Party Strength in Congress
Many Congressmen were very hard to classify in the first few years, but after 1796 there was less uncertainty.
| Election year | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House | 1788 | 1790 | 1792 | 1794 | 1796 | 1798 | 1800 | 1802 | 1804 | 1806 | 1808 | 1810 | 1812 | 1814 | 1816 | 1818 | 1820 |
| Federalist | 37 | 39 | 51 | 47 | 57 | 60 | 38 | 39 | 25 | 24 | 50 | 36 | 68 | 64 | 39 | 26 | 32 |
| Democratic-Republican | 28 | 30 | 54 | 59 | 49 | 46 | 65 | 103 | 116 | 118 | 92 | 107 | 114 | 119 | 146 | 160 | 155 |
| % Democratic-Republican | 43% | 43% | 51% | 56% | 46% | 43% | 63% | 73% | 82% | 83% | 65% | 75% | 63% | 65% | 79% | 86% | 83% |
| Senate | 1788 | 1790 | 1792 | 1794 | 1796 | 1798 | 1800 | 1802 | 1804 | 1806 | 1808 | 1810 | 1812 | 1814 | 1816 | 1818 | 1820 |
| Federalist | 18 | 16 | 16 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 7 |
| Democratic-Republican | 8 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 30 | 37 | 44 |
| % Democratic-Republican | 31% | 45% | 47% | 34% | 31% | 31% | 53% | 74% | 71% | 82% | 79% | 83% | 78% | 68% | 71% | 80% | 92% |
Source: Kenneth C. Martis, The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789–1989 (1989); the numbers are estimates by historians.
The affiliation of many Congressmen in the earliest years 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.
Read more about this topic: Federalist Party
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