OK, what do I mean by the term "Jeffersonian Democrat"?

Let's get one thing straight at the beginning: political parties, just like the people who drive them, change over time -- sometimes in dramatic and unexpected ways. Certainly Thomas Jefferson would recognize very little of his own brainchild in the Democratic Party of today. Even a superficial look at the party history will tell you that the great issues that originally set Democrats apart from everyone else are largely forgotton now.

Please read the brief description composed by Dan Stewart (no relation that I'm aware of...)

The History
Here's a 30-second rundown of the beginnings of the Party:

• First named in a letter by then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to President Washington, dated May 13, 1792. Political context:
  • Federalists. The dominant party, who believed the Federal Government should agressively acquire and guard all authority and responsibilities not specifically delegated to the States by the Constitution. Only the upper class was fit (or skilled enough) to govern. Hamilton became the party leader by 1796.
  • Anti-Federalists. A much smaller group who were adamantly opposed to a central government of any kind.
  • Those in the Middle. A small but influential group who believed that States should hold the rights and responsibilities not expressly assigned to the Federal Government. Jefferson was the leader of this group.
• Platform:
  • Direct popular control of the government should increase.
  • The best goverment is the least possible goverment consistent with national security and convenience.
• 1796: Jefferson lost his bid for the presidency by two electoral votes. Adams won, but did not have the respect of his Federalist party. Of the four candidates, Jefferson came in second which according to the rules of the time meant he became Vice-President and presiding officer of the Senate.
• Passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which allowed the Executive Branch to deport any foreigner deemed dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, and made it a crime to publish "false and misleading writings" against the Government.
• 1800: Jefferson and Aaron Burr won the Presidency, and the Federalist Party was doomed. His inaugural address is worth reading, since it succintly states the core beliefs of the Democratic Party throughout its history.
• 1804: Jefferson and George Clinton won the Presidency with 162 out of 176 electoral votes -- and immediately proclaims that when his term is over he will retire to Moticello.
• 1816: The Democratic Congress enacted the first positive Tariff Law on cotton and woolens -- thereby granting special protection to a single industry, contrary to Democratic ideals. The Tariff Law was strengthened by a Democratic Congress in 1824.
• January 1824: The Monroe Doctrine was articulated.