The Democratic Party
History of the Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is the oldest political party in the United States and among the oldest political parties in the world. Today, the Democratic and Republican parties seem extremely polarized, but it was not that way originally. In fact, these two parties started as one party. The party was called the Democratic-Republican Party, and it was created by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson in 1971.
The purpose of the Democratic-Republican party was to stand in opposition against the Federalist Party in the coming elections. After the War of 1812, the Federalist Party lost most of its support and disbanded, leaving the Democratic-Republican Party with very little competition. With no competition, the party no longer needed a united front. States began to nominate their own electors soon after, which led the Democratic-Republican Party to split into the Democratic Party and the Whig Party. After the Democrats helped to create the Compromise of 1850, which attempted to prevent a civil war over slavery, they began to gain more are more popularity, while the Whig party began to dwindle out. The Republican party arose soon after and throughout the next century, the Democratic and Republican parties began to grow into the polarized, two-party system that we have today. |
Democratic BeliefsDemocrats believe that it is the responsibility of the government to care for all individuals, even if it means giving up some individual rights and eliminating free enterprise. Democratic administrators have pushed for the centralization of power in Washington D.C., with very little consideration for the rights of individual states and communities. They believe that it is the government's responsibility to solve the peoples' problems. They also believe that community issues should be in the hands of the federal government.
Democrats believe that the economy is far too difficult for the people to understand, and that business decisions should be guided by government officials. They believe that the government knows what is best for the people. Democrats have advocated for scaling down our military and reducing the money spent on military intelligence. They think that the key to national security comes from negotiating with foreign nations. Why a Donkey?Presidential candidate Andrew Jackson was the first Democrat ever to be associated with the donkey symbol. His opponents during the election labeled him a "jackass" for his beliefs and slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson was entertained by the notion and ended up using it on his campaign posters. Cartoonist Thomas Nast is credited with making it the national symbol, however, when it appeared in one of his cartoons in Harper's Weekly in 1870.
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