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Thomas Jefferson is elected President, ushering in an era of Democratic domination that lasted until the Civil War
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President Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party includes small farmers, debtors, frontier pioneers, and slaveholders.
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The Republican Party is born, attracting many former Whigs and antislavery Democrats.
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The election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War mark the beginning of 75 years of Republican Party supremacy.
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The Depression brings about a shift in the role of government and, led by FDR, a return of the Democrats to power.
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From this election on, neither party consistently holds the presidency, and Congress is often controlled by the opposing party.