About: Tertium quids

The tertium quids (sometimes shortened to quids) were various factions of the Democratic-Republican Party in the United States from 1804 to 1812. In Latin, tertium quid means "a third something". Initially, quid was a disparaging term that referred to cross-party coalitions of Federalists and moderate Democratic-Republicans, such as those who supported the election of Thomas McKean as governor of Pennsylvania in 1805. However, by the 1810s, the term would more famously be used to refer to the radical faction of the Democratic-Republican Party. The group, which was also called the Old Republicans, was more strongly opposed to the Federalist Party's policies than was the emerging moderate leadership of the Democratic-Republican Party.