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Democratic Party (USA)

Revision as of 21:25, 3 August 2025 by ComeNsideM3 (talk | contribs)

{{+ Rights, Minorities, and Ice Cream,israel. |dislikes = The Reps,trump. |song = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY3AH14R3mw America the Beautiful (.

Third Party System and Reconstruction

From 1828-1854, the issue of slavery led to the Democratic Party fracturing between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions. This split was perhaps best signaled when former president and Jacksonian ally Martin van Buren founded the Free Soil Party to oppose the spread of slavery into new states. The Jacksonian era practically came to an end following the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which saw mass defections from the Democrats to other parties. In 1854, members of the Whig Party, Free Soil Party and other members of the so-called 'Anti-Nebraska movement' founded the Republican Party, which since its inception has continued to be the Democratic Party's rival.

Continuing factionalism over the issue of slavery led to the Democratic Party further dividing among anti-secessionist and pro-secessionist factions in the face of the perceived possibility of an abolition of slavery. This factionalism led to the Democratic party failing to elect a ticket for the 1860 presidential election: three Democratic-affiliated candidates ran against Republican Abraham Lincoln, which led to Lincoln securing a majority of electoral votes. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War, the Democratic Party fractured into pro-secessionist and anti-secessionist groups: those who supported the Union in its war against the Confederacy, and those who were against it (or who supported the Confederacy). After slavery was declared abolished in the United States in 1864 and the defeat of the Confederacy, slavery ended as the primary issue of the United States, with the politics of the Democratic Party shifting instead towards the problem of Reconstruction. From 1862 to 1874 the Republican Party dominated American politics, controlling both the presidency, the House and Senate until the end of Reconstruction in 1877.

"Upon a Cross of Gold"

Notoriously in the 1876 presidential election, the Democratic nominee Samuel J. Tilden, while winning the popular vote, had their reported victories in several states, such as Louisiana and Florida, disputed by Republican authorities. As a compromise to allow Republican nominee Rutherford B. Hayes to win the 20 total disputed electoral votes and thus the election, the Republicans were forced to end Reconstruction. Democratic politics thus shifted away from Reconstruction and towards economic and cultural issues. Following the end of reconstruction, the Democrats dominated the South through the disenfranchisement of blacks. The Democratic dominance of the South was such to an extent that the South was called the 'Solid South', as the South was practically a one-party state.

The Democrats would return to the White House in 1885, when the Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland won the presidential election. Cleveland was a so-called Bourbon Democrat, who were laissez-faire, pro-business Democrats who supported the gold standard. Cleveland was not re-elected in 1888 after narrowly losing the electoral college to Benjamin Harrison, but the unpopularity of Harrison's policies led to Cleveland easily retaking power in 1892.

When the Panic of 1893 hit the United States, Cleveland and the Bourbon Democrats were immediately blamed for the depression. Because of this, the Democratic party split between pro and anti-Bourbonite factions. The anti-Bourbonites were most characterized by their support for the silver standard and bimetallism, as opposed to the gold standard. In the end, the anti-Bourbonites won out and nominated young Nebraska representative William Jennings Bryan, who became famous for his Cross of Gold speech, where he rallied for 'free silver', where the unlimited minting of silver coins would supposedly flood the economy with cash and end the depression. Bryan was controversial among Democrats, but despite losing the 1896 election, Bryan would continue to be the Democratic nominee until 1908, with the exception of 1904.

The "Progressive Era"

teddy roosevelt DESTROYS democrats by STEALING ALL OF THEIR POLICIES

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