Democratic Party (United States)
The U.S. Democratic Party is one of the two biggest political parties in the United States. The other is the Republican Party. The U.S. also has several smaller political parties known as "third parties." Supporters 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. There have been 15 Democratic presidents, the most recent being Barack Obama, who has served since 2009.
Contents
Philosophy and role in government[change | change source]
Sometimes Democrats are called "the left", "liberals" or "progressives", even though not all Democrats are left-wing or liberal. Many Democrats, particularly in the South and Rocky Mountains of the United States, are conservative or moderate). In the United States, each of the political parties are large coalitions that cover many different kinds of ideology. A mostly Democratic state is sometimes called a "blue state".
Democratic beliefs[change | change source]
Generally Democrats support:
- Progressive income tax, increasing overall tax income
- Higher corporate taxes and recapturing income from overseas profits
- Expanding spending on government programs
- Spending on business, education, infrastructure, clean-energy
- Abortion (spending on reproductive issues)
- stem-cell research
- Reducing the use of US troops in international affairs, downsizing the military
- Equal rights (without regard for race, creed, gender or sexual orientation) through Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity laws.
- Restrictions of weapons use through government oversight
- Keynesian, and a mixed economy
- Universal healthcare
- Regulating business and the economy
- Support same-sex marriage
Most support for Democrats comes from states in the Northeast, and Pacific Coast areas of the USA, but there are Democrats elected to office in all other states too.
Symbols[change | change source]
The symbol of the Democratic Party is the Donkey. Since the election of 2000, the color blue has become a symbol for Democrats.[source?]
Democratic Presidents[change | change source]
- Presidents during the 1800s
- Andrew Jackson (1829 – 1837)
- Martin Van Buren (1837 – 1841)
- James K. Polk (1845 – 1849)
- Franklin Pierce (1853 – 1857)
- James Buchanan (1857 – 1861)
- Andrew Johnson (1865 – 1869)
- Grover Cleveland ( 1885 – 1889)
- Presidents during the 1900s
- Woodrow Wilson ( 1913 – 1921)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 – 1945)
- Harry S. Truman (1945 – 1953)
- John F. Kennedy (1961 – 1963)
- Lyndon B. Johnson (1963 – 1969)
- Jimmy Carter (1977 – 1981)
- Bill Clinton (1993 – 2001)
- Presidents during the 2000s
- Barack Obama (2009 - present)
Other famous Democratic Politicians[change | change source]
- Joe Biden (Delaware), Vice President
- John Kerry (Massachusetts), Secretary of State, former Senator, former Presidential candidate
- Patrick Leahy (Vermont), President Pro-Tempor, Senator, and Dean of the Senate
- Hillary Clinton (New York), former Secretary of State, former Senator and former First Lady
- Jim Clyburn (South Carolina), Representative and Assistant Democratic Leader
- Howard Dean (Vermont), former Governor and former head of the Democratic National Committee
- Christopher Dodd (Connecticut), former Senator
- Mario Cuomo (New York), former Governor
- Dick Durbin (Illinois), Senate Whip
- George Moscone (California), former Mayor of San Francisco
- Chuck Schumer (New York), Senator.
- Harvey Milk (California), Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
- William M. Daley (Illinois), candidate for Governor of Illinois, former White House Chief of Staff
- Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey), former Senator
- Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois
- Paul Simon (Illinois), former Senator
- Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania), former Senator
- Bob Menendez (New Jersey), Senator
- Richard M. Daley (Illinois), former Mayor of Chicago
- John Edwards (North Carolina), former Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate
- Richard J. Daley (Illinois), former Mayor of Chicago
- Al Gore (Tennessee), former Presidential candidate and Vice-President
- Robert F. Kennedy, former Senator, former Presidential candidate, and brother of John F. Kennedy
- Daniel Inouye (Hawaii), former President Pro-Tempor, former Senator, and former Dean of the Senate
- Steny Hoyer (Maryland), House Minority Whip
- Robert Byrd (West Virginia), former President Pro-Tempor, former Senator, and former Dean of the Senate
- Tim Kaine (Virginia), Governor and former head of the Democratic National Committee
- Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Representative
- Janet Napolitano (Arizona), Secretary of Homeland Security
- Nancy Pelosi (California), former Speaker of the House
- Brian Schweitzer (Montana), former Governor
- Harry Reid (Nevada), Senate Majority Leader
- Rahm Emanuel (Illinois), Mayor of Chicago, former White House Chief of Staff
- Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (Virginia), former Senator
- Bill Richardson (New Mexico), Governor
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida), Representative and head of the Democratic National Committee
- Eliot Spitzer (New York), former Governor
- Mark Warner (Virginia), Senator and former Governor
Former Democrats[change | change source]
- Ronald Reagan (California), 40th President of the United States (1981-1989).
- Condoleezza Rice (Alabama), 66th United States Secretary of State (2005-2009).
- Rudy Giuliani (New York), 107th Mayor of New York City (1994-2001).
- Rick Perry (Texas), 47th Governor of Texas (2000-present)
- Jesse Helms (North Carolina), United States Senator (1973-2003).
Related pages[change | change source]
Other websites[change | change source]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
