison established

9537-407: The Treaty of Ghent , ending the war without major concessions by either side. Though it had no effect on the treaty, Andrew Jackson 's victory in the January 1815 Battle of New Orleans ended the war on a triumphant note. Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815 brought a final end to the Napoleonic Wars and European interference with American shipping. With Americans celebrating

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9724-452: The US Senate and with the election of Winfield Dunn to the Governor's office in 1971. Democratic Control continued to wane throughout the remainder of the 20th century as Republicans continued to gain traction with conservatives in the state. By 2000, Tennessee was in the spotlight again, this time for election between then Vice President Al Gore of Carthage, Tennessee and George W. Bush of Texas . Gore campaigned heavily throughout

9911-453: The United States Census Bureau , A survey conducted by social geographers in 2010 selected thirteen states as the cultural south; Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, and Oklahoma. The Southern region of the United States includes sixteen states. As of 2010, an estimated 114,555,744 people, or thirty seven percent of all U.S. residents, lived in

10098-451: The XYZ Affair , outraged the American public and led to the Quasi-War , an undeclared naval war between France and the United States. The Federalist-controlled Congress passed measures to expand the American military and also pushed through the Alien and Sedition Acts . These acts restricted speech critical of the government while also implementing stricter naturalization requirements. Numerous journalists and other individuals aligned with

10285-406: The green anole , the venomous cottonmouth snake, and the American alligator , mammals like the American black bear , the swamp rabbit , and the nine-banded armadillo , and birds such as the roseate spoonbill and the extinct but symbolic carolina parakeet . The question of how to define the boundaries and subregions in the South has long been the focus of research and debate. As defined by

10472-531: The south-central and southeastern states. For example, California, which is geographically in the southwestern part of the country, is not considered part of the South. However, the geographically southeastern state of Georgia is. The South, being home to some of the most racially diverse areas in the United States, is known for having developed its own distinct culture , with different customs, fashion, architecture , musical styles , and cuisines , which have distinguished it in many ways from other areas of

10659-414: The "Jeffersonian Republicans". The term "Democratic Party" was first used pejoratively by Federalist opponents. Historians argue that the party died out before the present-day Democratic Party was formed. However, since the days of Franklin Roosevelt Democratic politicians proudly claim Jefferson as their founder. The Democratic-Republican Party saw itself as a champion of republicanism and denounced

10846-442: The 14th Congress compiled one of the most productive legislative records up to that point in history, enacting the Tariff of 1816 and establishing the Second Bank of the United States . At the party's 1816 congressional nominating caucus , Secretary of State James Monroe defeated Secretary of War William H. Crawford in a 65-to-54 vote. The Federalists offered little opposition in the 1816 presidential election and Monroe won in

11033-491: The 16th century, reaching a peak in the late 17th century, but the population was small because the Spaniards were relatively uninterested in agriculture, and Florida had no mineral resources. There were regional differences in the Southern colonies, with the three main regions of Tidewater , the Deep South , and Appalachia . The first region to be settled was Tidewater, containing the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia , northeastern North Carolina , southern Maryland and

11220-429: The 1828 election. In the press, the two major political factions were referred to as "Adams Men" and "Jackson Men". The Jacksonians formed an effective party apparatus that adopted many modern campaign techniques and emphasized Jackson's popularity and the supposed corruption of Adams and the federal government. Though Jackson did not articulate a detailed political platform in the same way that Adams did, his coalition

11407-427: The 18th-century Mason–Dixon line , the Ohio River , and 36°30′ parallel . Within the South are different subregions such as the Southeast , South Central , Upper South , and Deep South . Maryland , Delaware , Washington, D.C. , and Northern Virginia have become more culturally, economically, and politically aligned in certain aspects with the Northeastern United States and are sometimes identified as part of

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11594-422: The British Governor Dunmore of Virginia's promise of freedom for service. Many others were removed by Loyalist owners and became slaves elsewhere in the British Empire. Between 1770 and 1790, there was a sharp decline in the percentage of blacks – from 61% to 44% in South Carolina and from 45% to 36% in Georgia. In addition, some slaveholders were inspired to free their slaves after the Revolution. They were moved by

11781-502: The British Navy. The British Navy did arrive, but so did a stronger French fleet, and Cornwallis was trapped. American and French armies, led by George Washington, forced Cornwallis to surrender his entire army in Yorktown, Virginia in October 1781, effectively winning the North American part of the war. The Revolution provided a shock to slavery in the South and other regions of the new country. Thousands of slaves took advantage of wartime disruption to find their own freedom, catalyzed by

11968-472: The British at the Battle of Kemp's Landing in Virginia. Led by Nathanael Greene and other generals, the Americans engaged in Fabian tactics designed to wear down the British invasion force and to neutralize its strong points one by one. There were numerous battles large and small, with each side claiming some victories. By 1781, however, British General Cornwallis moved north to Virginia, where an approaching army forced him to fortify and await rescue by

12155-402: The Cabinet, but Jefferson appointed some prominent Federalists and allowed many other Federalists to keep their positions. Gallatin persuaded Jefferson to retain the First Bank of the United States, a major part of the Hamiltonian program, but other Federalist policies were scrapped. Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican allies eliminated the whiskey excise and other taxes, shrank the army and

12342-431: The Census definition, two U.S. territories located southeast of Florida ( Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands ) are sometimes included as part of the Southern United States. The Federal Aviation Administration includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the South, as does the Agricultural Research Service and the U.S. National Park Service . The first well-dated evidence of human occupation in

