Democratic Party (United States)

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"Democratic Party" redirects here. For other uses, see Democratic Party (disambiguation).
Democratic Party
AbbreviationDemocrats
ChairpersonJaime Harrison (SC)
Standing CommitteeDemocratic National Committee
U.S. PresidentJoe Biden (DE)
U.S. Vice PresidentKamala Harris (CA)
House Minority LeaderHakeem Jeffries (NY)
Senate Majority LeaderChuck Schumer (NY)
FounderAndrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
FoundedJan 8, 1828; 195 years ago (Jan 8, 1828)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Preceded byDemocratic-Republican Party
Headquarters430 South Capitol St. SE, Washington, D.C., 20003
Student wingCollege Democrats of America
High School Democrats
Youth wingYoung Democrats of America
Women's wingNational Federation of Democratic Woman
Membership47,130,651 (2023)
Ideology
Political positionCenter-left
ColorsBlue
Website
www.democrats.org

The United States Democratic Party is a center-left party that is one of the two biggest political parties in the United States of America. The other is the Republican Party, which is the Democratic Party's main opponent, and positioned on the center-right of the political spectrum. The U.S. also has several smaller political parties known as third parties. Members of this party are known as Democrats.

Every four years the party holds a National Convention where they agree on their candidate for president. The Democratic National Committee coordinates most of the activities of the Democratic Party in all 50 United States. Since Andrew Jackson's inauguration in 1829, there have been 16 Democratic presidents (17 if including John Tyler, who, though originally elected to the Vice Presidency as a Whig, was expelled from his party shortly after taking office, became an independent, and allied with Democrats), the most recent (and current) being former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-DE) who took office as President of the United States in 2021.

The Democratic Party represents a broad spectrum of liberal and left-wing ideologies,including—but not limited to—classical liberalism, social democracy, progressivism, and social (modern) liberalism.

Philosophy and role in government[change | change source]

Democrats, also sometimes called 'the left', 'liberals' or 'progressives' make up one of the two main political parties in the United States. A mostly Democratic state is sometimes called a 'blue state'. This comes from the party’s main color, which is blue, referring to a state supporting ‘blue’ candidates.

Democrats believe in a strong government with social assistance programs to help members of society. They prefer diplomatic solutions to conflicts, and take generally multilateralist views on trade, believing that trade must be free, but fair to protect American workers, consumers, local communities, and the environment. Some Democrats are economic centrists.[9][10]

Socially, most Democrats believe in sociocultural liberalism, taking pro-immigration, pro-marriage equality, and pro-choice views.[11][12][13][14]

Current Democratic beliefs[change | change source]

Currently, the Democratic Party is identified by progressivism, liberalism, and left-wing policies.

Not all Democrats believe in the same thing, but generally these are the things many Democrats support:

  • Progressive income tax.
  • Higher corporate taxes and recapturing income from overseas profits.
  • Spending on business, education, infrastructure, clean-energy.
  • Expanding spending on government programs.
  • Ending the death penalty.
  • Expanding rights to Abortion.
  • Gun control to prevent criminals, children, and those who cannot pass the psychological test.
  • Support Same-sex marriage.
  • Universal healthcare.
  • Declare Washington D.C. an official state.
  • Helping students go to college or university for free without having to pay back the government.
  • Allow undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to stay, pay taxes, and oppose mass deportation.

Most support for Democrats comes from states in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and the Pacific Coast, as well as from the state of Hawaii.

Symbols[change | change source]

The symbol of the Democratic Party is the donkey.[15] Since the election of 2000, the color blue has become a symbol for Democrats.[16]

President Thomas Jefferson

Historically, Thomas Jefferson, whom the party claims as its founder, has been often seen as symbols of the Democratic Party, particularly emphasized in the annual celebrations of Jefferson Day Dinners held since the days of Andrew Jackson. As such, the Democratic Party is also often referred to as the “Party of Jefferson.”[17]

Democratic U.S. Presidents[change | change source]

President Andrew Jackson
President Franklin Roosevelt
Presidents during the 20th century
President Barack Obama
Presidents during the 21st century
President Joe Biden

Other famous Democratic Politicians[change | change source]

Former senator Daniel Inouye
Senator Bernie Sanders
Vice President Kamala Harris

Independents who caucus with Democrats[change | change source]

Former Democrats[change | change source]

Republican Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "President Obama, the Democratic Party, and Socialism: A Political Science Perspective". The Huffington Post. June 29, 2012. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ Hale, John (1995). The Making of the New Democrats. New York: Political Science Quarterly. p. 229.
  3. ↑ Dewan, Shaila; Kornblut, Anne E. (October 30, 2006). "In Key House Races, Democrats Run to the Right". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  4. ↑ Ball, Molly. "The Battle Within the Democratic Party". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  5. ↑ Chotiner, Isaac (March 2, 2020). "How Socialist Is Bernie Sanders?". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  6. ↑ Bacon, Perry Jr. (March 11, 2019). "The Six Wings Of The Democratic Party". FiveThirtyEight.
  7. ↑ Etzioni, Amitai (January 8, 2015). "The Left's Unpopular Populism". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  8. ↑ Sullivan, Sean; Costa, Robert (March 2, 2020). "Trump and Sanders lead competing populist movements, reshaping American politics". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  9. ↑ Gould, Joe (2021-05-13). "Bernie Sanders wants to cut defense spending. Not all Democrats agree". Defense News. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  10. ↑ "Biden's sweeping — and fluid — tax plans are making some congressional Democrats nervous". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  11. ↑ Paul Starr. "Center-Left Liberalism". Princeton University. Archived from the original on March 3, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ Frumin, Aliyah (November 25, 2013). "Obama: 'Long past time' for immigration reform". MSNBC.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Changing Views on Social Issues" (PDF). April 30, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Pew Research Center. (May 10, 2005). Beyond Red vs. Blue, p. 1 of 8". May 10, 2005. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  15. ↑ see "History of the Democratic Donkey"
  16. ↑ Farhi, Paul (November 2, 2004). "Elephants Are Red, Donkeys Are Blue". Washington Post. p. C01. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ Trotter, Bill (February 11, 2008). "Obama sets sights on November battle". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2008.
  18. ↑ Tom Murse (July 20, 2019). "Was Donald Trump a Democrat?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved September 13, 2019.

Other websites[change | change source]

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