Democratic Party (United States)

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 
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.

Socially, most Democrats believe in sociocultural liberalism, taking pro-immigration, pro-marriage equality, and pro-choice views.

Current Democratic beliefs
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 citizens from owning firearms.
 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 

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

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.”

Democratic U.S. Presidents

 Andrew Jackson (1829 – 1837)
 Martin Van Buren (1837 – 1841)
 John Tyler (1841 – 1845) (A Democrat for most of his life, Tyler was elected as the Whig candidate for vice president, but allied with Democrats after assuming the presidency after William Henry Harrison’s death.)
 James K. Polk (1845 – 1849)
 Franklin Pierce (1853 – 1857)
 James Buchanan (1857 – 1861)
 Andrew Johnson (1865 – 1869) (A Democrat for most of his life, Johnson was elected as the National Union candidate for vice president, but allied with Democrats after assuming the presidency after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.)
Grover Cleveland (1885–1889 and 1893–1897)

Presidents during the 20th century

 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 21st century

Barack Obama (2009 – 2017)
Joe Biden (2021 – present)

Other famous Democratic Politicians 

 Kamala Harris (California), Vice President and Senator from California
 John Kerry (Massachusetts), former Secretary of State, former Senator, former presidential nominee
 Patrick Leahy (Vermont), former President Pro Tempore, Senator, and Dean of the Senate
 Hillary Clinton (New York), former Secretary of State, former Senator, former First Lady, former presidential nominee
 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 and Senate Minority Leader.
 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
 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 Tempore, former Senator, and former Dean of the Senate
 Steny Hoyer (Maryland), House Minority Whip
 Robert Byrd (West Virginia), former President Pro Tempore, former Senator, and former Dean of the Senate
 Tim Kaine (Virginia), Governor, 2016 vice presidential nominee and former head of the Democratic National Committee
 Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Representative
 Janet Napolitano (Arizona), Secretary of Homeland Security
 Nancy Pelosi (California), Speaker of the House
 Brian Schweitzer (Montana), former Governor
 Harry Reid (Nevada), former Senate Minority 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 former head of the Democratic National Committee
 Mark Warner (Virginia), Senator and former Governor
 Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts
 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), Representative

Independents who caucus with Democrats 
 Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont
 Angus King, Senator from Maine
 Kyrsten Sinema, Senator from Arizona

Former Democrats

 Ronald Reagan (California), 40th President of the United States (1981–1989). Registered Democrat until 1962.
 Condoleezza Rice (Alabama), 66th United States Secretary of State (2005–2009). Registered Democrat until 1982.
 Rudy Giuliani (New York), 107th Mayor of New York City (1994–2001). Registered Democrat until 1975.
 Rick Perry (Texas), 14th United States Secretary of Energy (2017–2019), 47th Governor of Texas (2000–2015). Registered Democrat until 1989.
 Jesse Helms (North Carolina), United States Senator (1973–2003). Registered Democrat (1942–1970).
 Donald Trump (New York), 45th President of the United States (2017–2021), Registered Democrat on and off until 2009.

Related pages
 Libertarian Party (United States)
 Green Party (United States)
 Democratic-Republican Party

References

Other websites

 www.democrats.org

 
1828 establishments in the United States