Jeffersonian democracy

Jeffersonian democracy is a political philosophy associated with Thomas Jefferson that favors agrarian independence, limited federal power, states’ rights, and republican self-government.

Republicanism: A political tradition that grounds legitimate government in civic participation and the public good rather than hereditary rule. Jeffersonian democracy treated republican self-government as the basis of legitimate political authority.
Thomas Jefferson: An American statesman, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and third president of the United States. His political writings and presidency gave the philosophy its name and leading example.
Federalism: A system of government that divides authority between a central government and constituent political units. Jeffersonians disputed how much authority the national government should exercise within the federal system.
Revolution of 1800: The peaceful transfer of national power from the Federalists to Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans after the election of 1800. Jeffersonians presented the electoral change as a restoration of republican government.
Agrarianism: A social and political outlook that values agriculture, rural life, and independent farming. Jefferson regarded independent farmers as especially suited to sustain a free republic.
Democratic-Republican Party: A United States political party founded in the 1790s by supporters of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. It organized Jeffersonian opposition to Federalist policies and centralized national power.
Hamiltonianism: The political and economic program associated with Alexander Hamilton, favoring energetic federal power, public credit, and commerce. Hamilton’s program directly challenged Jeffersonian preferences for agrarianism and limited federal authority.
Democratic-Republican Party system: The early United States political order organized around competition between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Jeffersonian democracy became the defining program of one side in the first national party system.
States' rights: The doctrine that states retain substantial authority within a federal system. Jeffersonians used state authority to resist what they saw as federal overreach.
Federalist Party: An early United States political party that supported a stronger national government and commercial development. Its program offered the principal partisan alternative to Jeffersonian priorities.

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