The term sometimes excludes George Washington, who, though a Virginia planter, was closely aligned with the policies of the Federalist Party, and was succeeded by his vice president, John Adams of Massachusetts.
Jefferson served two terms before retiring, in the Washingtonian precedent, in favor of his secretary of state, fellow Virginian James Madison, called the "Father of the Constitution."
Although the War of 1812 greatly weakened Madison's popularity in the Northeast, especially in New England which consequently discussed secession, he was nonetheless re-elected rather easily in 1812 and was able to assist another Virginian who had remained loyal to him and the party, James Monroe, to be elected president in 1816.
In the election of 1824, supporters of Virginia-born Georgia politician William H. Crawford portrayed him as "the rightful and legitimate successor of the Virginia Dynasty,"[3] but the Democratic-Republican Party splintered.
John Quincy Adams won the disputed 1824 election over General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, then considered to be part of the Southwest.