Was Andrew Jackson in more than one political party?

Answer 1

Technically yes, because he first was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party (also known as the Republican Party), then he was a member of the Democratic Party.

But the Democratic Party considered itself to be a continuation of the Democratic-Republican Party, and had the same political philosophy, and didn't officially change its name to the Democratic Party until 1844, after Jackson left office. So it would be more accurate to say that he was a member of one political party that changed its name. Saying that he was in more than one party implies that he changed his political philosophy, but he didn't.

More background:

The Democratic-Republican (or just Republican) Party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1792. Its basic philosophy was to support states' rights and oppose a strong central government. The party dominated U.S. politics in the early decades of the 19th century, but split into two factions in 1824. The faction led by Jackson later became known as the Democratic Party.

But these weren't really two separate parties. Jackson's party thought of itself as a continuation of Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party, and had the same pro-states' rights and anti-central government political philosophy. It called itself the Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party at first, then gradually switched to calling itself the Democratic Party, which became its official name in 1844.

Today's Democrats still maintain that their party is a continuation of the Democratic-Republican Party, and count both Jefferson and Jackson as party members. However, the philosophy of the Democratic Party changed radically in the 20th century, and it now supports a strong central government.

The anti-Jackson faction of the Democratic-Republican Party was led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay. Even though they were members of the party, they didn't agree with its basic philosophy -- they supported a strong central government and opposed states' rights. This was the philosophy of the old Federalist Party, which had disappeared by that time.

After the split, their faction became known as the National Republican Party. It was absorbed into the Whig Party in 1832. Most of the Whig Party's members defected to the modern Republican Party when it was founded in 1854 to oppose slavery, and the Whig Party died out.

The modern Republican Party took its name from the old Democratic-Republican Party, but it had the opposite political philosophy at first -- it supported a strong central government and opposed states' rights. So despite the name, it wasn't really a continuation of the Democratic-Republican Party. It was more a continuation of the Federalist and Whig Parties.

Like the Democratic Party, the Republican Party's political philosophy changed radically in the 20th century, when it became a supporter of states' rights.

Answer 2

I guess you could say yes. This is what I found whitehouse.gov:

As national politics polarized around Jackson and his opposition, two parties grew out of the old Republican Party--the Democratic Republicans, or Democrats, adhering to Jackson; and the National Republicans, or Whigs, opposing him.

So, I guess it is possible he did.