Adapted from tertium quid ("third something"), the term "quid" was used in the early nineteenth century to refer to a member of a third political party or faction composed of disaffected Jeffersonian (or Democratic) Republicans, who attracted Federalist support with varying success. Quids were most commonly so called in Pennsylvania and New York, although the term was occasionally used in other states. "Quid" was generally applied reproachfully by political opponents and was rarely used in self-designation. No national Quid party ever developed, and most Quids continued to regard themselves as Jeffersonian Republicans.
Bibliography
Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. The Jeffersonian Republicans in Power: Party Operation, 1801–1809. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1963.
———. "Who Were the Quids?" Mississippi Valley Historical Re-view 50 (1963).
