Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the only two major political parties in the United States. It is considered to be more liberal or left-wing on most issues than the Republican Party (United States).[1]
Contents
History
This party started out as small 'c' conservative and the party of the establishment until the 1850s, following which this mantle was taken by the Republican party. By the early 20th century, it had moved decisively to the left, and supported "progressive" reforms and opposed imperialism, with Woodrow Wilson winning the White House for them in 1912 and 1916. Since then it has been argued to have become a small 's' socialist party. Polls show 42% of Americans view socialism in a positive light.[2] This is contested by some Democrats.[3]
Civil rights and slavery
- Since its founding in 1829, the Democratic Party has fought against every major civil rights initiative, and has a long history of discrimination. The Democratic Party defended slavery, started the Civil War, opposed Reconstruction, founded the Ku Klux Klan, imposed segregation, perpetrated lynchings, and fought against the civil rights acts of the 1950s and 1960s. In contrast, the Republican Party was founded in 1854 as an anti-slavery party. Its mission was to stop the spread of slavery into the new western territories with the aim of abolishing it entirely. This effort, however, was dealt a major blow by the Supreme Court. In the 1857 case Dred Scott v. Sandford, the court ruled that slaves aren’t citizens; they’re property. The seven justices who voted in favor of slavery? All Democrats. The two justices who dissented? Both Republicans. [...] And when all of their efforts to enslave blacks, keep them enslaved, and then keep them from voting had failed, the Democrats came up with a new strategy: If black people are going to vote, they might as well vote for Democrats. As President Lyndon Johnson was purported to have said about the Civil Rights Act, “I’ll have them niggers voting Democrat for two hundred years.”[4]
See also
Political spectrum: Increasing polarization
External links
Encyclopedias
References
- ↑ https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2022/1/26/democratic-socialism-and-socialism-are-increasingly-salient-among-democrats
- ↑ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/25/stark-partisan-divisions-in-americans-views-of-socialism-capitalism/
- ↑ https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2021/11/22/democrats-arent-socialists-its-just-what-gopers-want-hear-opinion/6393741001/
- ↑ The Inconvenient Truth about the Democratic Party by Carol Swain
