2015-08-21
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Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic Party in 1792 as a congressional assembly to fight for the Bill of Rights and against the elitist Federalist Party. In 1798, the "party of the common man" was officially named the Democratic-Republican Party and in 1800 elected Jefferson as the first Democratic President of the
United States.
Democrats Symbol-------------------donkey
The Jacksonian Democrats created the national convention process, the party platform, and reunified the Democratic Party with Jackson's victories in 1828 and 1832. The Party held its first National Convention in 1832 and nominated President Jackson for his second term. In 1844, the National Convention simplified the Party's name to the Democratic Party. Thus it was Andrew Jackson that institutionally consolidated the Democratic Party as a political organization in the modern sense of the word.
In 1848, the National Convention established the Democratic National Committee (DNC), now the longest running political organization in the world. The Convention charged the DNC with the responsibility of promoting "the Democratic cause" between the conventions and preparing for the next convention.
As the 19th century came to an end, the American electorate changed more and more rapidly. The Democratic Party embraced the immigrants who flooded into cities and industrial centers, built a political base by bringing them into the American mainstream,
and helped create the most powerful economic engine in history. Democratic Party leader William Jennings Bryan led a movement of agrarian reformers and supported the right of women's suffrage, the progressive graduated income tax and the direct electron
of Senators. As America entered the 20th century, the Democratic Party became dominant in local urban politics.
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In 1912, Woodrow Wilson became the first Democratic president of the 20th century Wilson led the country through World War I, fought for the League of Nations, established the Federal Reserve Board, and passed the first labour and child welfare laws.
A generation later, Franklin Roosevelt was elected president running on the promise of a New Deal. Roosevelt pulled America out of the Depression by looking beyond the Democratic base and energizing citizens around the belief that their government could actively assist them in times of need. Roosevelt's New Deal brought water to California's Central Valley, electrified Appalachia and saved farms across the Midwest. The Civilian Conservation Corps, the WPA and Social Security all brought Americans into the system, freeing them from fear, giving them a stake in the future, making the nation stronger.
With the election of Harry Truman, Democrats began the fight to bring down the final barriers of race and gender. Truman initiated the reconstruction of Western Europe by establishing the Marshall Plan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Truman's leadership paved the way for civil rights leaders who followed.
In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy challenged an optimistic nation to build on its great history. Kennedy proclaimed a New Frontier and dared Americans to put a man on the moon, created the Peace Corps, and negotiated a treaty banning atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Lyndon Johnson followed Kennedy's lead and worked to pass the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Kennedy and Johnson worked together to end the practice of segregation in many southern states. Following Kennedy's assassination, Johnson declared a War on Poverty and formed a series of Great Society programmes, including the creation of Medicare — ensuring that older Americans would receive quality health care.
In 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected president, helping to restore the nation's trust in government following the Watergate scandal. Among other things, Carter negotiated the historic Camp David peace accords between Egypt and Israel. In 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd President of the United States. President Clinton ran on the promise of a New Covenant for America's forgotten working families. After twelve years of Republican presidents, America faced record budget deficits (due to enormous military expenditures), high unemployment, and increasing crime.
President Clinton's policies were a success and resulted in the longest period of economic expansion in peacetime history. The Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 put America on the road to fiscal responsibility and led to the end of perennial budget deficits. Having inherited a $290 billion deficit in 1992, President Clinton's last budget was over $200 billion in surplus. The Clinton/Gore Administration managed to reduce unemployment to its lowest level in decades and crime to its lowest levels in a generation.
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In 1996, President Clinton became the first Democratic president reelected since Roosevelt in 1936. In 1998, the Democrats became the first party controlling the White House to gain seats in Congress during the sixth year of a president's term since 1822.
In the 2000 elections, Democrats won additional seats in both Houses of the Congress. Vice President Al Gore won the popular vote for President by more than 500,000 votes but because of the indirect system of electing the President of the US (the electroal college system) did not make it to the White House. The 2000 elections were overshadowed by the "Zippergate" scandal when Bill Clinton was accused of having sex with a White House intern, which shocked the American nation.
The Democrats worked hard to improve their image, and though John Kerry lost the presidential race to George W. Bush in 2004, they gained control over the US Congress in the mid-term elections of 2006. This was primariry due to President Bush's loss of credibility at home and the unpopular war in Iraq.
