Democratic Party

The Democratic Party emerged out of the Democratic-Republican Party of U.S. president Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826; served 1801–9), and was founded in 1792. In the 1820s, internal divisions caused the Democratic-Republican Party to split into two organizations. Those who most held onto the party's original political ideals established the Democratic Party. The other faction became known first as the National Republicans and later evolved into the Whig Party . The Whigs eventually dissolved, but the Democratic Party of the 1820s continues to be an integral part of American politics today.

The Democratic-Republican Party emerged in 1792 in response to the strong Federalist Party policies of members of the first Congress. Worried about an overly powerful central government and liberal interpretations of the U.S. Constitution , critics of the Federalists united in an opposition party. They attempted to balance congressional action that supported wealthy merchants by representing the interests of farmers and common free men. Members of the Democratic-Republican Party believed governmental power should reside more in the state governments than in the federal government.

When the party evolved into the Democratic Party in the 1820s, its members held onto the same ideals supported by Jefferson and other founders. The Democrats of the 1820s were mostly westerners, southerners, and laborers from the east. They were small businessmen, farmers, craftsmen, and other hard workers. The party tried to protect their interests against the privileges of powerful institutions, such as banks, industry, and wealthy merchants.

Members of the Democratic Party opposed the growth of a powerful central government and worked to protect states’ rights. They favored the expansion of the United States to provide individuals with opportunities to thrive. Personal liberty was highly cherished, and as a result Democrats tended to oppose reform movements.

Over time, the Democratic Party has enjoyed times of immense popularity as well as declining interest. Debates over slavery in the 1850s led the party to split into northern and southern factions. The northern faction wanted individual states to decide whether to make slavery illegal. The southern faction wanted to prevent nations and states from outlawing slavery. Yet the party managed to survive the American Civil War (1861–65).

While the party has evolved to confront current issues, it has remained consistent in its orientation to representing the interests of small businesspeople and laborers. Although it was once the party of slavery (the opposition party during the Civil War was the Republican Party of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln [1809–1865; served 1861–65] who issued the Emancipation Proclamation putting an end to slavery in the United States), it has come to be the party favored by African Americans and other groups of citizens fighting for political power.

In the twentieth century, the Democratic Party confronted the divisive issues of poverty, gender, ethnicity, and religion. Its members have often embraced immigrants, supported women's rights, and fought for civil rights for all Americans. Democrats helped to pass the first labor and child welfare laws, established forms of government assistance during the Great Depression (1929–41), and led the nation through two world wars. The Democratic Party held a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for most of the latter half of the twentieth century. Striving to embrace the diversity of America, the Democratic Party has made great strides in protecting the quality of life and rights of ordinary citizens.