12529-419: The Civil War, the South was devastated in terms of infrastructure and economy. Because of states' reluctance to grant voting rights to freedmen, Congress instituted Reconstruction governments. It established military districts and governors to rule over the South until new governments could be established. Many white Southerners who had actively supported the Confederacy were temporarily disenfranchised. Rebuilding

12716-441: The Confederacy. Though early in the war, the Confederacy controlled more than half of Kentucky and the southern portion of Missouri. By March 1862, the Union largely controlled all the border state areas, had shut down all commercial traffic from all Confederate ports, had prevented European recognition of the Confederate government, and was poised to seize New Orleans. The rugged mountainous East Tennessee region attempted to rejoin

12903-459: The Constitution, including James Madison, who were more accepting of Federalist economic programs and sought conciliation with moderate Federalists. After 1810, a younger group of nationalist Democratic-Republicans, led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, rose to prominence. These nationalists favored federally funded internal improvements and high tariffs, positions that would form the basis for Clay's American System . In addition to its base among

13090-428: The Democratic Party in Tennessee began to be recognized on a national level. Jo Byrns from Robertson County became Speaker of the House during President Franklin Roosevelt's administration, and Cordell Hull from Pickett County Tennessee became Secretary of State and was one of the architects behind the creation of the United Nations . The Democratic Party in Tennessee was still the dominant party throughout

13277-470: The Democratic-Republican Party allowed both major parties to claim that they stood for Jeffersonian principles. Historian Daniel Walker Howe writes that Democrats traced their heritage to the "Old Republicanism of Macon and Crawford ", while the Whigs looked to "the new Republican nationalism of Madison and Gallatin ." The Whig Party fell apart in the 1850s due to divisions over the expansion of slavery into new territories. The modern Republican Party

13464-518: The Democratic-Republican Party from a combination of former Anti-Federalists and supporters of the Constitution who were dissatisfied with the Washington administration's policies. Nationwide, Democratic-Republicans were strongest in the South, and many of party's leaders were wealthy Southern slaveowners. The Democratic-Republicans also attracted middle class Northerners, such as artisans, farmers, and lower-level merchants, who were eager to challenge

13651-405: The Democratic-Republican Party, but party members generally called themselves Republicans and voted for what they called the "Republican party", "republican ticket" or "republican interest". Jefferson and Madison often used the terms "republican" and "Republican party" in their letters. As a general term (not a party name), the word republican had been in widespread usage from the 1770s to describe

13838-455: The Democratic-Republican presidential nominating caucus chose George Clinton as Jefferson's running mate for the 1804 presidential election . That same year, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel after taking offense to a comment allegedly made by Hamilton; Hamilton died in the subsequent duel. Bolstered by a superior party organization, Jefferson won the 1804 election in a landslide over Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. In 1807, as

14025-534: The Democratic-Republicans were prosecuted under the Sedition Act, sparking a backlash against the Federalists. Meanwhile, Jefferson and Madison drafted the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions , which held that state legislatures could determine the constitutionality of federal laws. In the 1800 presidential election , the Democratic-Republicans once again nominated a ticket of Jefferson and Burr. Shortly after

14212-642: The East Coast to the Great Lakes. Some noted explorers who encountered and described the Mississippian culture, by then in decline, included Pánfilo de Narváez (1528), Hernando de Soto (1540), and Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (1699). Native American descendants of the mound-builders include Alabama , Apalachee , Caddo , Cherokee , Chickasaw , Choctaw , Creek , Guale , Hitchiti , Houma , and Seminole peoples, all of whom still reside in

14399-547: The Era of Good Feelings and the start of the Second Party System . The dream of non-partisan politics, shared by Monroe, Adams, and many earlier leaders, was shattered, replaced with Van Buren's ideal of partisan battles between legitimated political parties. In the 1790s, political parties were new in the United States and people were not accustomed to having formal names for them. There was no single official name for

14586-555: The Federalist-controlled Congress sought to establish a closed-door Grand Committee with powers to disqualify College electors . Adams was to name Duane one of the three or four men most responsible for his eventual defeat. Jefferson and Burr both finished with 73 electoral votes, more than Adams or Pinckney, necessitating a contingent election between Jefferson and Burr in the House of Representatives. Burr declined to take his name out of consideration, and

14773-511: The Federalists and some other congressmen from the Northeast. For many who favored war, national honor was at stake; John Quincy Adams wrote that the only alternative to war was "the abandonment of our right as an independent nation." George Clinton's nephew, DeWitt Clinton , challenged Madison in the 1812 presidential election . Though Clinton assembled a formidable coalition of Federalists and anti-Madison Democratic-Republicans, Madison won

14960-470: The Federalists as supporters of monarchy and aristocracy. Ralph Brown writes that the party was marked by a "commitment to broad principles of personal liberty, social mobility, and westward expansion." 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

15147-439: The Federalists failed to field a serious challenger to Monroe in the 1820 presidential election , and Monroe won re-election essentially unopposed. During the proceedings over the admission of Missouri Territory as a state, Congressman James Tallmadge, Jr. of New York "tossed a bombshell into the Era of Good Feelings" by proposing amendments providing for the eventual exclusion of slavery from Missouri. The amendments sparked

15334-466: The Federalists. The radicals consisted of a wide array of individuals from different sections of the country who were characterized by their support for far-reaching political and economic reforms; prominent radicals include William Duane and Michael Leib , who jointly led a powerful political machine in Philadelphia. The moderate faction consisted of many former supporters of the ratification of

15521-524: The General Assembly, the Governor's office, and federal offices. Between 1869 and 1900, only two Republicans would be elected Governor of Tennessee those were Dewitt Clinton Senter and Alvin Hawkins . As the 19th century faded into the new 20th century, Tennessee voters still preferred the Democratic Party. However, the new century would test that allegiance to voting straight Democratic. Around 1900

