What was Thomas Jefferson's political party?

• A. Democratic Republican
• B. Federalists
• C. Whigs
• D. Anti-Federalists

Answer: (A)

Thomas Jefferson's political party was the Democratic-Republican Party, formed in the early 1790s to oppose the Federalists. This group, often called the Jeffersonian Republicans, pushed for limited federal power, states’ rights, and an agrarian-based economy with a strict interpretation of the Constitution. They drew support from farmers and frontier settlers and opposed policies favored by the Federalists, such as a strong central government and a national bank led by Alexander Hamilton. The other options don’t fit Jefferson’s era or stance: the Federalists were his rivals; the Whigs emerged later, in the 1830s; and Anti-Federalists were an earlier opposition to ratifying the Constitution rather than a formal Jefferson-era party.