They were some of the driving forces behind the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They were strongly in favor of the states having individual rights and opposed the power of federal government, which was favored by their opponents, the Federalist Party. They believed that a strong central government would resemble the European absolute monarchy too much and feared the consequences this would have for America and the young democracy. The Democratic-Republican Party was a party for the working class and the farmers from the South. They resented big business and wanted to preserve the rights and liberty especially of the farmers. In 1815-1830 the party started to split. The National Republicans broke away, and the Democratic Party was left as an independent party in 1828. Their voters were still farmers and the working class of the Northern cities. Being a party for the farmers, the Democratic Party was pro slavery and was also called ‘the white man’s party’ after the Civil War (1865).

De var nogle af drivkræfterne bag forfatningen og Bill of Rights. De gik stærkt ind for, at staterne skulle have individuelle rettigheder og modsatte sig den føderale regerings magt, som blev favoriseret af deres modstandere, Federalist Party. De mente, at en stærk centralregering ville ligne det europæiske absolutte monarki for meget og frygtede de konsekvenser, dette ville få for Amerika og det unge demokrati. Det demokratisk-republikanske parti var et parti for arbejderklassen og bønderne fra syd. De ærgrede sig over store virksomheder og ønskede at bevare især bøndernes rettigheder og frihed. I 1815-1830 begyndte partiet at splitte sig. Nationalrepublikanerne brød ud, og Det Demokratiske Parti blev efterladt som et uafhængigt parti i 1828. Deres vælgere var stadig landmænd og arbejderklassen i de nordlige byer. Da det var et parti for bønderne, var det demokratiske parti pro slaveri og blev også kaldt 'den hvide mands parti' efter borgerkrigen (1865).