15708-402: The House deadlocked as most Democratic-Republican congressmen voted for Jefferson and most Federalists voted for Burr. Preferring Jefferson to Burr, Hamilton helped engineer Jefferson's election on the 36th ballot of the contingent election. Jefferson would later describe the 1800 election, which also saw Democratic-Republicans gain control of Congress, as the "Revolution of 1800", writing that it

15895-473: The House of Representatives where one of the three top vote getters would be elected president. The three were, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay of Kentucky . Clay, who was then the Speaker of the House of Representatives , liked Adam's programs for internal improvements so much that he chose to swing his support to Adams, and thus Adams won the vote in the House of Representatives. After Adams

16082-542: The Jacksonian Party. The Jacksonian Party, aided by New York Politician Martin Van Buren , would go on to become the dominant political party in the United States from 1829 to 1839. During this period, the party in Tennessee was still floundering as it did not have any formal party structure for the first few years, however that not matter as long as Jackson was in the White House . When Jackson retired from

16269-586: The Mississippi River in 1863. In the East, however, the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee beat off attack after attack in its defense of their capital at Richmond. But when Lee tried to move north, he was repulsed (and nearly captured) at Sharpsburg (1862) and Gettysburg (1863). The Confederacy had the resources for a short war, but was unable to finance or supply a longer war. It reversed

16456-414: The Northeast or Mid-Atlantic . The United States Census Bureau continues to define all four places as formally being in the South. To account for cultural variations across the region, some scholars have proposed definitions of the South that do not coincide neatly with state boundaries. The South does not precisely correspond to the entire geographic south of the United States, but primarily includes

16643-774: The Party is considered to be irrelevant in Tennessee Politics as Republicans have firm control over state government. On April 6, 2023, three Democrats Rep. Justin Jones , Rep. Gloria Johnson , and Rep. Justin J. Pearson faced expulsion from the Tennessee House of Representatives, the first since Franklin Republican Jeremy Durham was expelled in 2016. It was over Jones, Pearson, and Johnson's protest for gun violence prevention and them standing in

16830-545: The Republicans to have within their ranks a number of highly gifted political manipulators and propagandists. Some of them had the ability... to not only see and analyze the problem at hand but to present it in a succinct fashion; in short, to fabricate the apt phrase, to coin the compelling slogan and appeal to the electorate on any given issue in language it could understand". Outstanding propagandists included editor William Duane (1760–1835) and party leaders Albert Gallatin , Thomas Cooper and Jefferson himself. Just as important

17017-409: The South and Eastern United States and were sent to Oklahoma. By 1856, the South had lost control of Congress, and was no longer able to silence calls for an end to slavery – which came mostly from the more populated, free states of the North. The Republican Party, founded in 1854, pledged to stop the spread of slavery beyond those states where it already existed. After Abraham Lincoln

17204-518: The South generally has a reputation as hot and humid, with long summers and short, mild winters. Most of the South—except for the areas of higher elevations and areas near the western, southern, and some northern fringes—falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. Crops grow readily in the South due to its climate consistently providing growing seasons of at least six months before the first frost. Some common environments include bayous and swamplands,

17391-503: The South include: Historically, the South was defined as all states south of the 18th century Mason–Dixon line , the Ohio River , and 36°30′ parallel . Newer definitions of the South today are harder to define, due to cultural and sub-regional differences throughout the region; however, definitions usually refer to states that are in the southeastern and south central geographic region of the United States. Although not included in

17578-676: The South, the College of William & Mary , was founded in 1693 in Virginia; it pioneered in the teaching of political economy and educated future U.S. Presidents Jefferson , Monroe and Tyler , all from Virginia. Indeed, the entire region dominated politics in the First Party System era: for example, four of the first five presidents – Washington , Jefferson , Madison and Monroe  – were from Virginia. The two oldest public universities are also in

17765-449: The South, the nation's most populous region. The Census Bureau defined three smaller divisions: The Council of State Governments , an organization for communication and coordination between states, includes in its South regional office the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Other terms related to

17952-711: The South. Other peoples whose ancestral links to the Mississippian culture are less clear, but those who were in the region before the European incursion include the Catawba and the Powhatan . The arrival of European settlers caused a massive population decline in Native Americans , due to Europeans unknowingly spreading diseases that the natives had no immunities towards, numerous violent conflicts, and forcibly relocating them. The predominant culture of

18139-662: The South: the University of North Carolina (1789) and the University of Georgia (1785). Slavery was legal in all of the Thirteen Colonies prior to the American Revolution in 1776. Britain had slave island colonies in the Caribbean , including Jamaica , Barbados , Nevis , and Antigua , which provided a steady flow of profits from the slave labor that produced sugar. The Southern Colonies differed in that

18326-556: The Southern United States as being authoritarian enclaves from Reconstruction until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . When looked at broadly, studies have shown that Southerners tend to be more conservative than most non-Southerners, with liberalism being mostly predominant in places with a Black majority or urban areas in the South. Although historically a Democratic stronghold , most states in

18513-518: The Southern transportation system depended primarily on river and coastal traffic by boat; both were shut down by the Union Navy . The small railroad system virtually collapsed, so that by 1864 internal travel was so difficult that the Confederate economy was crippled. The Confederate cause was hopeless by the time Atlanta fell and William T. Sherman marched through Georgia in late 1864, but

18700-589: The Temperance movement had really started to gain momentum in the state, and by 1908 the prohibitionists were had a powerful ally in newspaper publisher Edward Carmack . Carmack was challenging Democratic Governor Malcom Patterson who was against Prohibition, and the election was bitter until the very end when Patterson narrowly beat out Carmack. After the election, Carmack was gunned down in Nashville, and Democratic Governor Malcom Patterson would eventually pardon

