Abstract
The democratic political party in the united states is one of the oldest and among the two major parties in the country. Over the years, the party has undergone many changes which has shaped it to the level in which it is now. the democratic party formed as a splinter group from the Republican party in the early 1800s. however, the party has faced challenges in posting as many presidents to the white house as has the Republicans. Therefore, this paper will account the historical evolution of the Democratic party, its facts and key information as well as the divergent views it gets from its supporters.
History and Background
The Democratic party of the united states is the oldest party in the country and one of the major political parties which have huge command on the American citizens. It is a party which has been transformed over its two centuries since it was a conception in 1792 by Thomas Jefferson. In the 19th century, the party had tolerated and supported slavery, and after the civil war, it was at the forefront of dissenting civil reforms it an attempt to keep the southern voters ("Democratic Party Beliefs | Republican Views," 2017). However, halfway through the 20th century, the party had tremendous political realignment and modified itself as a modern political front. It is in this perspective that the party started supporting progressive reforms, advocating civil rights for minorities and organized labor. Since the deal signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1930s, the party has taken a hands-off approach in dealing with non-economic issues of its citizens and favoring a high government intervention to the economy of the country ("Democratic Party Beliefs | Republican Views," 2017).
Key Facts about the Democratic Party
The Democratic-Republican party was a splinter group of 1824 from the short-lived Republican party in the united states national politics. It was because of the Jacksonian movement, where it became a democratic party in 1828. It was during this era that the party became to be known as the Democratic party, graduating from “The Democracy” with the members of the party candidly referred to as the Democrats or Dems(Merriam,2015). The common logo of the party has been a jackass or donkey which was coined by Jackson’s enemies in a ridiculing reference to a stubborn or a stupid animal. In the 20th century, other logos were used to represent the democratic party in states such as Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia such as a rooster or the five-pointed star in New York. In 2010, the party unveiled a letter D in a circle as its official logo(Merriam,2015). The major colors used by the democratic party are white, red and blue and after the 200 elections, blue has been the party’s identification color. The unofficial song of the party is the “Happy Days Are Here Again” which was popularized during Franklin Roosevelt campaign in 1932(Merriam,2015).
The historical trend is that the party as of the year 2017, the democratic party has produced 15 presidents to the country, having had the former president Obama, who had taken over from Republican G.W. Bush, and the party losing again to Republican Donald Trump in 2016("Democratic Party | political party, United States", 2017). Since its formation up to 1856, the party had won only two presidential elections until it had a bipartisan approach. As of 2012, the party enjoyed a multi-ethnic make-up in the country having a white majority of 60%, 22% African American support and 13% Hispanic support base ("Democratic Party | political party, United States," 2017). This demographical inclusivity has been because of its advocating for civil rights during the time if J.F Kennedy and championing for racial desegregation under president Truman. Many times, over, the democratic party has held control over both houses of legislation.
Over the years, while Republicans have sent more presidents to the white house than Democrats, the party has enjoyed tremendous control of bothering the senate and the house of representatives. Since 1990, the party has been accused by voters for not representing their opinions, where the last election nominee, Hillary Clinton suffered a low historical rating in 25 years in the last presidential elections ("Democratic Party | political party, United States," 2017). According to a Gallop report of 2009, the Democrats had been accused of being too liberal with a margin of 46% where people believed that the party was dedicated to reforming health care and stabilizing the economy of the United States.
According to PEW Research Center, (2015) the Democrats seemed to be highly divided on the issue of expanding trade agreements and going after big banks. Also, the findings indicated that they were divided on the notion that a presidential candidate should have new ideas or continue with the legacy of Obama.
To conclude, the democratic party is one of the parties in America which enjoys a huge following in the country due to its liberal positions. Although it has lost to Republican presidential candidates many times, the party still enjoys the majority of votes to their presidential candidates. It has had control of the senate and house of representatives many times making it one of the favorite parties in America. Therefore, the democratic party is a choice form nay Americans who value progressiveness and social tranquility.
References
Democratic Party | political party, United States. (2017). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 December 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-Party
Democratic Party Beliefs | Republican Views. (2017). Republicanviews.org. Retrieved 10 December 2017, from http://www.republicanviews.org/democratic-party-beliefs/
Jeffrey, M. (2009). More Americans See Democratic Party as "Too Liberal." Gallup News, June 30, 2009.
Merriam, C. (2015). American Party System. [S.l.]: Forgotten Books.
Pew Research Center. (2015). Contrasting Partisan Perspectives on Campaign 2016. Pew Research Center: U.S. Politics & Policy, 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036.
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