Democratic Party (United States)

Lore & Background

The Democratic Party initially supported Jacksonian democracy, agrarianism, and geographical expansionism, while opposing a national bank and high tariffs. The party remained dominated by agrarian interests, contrasting with Republican support for the big business of the Gilded Age. Roosevelt was elected president after campaigning on a strong response to the Great Depression. His New Deal programs created a broad Democratic coalition that united white Southerners, Northern workers, labor unions, African Americans, Catholic and Jewish communities, progressives, and liberals. From the late 1930s, a conservative minority in the party's Southern wing joined with Republicans to slow and stop further progressive domestic reforms. After the civil rights movement and Great Society era of progressive legislation under Lyndon B. Johnson, who was often able to overcome the conservative coalition in the 1960s, many white Southerners switched to the Republican Party as the Northeastern states became more reliably Democratic. The party's labor union element has weakened since the 1970s amid deindustrialization, and during the 1980s it lost many white working-class voters to the Republicans under Ronald Reagan.

Reader's Guide

It evolved from the Democratic-Republican Party and has been the primary rival of the Republican Party since the 1850s. The party's ideological positions have shifted over time: initially supporting agrarianism and expansionism, it later embraced progressive reforms under Woodrow Wilson and the New Deal coalition under Franklin D. Roosevelt. The party's coalition changed dramatically after the civil rights movement, with many white Southerners leaving for the Republican Party. In the 1990s, under Bill Clinton, the party moved toward centrism and market-based policies. On economic issues, it favors healthcare reform, paid sick leave, paid family leave, and supporting unions. On social issues, it advocates for abortion rights, gun control, LGBTQ rights, action on climate change, the legalization of marijuana, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In foreign policy, the party supports liberal internationalism and aid to Ukraine, as well as tough stances against China and Russia.

Did You Know?

• Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs created a broad coalition uniting white Southerners, Northern workers, labor unions, African Americans, Catholic and Jewish communities, progressives, and liberals.

From Jefferson to Jackson: Forging a National Party

The Democratic Party traces its lineage to the Democratic-Republican Party that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison organized in 1792 against the conservative Federalists. That earlier group favored republicanism, a weak federal government, states' rights, and agrarian interests while opposing a national bank. After the War of 1812, the Federalists effectively disappeared, and the Democratic-Republicans ruled as the sole national party through the Era of Good Feelings (1816–1828). The modern party coalesced around war hero Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, with Martin Van Buren building a cadre of state-level politicians to create a truly national organization. Some historians point to an even earlier spark: the Greensburg Resolution of December 23, 1823, in Pennsylvania, where five local political figures publicly called for Jackson's presidential candidacy, forming what is regarded as the first overtly "Jacksonian" group. The "corrupt bargain" of 1824, in which the House passed over Jackson in favor of John Quincy Adams, further galvanized his supporters into a distinct political force. By the late 1820s the party had a federal structure, and it went on to win six of the eight presidential elections between 1828 and 1856, cementing its claim as the world's oldest active political party.

The New Deal Coalition and Its Slow Unraveling

Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 presidential victory, built on a promise of strong government action against the Great Depression, produced the most durable coalition in American politics. His New Deal programs brought together white Southerners, Northern industrial workers, labor unions, African Americans, Catholic and Jewish communities, progressives, and liberals under one banner. Yet even from the late 1930s, a conservative minority in the party's Southern wing allied with Republicans to block further progressive domestic legislation. Lyndon B. Johnson, during the civil rights movement and the Great Society era of the 1960s, was often able to override that conservative coalition, but the social upheaval of the period ultimately drove many white Southerners toward the Republican Party as Northeastern states became more reliably Democratic. The party's labor-union base eroded through the 1970s amid deindustrialization, and during the 1980s it lost large numbers of white working-class voters to Ronald Reagan's Republicans. Bill Clinton's 1992 election marked a further pivot toward centrism and the "Third Way," shifting the party's economic stance toward market-based policies.

Ideological Identity and Policy Priorities

Positioned on the center to center-left of the American political spectrum, the Democratic Party has generally stood to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, and has been more liberal on civil rights since 1948. On economic matters, the party champions healthcare reform, paid sick leave, paid family leave, and the strengthening of labor unions. On social issues, it advocates for abortion rights, gun control, LGBTQ rights, meaningful action on climate change, the legalization of marijuana, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In foreign policy, the party supports liberal internationalism, including aid to Ukraine, while also taking tough stances against both China and Russia. Since 2016, the party has experienced significant internal growth in support for progressivism, pushing its platform further left on several fronts. Barack Obama's presidency saw the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which passed along party lines and remains a defining legislative achievement of the modern Democratic agenda.

From Agrarian Roots to Modern Liberalism

In its earliest decades, the Democratic Party was the voice of agrarian interests, championing Jacksonian democracy, geographical expansionism, and opposition to a national bank and high tariffs. This agrarian identity stood in sharp contrast to the Republican Party's embrace of big business during the Gilded Age. The party suffered a devastating split in 1860 over slavery, dividing into Northern and Southern factions, and between 1860 and 1908 its candidates won the presidency only twice, though they carried the popular vote two additional times. The Progressive Era brought a partial renaissance: Woodrow Wilson, elected in 1912 and again in 1916, represented a faction that supported progressive reforms. The postwar decades saw the party's base shift decisively from rural planters to urban workers, minorities, and liberal professionals. Clinton's 1992 election introduced market-oriented economics, while Obama's Affordable Care Act of 2010 reasserted the party's commitment to an active federal role in social welfare. Today, the party's identity blends its progressive social agenda with a more centrist economic record, a tension that continues to shape internal debates.