18887-642: The Tennessee Democratic Party's State Executive Committee elected Hendrell Remus to be Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party. Mr. Remus became the first African American to be elected as Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party. The Tennessee Democratic Party's Executive Committee consists of 66 elected members from each of Tennessee's 33 Senatorial Districts. Currently the Executive Committee has seven ex-officio members that represents groups that "facilitate communication between

19074-542: The Treasury , and he relied on James Madison as a key adviser and ally in Congress. Hamilton implemented an expansive economic program, establishing the First Bank of the United States , and convincing Congress to assume the debts of state governments. Hamilton pursued his programs in the belief that they would foster a prosperous and stable country. His policies engendered an opposition, chiefly concentrated in

19261-547: The Union as a new state , having opposed secession and slavery compared to most of Tennessee. In the four years of war 1861–65 the South was the primary battleground, with all but two of the major battles taking place on Southern soil. Union forces led numerous campaigns into the western Confederacy, controlling the border states in 1861, the Tennessee River, the Cumberland River and New Orleans in 1862, and

19448-639: The United States. From 1860 to 1861, eleven Southern states plus an additional two Southern states that were claimed and partially controlled seceded from the Union , forming the Confederate States of America . Following the American Civil War , these states were subsequently added back to the Union. Sociological research indicates that Southern collective identity stems from political, historical, demographic, and cultural distinctiveness from

19635-636: The War of 1812 led many Democratic-Republicans to reconsider the role of the federal government. When the 14th Congress convened in December 1815, Madison proposed the re-establishment of the national bank, increased spending on the army and the navy, and a tariff designed to protect American goods from foreign competition. Madison's proposals were strongly criticized by strict constructionists like John Randolph , who argued that Madison's program "out-Hamiltons Alexander Hamilton." Responding to Madison's proposals,

19822-451: The West, and Jackson and Crawford competed for the South. As no candidate won a majority of the electoral vote in the 1824 election, the House of Representatives held a contingent election to determine the president. Clay personally disliked Adams but nonetheless supported him in the contingent election over Crawford, who opposed Clay's nationalist policies, and Jackson, whom Clay viewed as

20009-439: The Whig Party. Republicans were deeply committed to the principles of republicanism, which they feared were threatened by the aristocratic tendencies of the Federalists. During the 1790s, the party strongly opposed Federalist programs, including the national bank . After the War of 1812, Madison and many other party leaders came to accept the need for a national bank and federally funded infrastructure projects. In foreign affairs,

20196-616: The White House, Vice President Martin Van Buren would be Jackson's handpicked successor in the 1836. Now with a formidable opposition party with the Whigs, Jackson's Democratic Party had issues getting Van Buren elected, especially in Jackson's home state of Tennessee. Jackson campaigned heavily for Van Buren, but Tennessee native Senator Hugh Lawson White would actually carry the state's electoral votes over Van Buren. This would start

20383-461: The abolition of slavery in Washington. In 1807, with President Jefferson's support, Congress outlawed the international slave trade , doing so at the earliest possible date allowed by the Constitution. 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. Anti-slavery Northern Democratic-Republicans held that slavery

20570-508: The administrations of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe—and the Congresses led by Henry Clay —had in some ways betrayed the republican " Principles of '98 " by expanding the size and scope of the national government. The Republicans splintered during the 1824 presidential election . Those calling for a return to the older founding principles of the party were often referred to as "Democratic Republicans" (later Democrats ) while those embracing

20757-411: The arguments over states' rights that culminated in secession and the Civil War. One of these issues concerned the protective tariffs enacted to assist the growth of the manufacturing sector, primarily in the North. In 1832, in resistance to federal legislation increasing tariffs, South Carolina passed an ordinance of nullification , a procedure in which a state would, in effect, repeal a Federal law. Soon

20944-738: The bodies and to advance goals of Democrats in the State of Tennessee." Democratic-Republican Party "Factions" The Republican Party , known retroactively as the Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Jeffersonian Democratic Party ) , was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed liberalism , republicanism , individual liberty, equal rights, separation of church and state, freedom of religion, decentralization, free markets, free trade, and agrarianism . In foreign policy it

21131-447: The caucus chose Senator Aaron Burr of New York as Jefferson's running mate. Meanwhile, an informal caucus of Federalist leaders nominated a ticket of John Adams and Thomas Pinckney . Though the candidates themselves largely stayed out of the fray, supporters of the candidates waged an active campaign; Federalists attacked Jefferson as a Francophile and atheist , while the Democratic-Republicans accused Adams of being an anglophile and

21318-634: The codes are not an exact copy, such as Virginia and Maryland , the influence of the Barbados Slave Code can be traced throughout various provisions. In the mid-to-late-18th century, large groups of Ulster Scots (later called the Scotch-Irish ) and people from the Anglo-Scottish border region immigrated and settled in the back country of Appalachia and the Piedmont . They were the largest group of non-English immigrants from

21505-530: The constitutionality of federal laws. By the time Jefferson took office, Americans had settled as far west as the Mississippi River . Many in the United States, particularly those in the west, favored further territorial expansion, and especially hoped to annex the Spanish province of Louisiana . In early 1803, Jefferson dispatched James Monroe to France to join ambassador Robert Livingston on

21692-537: The country during the largely inconclusive War of 1812 with Britain . After the war, Madison and his congressional allies established the Second Bank of the United States and implemented protective tariffs , marking a move away from the party's earlier emphasis on states' rights and a strict construction of the United States Constitution . The Federalists collapsed after 1815, beginning

