Definition of turnbuckle. : a device that usually consists of a link with screw threads at both ends, that is turned to bring the ends closer together, and that is used for tightening a rod or stay.
Such splintering had not yet led to formal party organization, but later the faction led by Andrew Jackson would evolve into the Democratic Party, while the factions led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay would become the National Republican Party and later the Whig Party.
Abraham Lincolnâs prominence in the Republican Party came a bit later than the Blairsâ. Lincoln had been a Whig, not a Democrat. Following Henry Clayâs example, he was more interested in promoting commerce and banking than in Andrew Jacksonâs opposition to concentrated wealth and power.