A Brief History of the Democratic Party
The roots of the Democratic Party go all the way back to Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, “antiFederalists” who opposed the strong central government favored by Washington, Adams, and Hamilton, among others. However, the name ‘Democrat’ wasn’t adopted until the 1828 election of Andrew Jackson when the party became identified with a growing populist movement in the young nation. Before that it was known as the Democratic-Republican Party, and before that, the Republican Party! The Democratic Party is generally considered to be the oldest political party in the world. Since Jackson there have been 14 Democratic presidents and 18 Republicans1, the latter having emerged as a political party in 1854. “Jeffersonian Democracy” advocated states’ rights, civil liberties, limited executive authority, strict interpretation of the Constitution, and minimal regulation of business and commerce, while favoring farmers,2 common folk, and the working class in general over the educated and elite. (Keep in mind that until about 1850 many states allowed only white male property owners to vote). The Party split in 1860 over the unresolved issue of slavery, resulting in the election of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln. Bitterness over the Civil War and post-Lincoln Republican Reconstruction caused southern states to go solidly Democratic for the next 100 years, during which time they wielded considerable control over the party. With time the party evolved from its original principles, favoring more government oversight and regulation of business and economic affairs, starting with the progressive policies of Woodrow Wilson’s administration (1913-1920)3 and even more so following the crisis of the Great Depression, which ushered in Franklin Roosevelt’s social and public works programs known as the New Deal. The party also moved towards a more liberal interpretation of the Constitution which historians trace, ironically, to Jefferson’s administration (1801-1808), especially in regard to the Louisiana Purchase, where he exercised considerable executive prerogative to expand American territory westward. Democrats dominated for most of the 20th century, particularly after Roosevelt’s election in 1932. During the 1900s they controlled the House for 66 years, the Senate for 58, and the presidency for 48, holding majorities in the House of Representatives from 1933 to 1994 except for 1947-48 and 1953-54 and in the Senate for those same years except for 1983-88.4
Republicans Chester Arthur and Gerald Ford and “War Democrat”/Unionist Andrew Johnson succeeded to the office but were never elected president themselves. 2 Particularly in the South. Most New England landowners supported the Federalists. 3 Although Republican Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1908) before him is generally regarded as the first progressive president. 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_divisions_of_United_States_Congresses
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Another split occurred in 1948, again over racial issues, when southern “Dixiecrats” and the Progressive wing of the party both decided to branch off and run their own candidates after the nomination of the more moderate Harry Truman, who’d agreed to include civil rights for African-Americans in the party platform. Despite the three-way split, Truman still managed to soundly defeat heavily-favored Republican nominee Thomas Dewey in one of history’s greatest upsets. Along with the prosperity of the post-WWII period came increasing demands from Northern leaders like Hubert Humphrey to grant full civil rights to all Americans, challenging the “Solid South’s” long hold on the party. Ultimately it took a southern Democrat, Lyndon Johnson, to force an end to publicly sanctioned discrimination and segregation, even though Johnson felt it would cause Democrats to “lose the South.” Still, Democrats managed to control both houses of Congress for most of the 40-year period from 1955 thru 1994. Loss of the presidency in the close election of 1968 (Nixon v. Humphrey) was more likely attributable to Johnson’s misguided escalation of the Vietnam War and the contention it caused within the party, and to the assassination of Robert Kennedy that same year. Republicans did begin to make substantial gains in the South, particularly in presidential races. However, by standing on the sidelines during the long struggle for civil rights (or actively opposing such efforts), the “party of Lincoln” lost virtually all African-Americans’ support, which hurt the GOP when blacks finally secured the voting rights unconstitutionally denied them in the century after the Civil War5 (and for the first 170 years of our republic). After 40 straight years of controlling the House, Democrats lost it in 1994, and the Senate as well, but gained both back in the election of 2006 (by 31 seats in the House and a bare majority in the Senate6). The 2006 election also resulted in Democrats controlling 22 state legislatures vs. 15 for Republicans (12 states are evenly split; one is non-partisan) and 28 governorships including several in the South and West. Today, about half of the public identifies themselves either as a Democrat or say they “lean” Democratic, compared with 35% who align with the GOP. This is a dramatic change from just five years ago when the parties were tied.7 Actual registration shows Democrats outnumbering Republicans nationally by approximately 33% to 25%, while those choosing to register independent continue to exceed either party.
The 15th Amendment of 1870 guaranteed voting rights to all U.S. citizens, which included blacks as a result of the 14th Amendment. However, after the defeat of Reconstruction efforts in the South, it was prevented from being enforced. Actually Democrats and Republicans now have 49 senators each. Independents Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernard Sanders of Vermont choose to vote with the Democratic caucus, giving control of the Senate to Democrats, although Sen. Lieberman often votes with Republicans on matters of defense, especially regarding the Iraq war. [2000 VP candidate Lieberman was a Democrat prior to losing his primary in 2006; he then ran and won the election as an “Independent Democrat.”]
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Pew Research Center, http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/312.pdf.
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Despite Republican inroads in the 1980s into previous Democratic constituencies such as middle class and blue-collar workers, Democrats remain the party of choice with civil servants, union members, minorities, teachers, low-income workers and with a majority of college-educated professionals, among others. And although Democrats beat back a balanced budget amendment pushed by Republican congresses of the mid-90s, they have since evolved to be regarded as the party of fiscal responsibility and fair tax policy after massive deficits run up by the last three Republican presidents8 and four straight surpluses during Bill Clinton’s second term. Democrats are also associated with a more multilateral, cooperative approach to international crises; environmental protection; opening of global markets; fair trade practices; worker protections; accessible health care; retirement security; women’s reproductive rights; and a commitment to equal opportunity in education and the workplace, among other positions. The Democratic Party platform may be viewed at http://www.democrats.org/pdfs/2004platform.pdf.
- Mike Burns
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Reagan, Bush, Bush.
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