21879-592: The crucial state of New York. A significant element in the party's success in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and other east-coast cities were United Irish exiles, and other Irish immigrants , whom the Federalists regarded with distinct suspicion. Among these was William Duane who in his newspaper, the Philadelphia Aurora , exposed the details of the Ross Bill , by means of which

22066-399: The election of a new generation of Democratic-Republican leaders, including Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun , who championed high tariffs , federally funded internal improvements and a jingoistic attitude towards Britain. On June 1, 1812, Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war. The declaration was passed largely along sectional and party lines, with intense opposition coming from

22253-581: The eleven Confederate states, states such as Tennessee (especially East Tennessee ), Virginia (which included West Virginia at the time), and North Carolina were home to the largest populations of Unionists. Many areas of Southern Appalachia harbored pro-Union sentiment as well. As many as 100,000 men living in states under Confederate control would serve in the Union Army or pro-Union guerrilla groups. Although Southern Unionists came from all classes, most differed socially, culturally, and economically from

22440-466: The end of Jefferson's second term. Jefferson declined to seek a third term in the 1808 presidential election , but helped Madison triumph over George Clinton and James Monroe at the party's congressional nominating caucus. Madison won the general election in a landslide over Pinckney. As attacks on American shipping continued after Madison took office, both Madison and the broader American public moved towards war. Public resentment towards Britain led to

22627-553: The end of the 15th century – the Mississippian culture . The Mississippian culture was a complex, mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Southeastern United States from approximately 800 AD to 1500 AD. Natives had elaborate and lengthy trading routes connecting their main residential and ceremonial centers extending through the river valleys and from

22814-419: 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. While economic policies were the original catalyst to the partisan split between the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists, foreign policy

23001-475: The first major national slavery debate since the ratification of the Constitution, and instantly exposed the sectional polarization over the issue of slavery. Northern Democratic-Republicans formed a coalition across partisan lines with the remnants of the Federalist Party in support of the amendments, while Southern Democratic-Republicans were almost unanimously against such the restrictions. In February 1820, Congressman Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois proposed

23188-421: The forthcoming elections. Every town manager was told by state leaders "to appoint a district manager in each district or section of his town, obtaining from each an assurance that he will faithfully do his duty". Then the town manager was instructed to compile lists and total the number of taxpayers and the number of eligible voters, find out how many favored the Republicans and how many the Federalists and to count

23375-510: The institution became even more deeply an integral part of the South's economy. With the opening up of frontier lands after the government forced most Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi, there was a major migration of both whites and blacks to those territories. From the 1820s through the 1850s, more than one million enslaved Africans were transported to the Deep South in forced migration, two-thirds of them by slave traders and

23562-460: 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. Meanwhile, Northern Democratic-Republicans often took stronger anti-slavery positions than their Federalist counterparts, supporting measures like

23749-567: The invention of the cotton gin , short staple cotton could be grown more widely. This led to an explosion of cotton cultivation, especially in the frontier uplands of Georgia, Alabama and other parts of the Deep South, as well as riverfront areas of the Mississippi Delta. Migrants poured into those areas in the early decades of the 19th century, when county population figures rose and fell as swells of people kept moving west. The expansion of cotton cultivation required more slave labor, and

23936-520: The labor-intensive cultivation of tobacco, the first cash crop of Virginia. Tobacco exhausted the soil quickly, requiring that farmers regularly clear new fields. They used old fields as pasture, and for crops such as corn wheat, or allowed them to grow into woodlots. The Barbados Slave Code served as the basis for the slave codes adopted in the British American colonies, including Carolina , Georgia , and Antigua . In other colonies where

24123-633: The land in return for their financial and political assistance in restoring him to the throne in 1660. The granted lands included all or part of the present-day U.S. states of North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. In the British colonies, immigration began in 1607 and continued until the outbreak of the Revolution in 1775. Settlers cleared land, built houses and outbuildings, and on their own farms. The Southern rich owned large plantations that dominated export agriculture and used slaves. Many were involved in

24310-504: The land to farm for a while. Some freedpeople left the South altogether for states such as Ohio and Indiana, and later, Kansas. Thousands of others joined the migration to new opportunities in the Mississippi and Arkansas Delta bottomlands, and Texas. With passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (which outlawed slavery), the 14th Amendment (which granted full U.S. citizenship to African Americans) and

24497-610: The last Southern state to join the Confederacy . When the Civil War ended, the political landscape had changed in Tennessee . Tennessee had been under military control since February 1862 when Union forces captured the State Capitol of Nashville . When civilian control had returned, aided by a wartime edict by then Military Governor Andrew Johnson that barred Confederate sympathizers from holding political office,

24684-467: The leaders of Clay and Calhoun's generation, nationalist policies also proved attractive to many older Democratic-Republicans, including James Monroe. The Panic of 1819 sparked a backlash against nationalist policies, and many of those opposed to the nationalist policies rallied around William H. Crawford until he had a major stroke in 1823. After the 1824 election, most of Crawford's followers, including Martin Van Buren, gravitated to Andrew Jackson, forming

24871-448: The man who shot Carmack. As a result of this, Republicans would recapture the Governor's office in 1911 when Republican Ben Hooper was elected. By the 1920s Tennessee's Democratic control on both the federal and state level began to crack, when Republican Warren G. Harding become the first Republican candidate for president to carry Tennessee since Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 . During the late 20's and early 30's, highly regard members of

25058-672: The mid-to-late-1870s, some upper class Southerners created increasing resistance to the altered social structure. Paramilitary organizations such as the White League in Louisiana (1874), the Red Shirts in Mississippi (1875) and rifle clubs, all "White Line" organizations, used organized violence against Republicans , both black and white, to remove Republicans from political office, repress and bar black voting, and restore

