Democratic Party

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY in the United States has, especially since the 1930s, emphasized ideological liberalism and concern for the ordinary person. The Democratic Party traces its roots to the Democratic-Republican Party, which began in the 1790s under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The Democratic-Republicans were a diverse group; many of its supporters were small farmers in the southern and western parts of the country. Their opponents, the Federalists, were more popular in the northern and eastern parts of the country, and among commercial interests. Compared to the Federalists, the Democratic-Republicans favored democratic governance and wary of national government power, at least until they became the dominant party nationally.

After the death of the Federalist Party, the Democratic-Republicans had increasing difficulty keeping the party together. It finally split, with one wing calling itself the Democratic Party under the leadership of Andrew Jackson. The opposition eventually coalesced into the Whig Party. During this period, the parties shifted to nominating presidential candidates at national conventions, with the conventions adopting party platforms. As tensions regarding slavery increased, the Whig Party collapsed and the Democratic Party faced a growing challenge from the Republican Party, which had a relatively clear commitment to stopping the spread of slavery. In 1860, the Democrats took the unusual step of having two presidential candidates, one who was relatively popular in the north, and another who was relatively popular in the south. Party strategists apparently hoped to deny the Republicans a majority in the Electoral College. The strategy failed, and the Republicans won the White House.

After a brief period of Republican dominance, the nation entered a period of close competition between the Democrats and Republicans. As waves of immigrants came into the United States, many settled in urban areas where the Democratic Party was relatively strong. Critics complained about political machines that emerged in both parties, but the Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland, a committed reformer who crusaded against wasteful governmental spending. During the same period, white “Redeemer” governments in the south gradually pushed African Americans (who often voted Republican) out of the electorate. The Democratic solid south emerged.

As the country grew increasingly industrial, and as large businesses gained political influence, the Populist Party emerged as an advocate for small farmers, miners, [Page 175]and other people of modest means who felt powerless, particularly in the midwest and west. Some of those people drifted into the Democratic Party. It, in turn, adopted some of the Populist agenda. The Republican Party became the advocate of businesses and urban workers, and the 1890s realignment created large areas of the country where one party or the other was dominant. The Democratic Party's share of the vote in presidential elections also declined somewhat compared to the period from the mid-1870s through the late 1880s.

The Democrats took advantage of Republican disunity during the 1912 presidential election, and Wood-row Wilson became the first Democratic president since Grover Cleveland. Wilson and his allies worked to solidify the Democratic Party's support for progressive public policies, including the creation of the Federal Reserve System. Wilson tried to carry his reform agenda into the international arena after World War I, but he was unable to convince the Senate to approve the United States's entry into the League of Nations on the terms that he wanted.

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