Democrat Presidents

Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic Party in 1792 as a congressional caucus to fight for the Bill of Rights and against the elitist Federalist Party.

Jefferson served two distinguished terms and was followed by James Madison in 1808. Madison and James Monroe was elected president in 1816 and led the nation through a time commonly known as "The Era of Good Feeling" in which Democratic-Republicans served with little opposition.

John Quincy Adams in 1824 was highly contested and led to a four-way split among Democratic-Republicans. A result of the split was the emergence of Andrew Jackson as a national leader. The Jacksonian Democrats created the national convention process, the party platform, and reunified the Democratic Party with Jackson's victories in 1828 and 1832.



In 1912, Woodrow Wilson became the first Democratic president of the 20th Century. He led the country through World War I, fought for the League of Nations, established the Federal Reserve Board, and passed the first labor and child welfare laws.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president running on the promise of a New Deal. Roosevelt pulled America out of the Depression.

With the election of Harry Truman, Democrats began the fight to bring down the final barriers of race and gender.

In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy challenged an optimistic nation to build on its great history.
In 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected president, helping to restore the nation's trust in government following the Watergate scandal.

In 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd President of the United States.