25245-420: The nation." Jefferson advocated a philosophy that historians call Jeffersonian democracy , which was marked by his belief in agrarianism and strict limits on the national government . Influenced by the Jeffersonian belief in equality, by 1824 all but three states had removed property-owning requirements for voting. Though open to some redistributive measures, Jefferson saw a strong centralized government as

25432-447: The navy, repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts, and pardoned all ten individuals who had been prosecuted under the acts. With the repeal of Federalist laws and programs, many Americans had little contact with the federal government in their daily lives, with the exception of the postal service . Partly as a result of these spending cuts, Jefferson lowered the national debt from $ 83 million to $ 57 million between 1801 and 1809. Though he

25619-523: The newer nationalist principles of " The American System " were often referred to as National Republicans (later Whigs ). The Republican Party originated in Congress to oppose the nationalist and economically interventionist policies of Alexander Hamilton , who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington . The Republicans and the opposing Federalist Party each became more cohesive during Washington's second term, partly as

25806-632: The number of immigrants arriving at Southern ports began to increase, although the North continued to receive the most immigrants. Huguenots were among the first settlers in Charleston, along with the largest number of Orthodox Jews outside of New York City. Numerous Irish immigrants settled in New Orleans, establishing a distinct ethnic enclave now known as the Irish Channel . Germans also went to New Orleans and its environs, resulting in

25993-419: The number of supporters of each party who were not eligible to vote but who might qualify (by age or taxes) at the next election. These highly detailed returns were to be sent to the county manager and in turn were compiled and sent to the state manager. Using these lists of potential voters, the managers were told to get all eligible people to town meetings and help the young men qualify to vote. The state manager

26180-816: The original Southern states was English . In the 17th century, most voluntary immigrants were of English origin and settled chiefly along the eastern coast but had pushed as far inland as the Appalachian Mountains by the 18th century. The majority of early English settlers were indentured servants , who gained freedom after working off their passage. The wealthier men, typically members of the English landed gentry , who paid their way received land grants known as headrights to encourage settlement. The Spanish and French established settlements in Florida , Texas , and Louisiana . The Spanish settled Florida in

26367-559: The others by masters who moved there. Planters in the Upper South sold slaves in excess of their needs as they shifted from tobacco to mixed agriculture. Many enslaved families were broken up, as planters preferred mostly strong males for field work. Two major political issues that festered in the first half of the 19th century caused political alignment along sectional lines, strengthened the identities of North and South as distinct regions with certain strongly opposed interests, and fed

26554-537: The party advocated western expansion and tended to favor France over Britain, though the party's pro-French stance faded after Napoleon took power. The Democratic-Republicans were strongest in the South and the western frontier , and weakest in New England . In the 1788–89 presidential election , the first such election following the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788, George Washington won

26741-513: The party remained competitive in New England and in some Mid-Atlantic states. Historian Sean Wilentz writes that, after assuming power in 1801, the Democratic-Republicans began to factionalize into three main groups: moderates, radicals, and Old Republicans . The Old Republicans, led by John Randolph , were a loose group of influential Southern plantation owners who strongly favored states' rights and denounced any form of compromise with

26928-540: The power of the local elite. Every state had a distinct political geography that shaped party membership; in Pennsylvania, the Republicans were weakest around Philadelphia and strongest in Scots-Irish settlements in the west. The Federalists had broad support in New England, but in other places they relied on wealthy merchants and landowners. After 1800, the Federalists collapsed in the South and West, though

27115-409: The principles of the Revolution, along with Quaker and Methodist preachers who worked to encourage slaveholders to free their slaves. Planters such as George Washington often freed slaves by their wills. In the Upper South , more than 10% of all blacks were free by 1810, a significant expansion from pre-war proportions of less than 1% free. Cotton became dominant in the lower South after 1800. After

27302-399: The proportion of their populations that were African American slaves was much higher than in the Middle Colonies and New England Colonies , as shown on the map. According to Bertram Wyatt-Brown , "Bondage was an answer to an economic need. The South was not founded to create slavery; slavery was recruited to perpetuate the South." The Barbados Slave Code of 1661 served as the basis for

27489-477: The question of social equality." 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 , 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

27676-452: The rebels fought on until Lee's army surrendered in April 1865. Once the Confederate forces surrendered, the region moved into the Reconstruction Era (1865–1877), in a partially successful attempt to rebuild the destroyed region and grant civil rights to freed slaves. Southerners who were against the Confederate cause during the Civil War were known as Southern Unionists . They were also known as Union Loyalists or Lincoln's Loyalists. Within

27863-427: The region have in recent decades come to favor Republicans , although both the Republican and Democratic Party are competitive in certain Southern swing states . The region contains almost all of the Bible Belt , an area of high Protestant church attendance, especially evangelical churches such as the Southern Baptist Convention . Historically, the South relied heavily on agriculture as its main economic base and

28050-446: The region were historically dominated by a small rural elite. The historical and cultural development of the South has been profoundly influenced by the institution of slave labor , especially in the Deep South and coastal plain areas, from the early 1600s to mid-1800s. This includes the presence of a large proportion of African Americans within the population, support for the doctrine of states' rights , and legacy of racism magnified by

28237-444: The regions dominant pre-war planter class . The South suffered more than the North overall, as the Union strategy of attrition warfare meant that Lee could not replace his casualties, and the total war waged by Sherman, Sheridan and other Union armies devastated the infrastructure and caused widespread poverty and distress. The Confederacy suffered military losses of 95,000 soldiers killed in action and 165,000 who died of disease, for

