ANYA - ÉLISA

INTRODUCTION

In the last presidential election in 2020, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party won with
a majority of 306 electors compared to 232 for Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

At the beginning, in 1792, the Democratic Party was known as the Republican Party.
In 1798, the Democratic Party evolved into the Democratic-Republican Party. It was not until
1820, under Andrew Jackson, that the Democratic Party became known as such. Some of
its members accessed the presidential function, like Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John
F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama or Joe Biden.

Another characteristic is that the Party is represented by a particular symbol, namely

a donkey. This symbol, due to the caricaturist Thomas Nast, was first published in the
Harper’s Magazine on January 15, 1870. Besides, we associate the Democratic Party with
the color blue.

Today, the Democratic Party is a progressive party that defends LGBTQ+, ethnic and
religious minorities, while the other Party of the USA, the Republican Party, is more
conservative. Nevertheless, you have to know that in the past, the Democratic Party was
more conservative than the Republican Party because it defended the development of
slavery and white supremacy.

Thus, how did the highly conservative Democratic Party become a symbol of
progress and equality in the USA ?

First of all, we are going to explain the Party’s early conservative ideas, then talk
about the turning point of the 20th century. To finish we are going to take a look at today’s
Democratic Party, and especially at the fact that it’s the party of minorities.

THE PARTY'S EARLY CONSERVATIVE IDEAS

In 1792, founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and James Madison formed the
Democratic Republican Party, which later became the Democratic Party. Their goal was
to restrict the role of the federal government to that of today's "federated" states, but also to
allow more white Americans to participate in the democratic process.

The Democratic Party was once the party of white supremacy, supporting slavery
and the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist society. In the mid-1820s, it supported the
presidential candidacy of a popular former general, Andrew Jackson. In the presidential
election of 1828, which saw record popular turnout, Jackson won an overwhelming victory.
His supporters then claimed that they alone represented the popular will of the country and
began calling themselves the Democratic Party.

Jackson's administration was marked by a number of leading measures that

developed the ideals of the Founding Fathers, such as the expulsion of Native Americans
living east of the Mississippi. This policy immediately set the direction his administration was
to take. Thus, following the signing of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, five tribes were
gathered and relocated by force to territories and camps further west.
ANYA - ÉLISA

In the 1840s, the party then adopted the doctrine of "manifest destiny", according
to which white Americans are divinely empowered to dominate the entire North American
continent. Democratic President James K. Polk put this idea into practice, annexing Texas,
Oregon and much of what is now the southwestern U.S. in a war with Mexico.

The Democrats then had to answer an important question → should the new states
integrated into the United States be allowed to practice slavery? They decided yes, as their
strongest support was then in the South, which was pro-slavery. In the North, on the
contrary, the Republican party was created to oppose the expansion of slavery. When
Lincoln, the Republican president, won the 1860 election, the South seceded, and the Civil
War began. When the South lost the Civil War in 1865, the Democratic Party lost its national
preeminence for several years, leading to a hatred of Republicans by white Southerners.

To get back its supremacy, the Democratic Party promised to limit federal government
intervention in favor of black citizens. The Democrats then became the only political party in
the South, thanks to their policy of intimidation towards black Americans, preventing
them from voting.

THE TURNING POINT OF THE 20TH CENTURY

The 20th century marked a turning point in the country's history, and therefore in
that of the Democratic Party, particularly thanks to the considerable increase in wealth of
many individuals and companies. The Democratic Party therefore had to adapt its policies
to the sociological changes in society, and began to develop a more progressive
program, guided by the goal of improving citizens' living conditions.

In 1912, Democrat Woodrow Wilson won the election and became the 28th President
of the United States. During his term, he implemented policies that could be described as
"progressive". The new identity of the Democratic Party was made definitive by the "Great
Depression" of the 1930s, which followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929. To fight against the
disastrous economic situation, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the New
Deal, a policy set up to support the poorest classes of the population, achieve innovative
reform of the financial markets and revitalize an American economy wrecked by
unemployment and a series of bankruptcies. The New Deal was the largest set of
government projects in U.S. history.

This project marked a first victory for the Democratic Party as it had existed since the
20th century. Nevertheless, the party was still divided on the racial question. In the mid-20th
century, it included Southerners who strongly supported segregation, but also reformers who
sought to end it, as well as some politicians who were not interested in the issue.

But in 1964, Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson's Congress passed the Civil
Rights Act, putting an end to all forms of segregation or discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin, practical all over the United States. Johnson also
established a lot of government social programs. The Civil Rights Act thus marked the
victory of the reformers within the party, demonstrating that the Democratic Party was now
very different from the conservative, racist party it had been at its origins. This progressive
victory can be illustrated by the fact that, from the 1960s onwards, black voters
ANYA - ÉLISA

overwhelmingly supported the Democrats, particularly thanks to the adoption of the Civil
Rights Act, but more generally to the turn the party has taken in recent decades.

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TODAY, PARTY OF MINORITIES

Today, as the Democratic Party is a popular party with liberal ideas, it fights against
minorities such as economic inequality, racial and sexual discriminations and so on. That’s
why, today, the Democrats have a modern vision of society compared with the more
conservative Republicans.

First of all, Democrats are fighting for the recognition of LGBT rights. Indeed,
when Trump was President, he adopted an LGBTphobic program to reduce their rights.
Today, Joe Biden is developing a program in favor of the LGBT community. For instance, on
November 29, 2022, the Senate passed a bill to recognize same-sex marriages in all
States. Each State has the right to decide whether it will continue to offer this union.
Nevertheless, each State will have to recognize celebrations which took place elsewhere.

Besides, in the USA, the abortion is a highly controversial right. Actually, on June
24, 2022, the American Supreme Court canceled a federal judgment called Roe v.
Wade, which had guaranteed the right to abortion since 1973. Today, each State is free
to decide whether to allow abortion. Thus, many Republican States, such as Texas,
Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama, prohibit abortion. The Democratic Party is fighting for this
right, and we can see that a lot of Democratic States, such as California, Nevada,
Washington, New York or Pennsylvania, continue to recognize this right as constitutional.
For Biden and the Democratic Party, it was very important to put the right to abortion back at
the center of their politics in the midterm elections. Their goal was to win votes in the Senate
and restore the right to abortion as a fundamental human right.

Another theme defended by the Democratic Party is healthcare. It was one of the
most important issues in Obama's policy during his electoral campaign in 2008. The aim of
Barack Obama’s project, called Obamacare, was to allow as many people as possible to
benefit from social services.

Whereas in the past, the South, including, for instance, Florida, was a democratic
region of the country, today, these States are more Republican. Nevertheless, the States like
California, Nevada, Oregon or Washington usually vote for the Democratic Party.

For the 2024 elections, Donald Trump and the Republican Party, as well as Joe
Biden and the Democratic Party, are the two main parties. Trump and his party are the
favorites in american polls.

CONCLUSION

In a nutshell, the american political landscape changed over time. Indeed, as we’ve
explained, the Democratic Party has evolved from a conservative to a liberal party. Whereas
in the past, this party fought for the development of slavery and white supremacy, today, its
goals are to defend, for instance, LGBT rights, abortion rights, inequalities and so on.
ANYA - ÉLISA

To go further, like the Democratic Party, the Republican Party has evolved, but from a
liberal to a conservative party. Indeed, in the past, it fought against slavery, for example,
whereas today they struggle against the arrival of mass immigration.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/01/27/us/politics/congressional-gerrymande
ring-redistricting-game-2022.html