Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Democratic Party (United States)
open-in-new
<p>The Democratic Party is a <a href="/facts/Centre-left_politics/UVLcWS99">center-left</a> <a href="/facts/Political_parties_in_the_United_States/N0SBY8ux">political party in the United States</a>. One of the <a href="/facts/Major_party/LlChpaG8">major parties</a> of the U.S., it was founded in 1828, making it the world's oldest active political party. Its main rival since the 1850s has been the <a href="/facts/Republican_Party_(United_States)/XXM1EVPr">Republican Party</a>, and the two have since dominated <a href="/facts/American_politics/huMQkzQD">American politics</a>. </p><p>The Democratic Party was founded in 1828 from remnants of the <a href="/facts/Democratic-Republican_Party/bn17a9No">Democratic-Republican Party</a>. Senator <a href="/facts/Martin_Van_Buren/eLHQGzL1">Martin Van Buren</a> played the central role in building the coalition of state organizations which formed the new party as a vehicle to help elect <a href="/facts/Andrew_Jackson/MjlxPRzk">Andrew Jackson</a> as president that year. It initially supported <a href="/facts/Jacksonian_democracy/pCaNxh8V">Jacksonian democracy</a>, <a href="/facts/Agrarianism/wqrNlmje">agrarianism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Manifest_destiny/R02Youdx">geographical expansionism</a>, while opposing <a href="/facts/Bank_War/zjFlY02A">a national bank</a> and high <a href="/facts/Tariff/NCluKCm2">tariffs</a>. Democrats won six of the eight presidential elections from 1828 to 1856, losing twice to the <a href="/facts/Whig_Party_(United_States)/4tQTAzq2">Whigs</a>. In 1860, the party split into <a href="/facts/Northern_Democrats/dj7P0EzR">Northern</a> and <a href="/facts/Southern_Democrats/oqJ6Yk3n">Southern</a> factions over <a href="/facts/Slavery_in_the_United_States/CduIa8do">slavery</a>. The party remained dominated by agrarian interests, contrasting with Republican support for the <a href="/facts/Big_business/KD8SWq6H">big business</a> of the <a href="/facts/Gilded_Age/DFnIodSc">Gilded Age</a>. Democratic candidates won the presidency only twice between 1860 and 1908, though they <a href="/facts/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_in_which_the_winner_lost_the_popular_vote/3YuefBmN">won the popular vote</a> two more times in that period. During the <a href="/facts/Progressive_Era/VhKLrvcU">Progressive Era</a>, some factions of the party supported <a href="/facts/Progressivism_in_the_United_States/vjUFVvJv">progressive</a> reforms, with <a href="/facts/Woodrow_Wilson/zE4yxK2X">Woodrow Wilson</a> being elected president in 1912 and 1916. </p><p>In 1932, <a href="/facts/Franklin_D._Roosevelt/HtG9vMQv">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a> was elected president after campaigning on a strong response to the <a href="/facts/Great_Depression/5K13wcg0">Great Depression</a>. His <a href="/facts/New_Deal/R33TXQFB">New Deal</a> programs created <a href="/facts/New_Deal_coalition/pnDjKwmu">a broad Democratic coalition</a> which united White southerners, Northern workers, <a href="/facts/Labor_unions_in_the_United_States/FHruckNo">labor unions</a>, <a href="/facts/African_Americans/pTgcAdo8">African Americans</a>, <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church_in_the_United_States/cW6Q4oxk">Catholic</a> and <a href="/facts/American_Jews/zXED0Gus">Jewish communities</a>, progressives, and <a href="/facts/Modern_liberalism_in_the_United_States/HGn9XCda">liberals</a>. From the late 1930s, <a href="/facts/Conservative_coalition/abfnPq10">a conservative minority</a> in the party's Southern wing joined with Republicans to slow and stop further progressive domestic reforms. After the <a href="/facts/Civil_rights_movement/llwscvvR">civil rights movement</a> and <a href="/facts/Great_Society/w1zMdUsq">Great Society</a> era of progressive legislation under <a href="/facts/Lyndon_B._Johnson/PKNthHX1">Lyndon B. Johnson</a>, who was often able to overcome the conservative coalition in the 1960s, many White southerners <a href="/facts/Southern_strategy/MdkeGlfq">switched to the Republican Party</a> as the Northeastern states became more reliably Democratic. The party's labor union element has weakened since the 1970s amid <a href="/facts/Deindustrialization/DCGYhT1B">deindustrialization</a>, and during the 1980s it lost many White working-class voters to the Republicans under <a href="/facts/Ronald_Reagan/z6AaKAad">Ronald Reagan</a>. The election of <a href="/facts/Bill_Clinton/x5mwYkVh">Bill Clinton</a> in 1992 marked a shift for the party toward <a href="/facts/Centrism/jybYq4vR">centrism</a> and the <a href="/facts/Third_Way/q9bbL37a">Third Way</a>, shifting its economic stance toward <a href="/facts/Neoliberalism/UfqKadhe">market-based policies</a>. <a href="/facts/Barack_Obama/76wUMgL1">Barack Obama</a> oversaw the party's passage of the <a href="/facts/Affordable_Care_Act/5RW8EDo8">Affordable Care Act</a> in 2010. </p><p>In the 21st century, the Democratic Party's strongest demographics are <a href="/facts/Urban%25E2%2580%2593rural_political_divide/ugPYNbq1">urban voters</a>, <a href="/facts/Educational_attainment_in_the_United_States/zGUyzNom">college graduates</a> (especially those with <a href="/facts/Postgraduate_education/VhXDbhBz">graduate degrees</a>), <a href="/facts/African_Americans/pTgcAdo8">African Americans</a>, women, younger voters, irreligious voters, the unmarried and <a href="/facts/LGBTQ_people_in_the_United_States/1qe4RIN6">LGBTQ people</a>. On social issues, it advocates for <a href="/facts/Abortion-rights_movements/KKXDwMMR">abortion rights</a>, <a href="/facts/LGBTQ_rights_in_the_United_States/CANcd6oJ">LGBTQ rights</a>, action on <a href="/facts/Climate_change/rEN4BDE7">climate change</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Legality_of_cannabis_by_U.S._jurisdiction/vBnbjWeC">legalization of marijuana</a>. On economic issues, the party favors <a href="/facts/Healthcare_reform_in_the_United_States/m10Nyg3K">healthcare reform</a>, <a href="/facts/Paid_sick_leave/rAFpbYAk">paid sick leave</a>, <a href="/facts/Paid_family_leave/DIns43dB">paid family leave</a> and <a href="/facts/Unionization/PjeN2WKu">supporting unions</a>. In foreign policy, the party supports <a href="/facts/Liberal_internationalism/3t1xzxIU">liberal internationalism</a> as well as tough stances against <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a> and <a href="/facts/Russia/jfkCwyxn">Russia</a>. </p>