28424-429: The rest of the United States; however, this has declined since around the late 20th century, with many Southern areas becoming a melting pot of cultures and people. Ethnic groups in the South were the most diverse among American regions, and include strong European (especially English , Scots-Irish , Scottish , Irish , French , and Spanish ), African , and Native American ancestries. The politics and economy of

28611-425: The size of the United States, and Treasury Secretary Gallatin was forced to borrow from foreign banks to finance the payment to France. Though the Louisiana Purchase was widely popular, some Federalists criticized it; Congressman Fisher Ames argued that "We are to spend money of which we have too little for land of which we already have too much." By 1804, Vice President Burr had thoroughly alienated Jefferson, and

28798-417: The slave codes adopted in the British American colonies of the Province of Carolina and the Province of Georgia . In other colonies where the slaves codes were not an exact copy, such as the Colony of Virginia and the Province of Maryland , the influence of the Barbados Slave Code can be traced throughout various provisions. During the American Revolutionary War , the Southern colonies helped embrace

28985-443: The son of former President and founding father John Adams . Both Adams and Jackson belonged to the same Party, and that Party had divided out into several different factions with Adams being the Northern faction's nominee and Jackson being the Southern faction's nominee. Jackson would win the popular vote and would have the most electoral votes, but he did not have enough Electoral College votes to win outright. The election went to

29172-400: The south United States occurs around 9500 BC with the appearance of the earliest documented Americans, who are now referred to as Paleo-Indians . Paleoindians were hunter-gatherers that roamed in bands and frequently hunted megafauna . Several cultural stages, such as Archaic ( c.  8000 –1000 BC) and the Woodland ( c.  1000 BC – AD 1000), preceded what the Europeans found at

29359-415: The southern pine forests , the warm temperate montane forest of the Appalachians, the savannas of the southern Great Plains, and the subtropical jungle and maritime forests along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Unique flora include various species of magnolia, rhododendron, cane, palm, and oak, among others. Fauna of the region is also diverse, encompassing a plethora of amphibian species, reptiles such as

29546-403: The state legislature quickly nominated him for president in the 1828 election . Adams shared Monroe's goal of ending partisan conflict, and his Cabinet included individuals of various ideological and regional backgrounds. In his 1825 annual message to Congress, Adams presented a comprehensive and ambitious agenda, calling for major investments in internal improvements as well as the creation of

29733-444: The state of Kentucky attempted to remain neutral, and it could only do so briefly. When Lincoln called for troops to suppress what he referred to as "combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary" judicial or martial means, four more states decided to secede and join the Confederacy (which then moved its capital to Richmond, Virginia). Although the Confederacy had large supplies of captured munitions and many volunteers, it

29920-400: The state, but by the time the polls had closed George W. Bush had picked up the state's electoral votes. After 2000, the Democratic Party's control continued to slip, and the last time a Democrat won statewide was in 2006 when then Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen had won re-election. After 2011, the Democratic Party was fully out of power for the first time since Reconstruction . Since then,

30107-442: The time Reconstruction ended in 1877 , Democrats were firmly in control of Tennessee Government , but that control came at an ultimate cost to many of the state's African American voters. From the end of the Civil War until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, African American 's voted exclusively for Republicans , but when Southern Conservative Democrats regained control of Southern Legislatures they would enact

30294-458: The time the Election of 1860 rolled around, the political climate had dramatically shifted due the sectional strife around the issue of Slavery , and its expansion into the territories. In that election, Tennessee would narrowly vote for the Constitutional Union Party nominee, John Bell due to a majority of Tennesseans supported preserving the Union. By June 1861, Tennessee voters would pass an Ordinance of Secession leading to Tennessee becoming

30481-406: The traditional low-tariff policy of the South by imposing a new 15% tax on all imports from the Union. The Union blockade stopped most commerce from entering the South, and smugglers avoided the tax, so the Confederate tariff produced too little revenue to finance the war. Inflated currency was the solution, but that created distrust of the Richmond government. Because of low investment in railroads,

30668-444: The type of government the break-away colonies wanted to form: a republic of three separate branches of government derived from some principles and structure from ancient republics; especially the emphasis on civic duty and the opposition to corruption, elitism, aristocracy and monarchy. The term "Democratic-Republican" was used by contemporaries only occasionally, but is used by modern political scientists. Historians often refer to

30855-490: The votes of every member of the Electoral College . His unanimous victory in part reflected the fact that no formal political parties had formed at the national level in the United States prior to 1789, though the country had been broadly polarized between the Federalists , who supported ratification of the Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists , who opposed ratification. Washington selected Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State and Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of

31042-531: The well of the House. Speaker Cameron Sexton of Crossville compared their protest to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 . Republicans voted to expel both Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson from the House, while voting to not expel Knoxville Rep. Gloria Johnson . Subsequently, Jones and Pearson were both sent back to the House by both their local governments and by voters in their respective districts. After President Joe Biden decided to end his re-election campaign , Tennessee's delegation to

31229-405: Was "as real of a revolution in the principles of our government as that of [1776] was in its form." In the final months of his presidency, Adams reached an agreement with France to end the Quasi-War and appointed several Federalist judges, including Chief Justice John Marshall . Despite the intensity of the 1800 election, the transition of power from the Federalists to the Democratic-Republicans

31416-402: Was a cosmopolitan port with a variety of jobs that attracted more immigrants than other areas of the South. Because of lack of investment, however, construction of railroads to span the region lagged behind the North. People relied most heavily on river traffic for getting their crops to market and for transportation. Between 1830 and 1850, Native Americans were removed from their home states in

