Democratic Party (United States)
American political party / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Since the late 1850s, its main political rival has been the Republican Party; the two parties have since dominated American politics.
Democratic Party | |
---|---|
Chairperson | Jaime Harrison |
Governing body | Democratic National Committee[1][2] |
U.S. President | Joe Biden |
U.S. Vice President | Kamala Harris |
Senate Majority Leader | Chuck Schumer |
House Minority Leader | Hakeem Jeffries |
Founders | |
Founded | January 8, 1828; 196 years ago (1828-01-08)[3] Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
Preceded by | Democratic-Republican Party |
Headquarters | 430 South Capitol St. SE, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Student wing | |
Youth wing | Young Democrats of America |
Women's wing | National Federation of Democratic Women |
Overseas wing | Democrats Abroad |
Ideology | |
Political position | Center-left[lower-alpha 2] |
Caucuses | Problem Solvers Caucus Blue Dog Coalition New Democrat Coalition Congressional Progressive Caucus |
Colors | Blue |
Senate | 47 / 100[lower-alpha 3] |
House of Representatives | 212 / 435 |
State Governors | 23 / 50 |
State upper chambers | 857 / 1,973 |
State lower chambers | 2,425 / 5,413 |
Territorial Governors | 4 / 5 |
Seats in Territorial upper chambers | 31 / 97 |
Seats in Territorial lower chambers | 9 / 91 |
Election symbol | |
Website | |
democrats | |
The Democratic Party was founded in 1828. Martin Van Buren of New York played the central role in building the coalition of state organizations that formed a new party as a vehicle to elect Andrew Jackson of Tennessee. The Democratic Party is the world's oldest active political party.[14][15][16] It initially supported expansive presidential power,[17] the interests of slave states,[18] agrarianism,[19] and geographical expansionism,[19] while opposing a national bank and high tariffs.[19] It split in 1860 over slavery and won the presidency only twice[lower-alpha 4] between 1860 and 1912, although it won the popular vote two more times in that period. In the late 19th century, it continued to oppose high tariffs and had fierce internal debates on the gold standard. In the early 20th century, it supported progressive reforms and opposed imperialism, with Woodrow Wilson winning the White House in 1912 and 1916.
Since Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, the Democratic Party has promoted a liberal platform that includes support for Social Security and unemployment insurance.[4][20][21] The New Deal attracted strong support for the party from recent European immigrants but diminished the party's pro-business wing.[22][23][24] From late in Roosevelt's administration through the 1950s, a minority in the party's Southern wing joined with conservative Republicans to slow and stop progressive domestic reforms.[25] Following the Great Society era of progressive legislation under Lyndon B. Johnson, who was often able to overcome the conservative coalition in the 1960s, the core bases of the parties shifted, with the Southern states becoming more reliably Republican and the Northeastern states becoming more reliably Democratic.[26][27] The party's labor union element has become smaller since the 1970s,[28][29] and as the American electorate shifted in a more conservative direction following the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, the election of Bill Clinton marked a move for the party toward the Third Way, moving the party's economic stance towards market-based economic policy.[30][31][32] Barack Obama oversaw the party's passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. During Joe Biden's presidency, the party has adopted an increasingly progressive economic agenda.[33][34]
In the 21st century, the party is strongest among urban voters,[35][36] union workers, college graduates,[13][37][38] women, African Americans,[39][40][41] sexual minorities,[42][43] and the unmarried. On social issues, it advocates for abortion rights,[44] voting rights,[45] LGBT rights,[46] action on climate change,[47] and the legalization of marijuana.[48] On economic issues, the party favors healthcare reform, universal child care, paid sick leave and supporting unions.[49][50][51][52] In foreign policy, the party supports liberal internationalism as well as tough stances against China and Russia.[53][54][55]