THE FIRST PRESIDENTS George Washington, unanimously elected first president, claimed no party label but presided over a Federalist government. He was succeeded by John Adams, a leading Federalist. But Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson won the White House in 1800, and the Federalists soon died out as a national force. Jefferson was followed as president by two Democratic-Republican allies, James Madison and James Monroe. One-party hegemony began to crumble in 1824, when the electoral vote was split among four men. The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams, son of the second president, though Andrew Jackson received more popular votes. Adams and his supporters began to call themselves National Republicans; Jackson's forces adopted the name Democrats. [ PREVIOUS | NEXT ]