31603-404: 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. Jefferson and other Democratic-Republicans defended the French Revolution until Napoleon ascended to power. Democratic-Republican foreign policy

31790-514: Was difficult as people grappled with the effects of a new labor economy of a free market in the midst of a widespread agricultural depression. In addition, the limited infrastructure the South had was mostly destroyed by the war. At the same time, the North was rapidly industrializing. To avoid the social effects of the war, most of the Southern states initially passed black codes . During Reconstruction, these were mostly legally nullified by federal law and anti-Confederate legislatures, which existed for

31977-564: Was effective party organization of the sort that John J. Beckley pioneered. In 1796, he managed the Jefferson campaign in Pennsylvania, blanketing the state with agents who passed out 30,000 hand-written tickets, naming all 15 electors (printed tickets were not allowed). Beckley told one agent: "In a few days a select republican friend from the City will call upon you with a parcel of tickets to be distributed in your County. Any assistance and advice you can furnish him with, as to suitable districts & characters, will I am sure be rendered". Beckley

32164-412: Was elected the first Republican president in 1860, seven cotton states declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America before Lincoln was inaugurated. The United States government, both outgoing and incoming, refused to recognize the Confederacy, and when the new Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered his troops to open fire on Fort Sumter in April 1861, war broke out. Only

32351-450: Was formed in 1854 to oppose the expansion of slavery, and many former Whig Party leaders joined the newly formed anti-slavery party. The Republican Party sought to combine Jefferson and Jackson's ideals of liberty and equality with Clay's program of using an active government to modernize the economy. The Democratic-Republican Party inspired the name and ideology of the Republican Party, but is not directly connected to that party. Fear of

32538-425: Was hostile to Great Britain and the Netherlands and in sympathy with the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars . The party became increasingly dominant after the 1800 elections as the opposing Federalist Party collapsed. Increasing dominance over American politics led to increasing factional splits within the party. Old Republicans , led by John Taylor of Caroline and John Randolph of Roanoke , believed that

32725-432: Was inaugurated, Adams decided to appoint Clay to be his Secretary of State , which outraged Jackson and his supporters. Between 1825 and 1826, Jackson's supporters were gearing up to have Jackson run in 1828. While Jackson wouldn't publicly commit to running, he was essentially planning on running to win in 1828. Surrounded by loyal advisors, the Jacksonian Party was formed in 1826 when Jackson supporters began running under

32912-455: 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

33099-407: Was initially finessed by political compromises designed to balance the number of "free" and "slave" states. The issue resurfaced in a more virulent form, however, around the time of the Mexican–American War , which raised the stakes by adding new territories primarily on the Southern side of the imaginary geographic divide. Congress opposed allowing slavery in these territories. Before the Civil War,

33286-400: Was largely able to reverse Federalist policies, Federalists retained a bastion of power on the Supreme Court; Marshall Court rulings continued to reflect Federalist ideals until Chief Justice Marshall's death in the 1830s. In the Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison , the Marshall Court established the power of judicial review , through which the judicial branch had the final word on

33473-431: Was largely ignored, and candidates were instead nominated by state legislatures. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, former Speaker of the House Henry Clay, Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford, and General Andrew Jackson emerged as the major candidates in the election. The regional strength of each candidate played an important role in the election; Adams was popular in New England, Clay and Jackson were strong in

33660-432: 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. 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 . In 1823, the Monroe administration promulgated

33847-433: Was peaceful. In his inaugural address, Jefferson indicated that he would seek to reverse many Federalist policies, but he also emphasized reconciliation, noting that "every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle". He appointed a geographically balanced and ideologically moderate Cabinet that included Madison as Secretary of State and Albert Gallatin as Secretary of the Treasury; Federalists were excluded from

34034-470: Was predominantly rural until after World War II . Since the 1940s, the region has become more economically diversified and metropolitan , helping attract both national and international migrants. In the 21st century, it is the fastest-growing region in the United States, with Houston being the region's largest city. The South is a diverse meteorological region with numerous climatic zones, including temperate , sub-tropical , tropical , and arid —though

34221-565: Was responsible for supplying party newspapers to each town for distribution by town and district managers. This highly coordinated " get-out-the-vote " drive would be familiar to future political campaigners, but was the first of its kind in world history. The Federalists collapsed after 1815, beginning a period known as the Era of Good Feelings . After the 1824 presidential election the Democratic-Republicans split into factions. The coalition of Jacksonians, Calhounites, and Crawfordites built by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren coalesced into

34408-400: Was slower than the Union in dealing with the border states. While the Upland South border states of Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, as well as the District of Columbia , continued to permit slavery during the Civil War, they remained with the Union though Kentucky and Missouri both had rival Confederate governments that formed that were admitted and recognized by

34595-418: Was the first American professional campaign manager and his techniques were quickly adopted in other states. The emergence of the new organizational strategies can be seen in the politics of Connecticut around 1806, which have been well documented by Cunningham. The Federalists dominated Connecticut, so the Republicans had to work harder to win. In 1806, the state leadership sent town leaders instructions for

34782-414: Was the wealthiest city in the country and the third largest in population. The success of the city was based on the growth of international trade associated with products being shipped to and from the interior of the country down the Mississippi River. New Orleans also had the largest slave market in the country, as traders brought slaves by ship and overland to sell to planters across the Deep South. The city

34969-407: Was united in opposition to Adams's reliance on government planning and tended to favor the opening of Native American lands to white settlement. Ultimately, Jackson won 178 of the 261 electoral votes and just under 56 percent of the popular vote. Jackson won 50.3 percent of the popular vote in the free states and 72.6 percent of the vote in the slave states. The election marked the permanent end of

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