Posted: March 23rd, 2022

History of Founding Democratic and Republican Parties

# History of Founding Democratic and Republican Parties

The Democratic and Republican parties are the two main political parties in the United States today. However, they have not always existed in their current form. In fact, both parties trace their origins to a common ancestor: the Democratic-Republican Party.

## The Democratic-Republican Party

The Democratic-Republican Party was formed in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who opposed the Federalist Party led by Alexander Hamilton. The Federalists favored a strong central government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution, while the Democratic-Republicans favored states’ rights and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. The Democratic-Republicans also supported the French Revolution, while the Federalists sided with Britain in the European wars.

The Democratic-Republican Party dominated national politics from 1801 to 1825, when Jefferson, Madison and James Monroe served as presidents. However, the party faced internal divisions over issues such as slavery, tariffs, national bank and foreign policy. By 1824, four candidates from the Democratic-Republican Party ran for president: John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay and William Crawford. None of them won a majority of electoral votes, so the House of Representatives decided the election in favor of Adams.

## The Democratic Party

Andrew Jackson and his supporters felt cheated by the “corrupt bargain” that gave Adams the presidency. They formed a new political organization, the Democratic Party, to challenge Adams in 1828. Jackson won a landslide victory and became the first president from the Democratic Party. He promoted a populist agenda that appealed to the common people, especially farmers and frontiersmen. He also opposed the national bank, vetoed many bills passed by Congress and expanded presidential power.

The Democratic Party continued to dominate national politics until the 1850s, when it split over the issue of slavery. Southern Democrats supported slavery in all territories, while Northern Democrats favored popular sovereignty, or letting each territory decide for itself. In 1860, the party nominated two candidates: John C. Breckinridge for the South and Stephen A. Douglas for the North. This split helped Abraham Lincoln, the candidate of the newly formed Republican Party, to win the election.

## The Republican Party

The Republican Party emerged in the 1850s as a coalition of anti-slavery forces, including former Whigs, Free Soilers, Know-Nothings and abolitionists. The party’s main goal was to stop the expansion of slavery into new territories and eventually abolish it altogether. The party’s first presidential candidate was John C. Fremont in 1856, who lost to Democrat James Buchanan. However, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the presidency as a Republican and led the nation through the Civil War.

The Republican Party became the dominant party in the North and most of the West during and after the Civil War. It supported a strong federal government, industrialization, tariffs, national currency and civil rights for African Americans. However, it also faced internal divisions over issues such as Reconstruction, corruption, patronage and monetary policy. By 1877, the party lost control of most Southern states to the Democrats, who imposed segregation and disenfranchisement on African Americans.

## The Modern Parties

The Democratic and Republican parties have undergone many changes since their founding. They have also switched positions on some issues over time. For example, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Democrats were more conservative and pro-business than the Republicans, who were more progressive and pro-labor. However, in the 1930s, under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Democrats became more liberal and supportive of social welfare programs, while the Republicans became more conservative and opposed to government intervention.

In the 1960s and 1970s, under Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society and Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy, the parties also realigned on racial issues. The Democrats embraced civil rights for African Americans and other minorities, while many white Southerners switched to the Republican Party. Since then, the parties have also diverged on issues such as abortion, gun control, immigration, health care and environmental protection.

Today’s Democrats are generally more diverse, urban, secular and educated than Republicans. They advocate for a strong federal government that can regulate the economy and provide social services to protect the rights and interests of various groups. Today’s Republicans are generally more homogeneous, rural, religious and less educated than Democrats. They advocate for a limited federal government that can promote free markets and individual liberty while respecting traditional values and national security.

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