The democrats in the US

Emily Fessler, Q11

The emocrats in the US

Structure

1. General facts

2. History

3. Beliefs/Aims

4. Sources

General facts

History

• 1792: supporters of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison formed a faction called the ´Democratic-Republicans`
• power struggles between Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans -> Federalists lost after 1800

• after the War of 1812 Federalists completely disappeared
• 1824: four Democratic-Republican candidates ran against each other -> Andrew Jackson lost after the election went to the House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams won
• Martin van Buren and Andrew Jackson build a new political organization, the ´Democratic Party` and defeated Adams in 1828
• 1832: Andrew Jackson vetoed a bill renewing the charter of the Bank of the United States, formation of the Whig Party (Henry Clay)
• Democrats won almost every election between 1828-1856
• 1850: debate over the extension of slavery into Western territories -> division into Southern and Northern Democrats

History

• national convention 1860: Southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge; Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas; a new candidate Abraham Lincoln (Republican Party) could win due to the split
• after the victory of the Republicans in the Civil War, they dominated for the rest of the 19th century
• reconstruction era: Southeners rejected the Republican measures protecting civil and voting rights for African Americans ->the Democratic Party solidified its hold on the South
• 1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first Democrat to win the White House since Woodrow Wilson
• Roosevelt launched the New Deal ->beginning of an era of Democratic dominance that should last for 60 years
• the Southeners didn´t like Roosevelt´s reforms, in conclusion a lot of them joined the Republicans
• 1948: Harry Truman (a Southern Democrat) proposed a pro-civil rights platform -> the Southeners walked out of the party´s national convention and called themselves the ´Dixiecrats`

History

• most of the Dixiecrats returned to the Democrats
• at the same time a lot of Black voters started to vote for the Democrats
• Lyndon B. Johnson eventually signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law
• late 1960/1970: more and more people voted for the Republican party
• 1992: the Democrats entered the White House with Bill Clinton (8 years of presidency)
• 2000: George W. Bush (8 years of presidency)
• 2008: Barack Obama, the first African-American president
• 2016: Donald Trump

Beliefs

• Gay Marriage
• Immigration
• Death Penalty
• Abortion
• Education
• Gun Control
• Health Care

Aims

• build a stronger, fairer economy
• achieve universal, affordable quality health care
• heal the soul of America
• fight the climate crisis and pursue environmental justice
• restore and strengthen their democracy
• provide a world class education system in every zip code
• renew american leadership
• create a 21 century immigration system

Sources

Thank you for your attention:)!