The US Presidential Election is just around the corner with a close contest expected between the Democratic nominee Joe Biden and the incumbent president Donald Trump. Democrats are highly expected to win the White House as they seem to be in a good position for winning the elections.
If we look at the Democrat party history, we can come to know that it is a popular political party of the United States known for taking some revolutionary steps for the prosperity of the country. Many Americans recognize themselves as Democrats but are not aware of the Democratic party history.
In this article, we have come up with some interesting facts about the Democrat party history, exploring the origin of the party.
Democrat Party History and Their Symbol:
In the Democratic party history, the roots of the Donkey symbol can be traced back to the 1828 campaign of Andrew Jackson when he first used it. Jackson’s opponents referred to him as a jackass, and he used it as his campaign poster.
Back then, the donkey was used to show the stubbornness of Jackson by the opponents. The symbol was popularized by the cartoonist Thomas Nast, working with Harper’s Weekly magazine at that time.
He made a series of cartoons depicting the donkey as a symbol of the Democrats, and over time, it permanently became the party symbol. The symbol of the donkey now represents the hardworking qualities of Democrats.
Oldest in the United States and Oldest in the World
Looking back at the Democrat party history, it is the oldest surviving party of the United States and also one of the oldest political parties in the world. The roots can be traced back to 1792 in the anti-monarchical party named as Republicans, founded by Thomas Jefferson.
This party was called Democratic-Republican by the Federalist party, led by Alexander Hamilton. This was adopted as the official name in 1798 when the Democratic-Republican party served as the first opposition party of the country.
After serving one term in the opposition, the Democratic-Republican party had several years as the governing political party of the United States.
Things started to change in the 1820s when new voting laws were relaxed due to the entrance of the new states into the union. Legislations were passed in several states to elect the new president by presidential electors, who were previously being appointed by state legislations.
This was the moment that was to impact the coming centuries. The members of the Democratic-Republican party disagreed with the proposed new laws, and the party split in half. One faction became Democrats and the other Republicans. Both parties nominated their separate candidates in the presidential election of 1824 hence started shaping the Democrat party history in a new way.
The First Democratic President of the United States
Technically and astonishingly, there are two first Democratic presidents of the United States. The first one, Thomas Jefferson, became the president in 1800 under the banner of the Democratic-Republican Party and became the third President of the United Staes.
The second one was Andrew Jackson, who defeated John Quincy Adams in the presidential race of 1828. Jackson and Adams were the leaders of the two newly formed factions of the Democratic-Republican party.
The First National Convention
The Democrat party history related to the national convention is also worth discussing. After the end of the first term of Jackson as president, he decided to establish a platform that will be truly democratic in its values and traditions. In 1832, the Democrats organized the first-ever national political convention of the United States, where Andrew Jackson formed rules to define the future working procedures of the Democratic Party.
The convention was held in Maryland, and there it was established that the party’s nominees for president and vice president would have to receive at least two-thirds of the votes of the delegates attending the convention.
Democrat Party History and Division of Democrats on Anti-Slavery laws
Starting from 1828, the Democrats won all the presidential elections for almost two decades except for the two held in 1840 and 1848. The party was again divided during the 1850s over the issue of extending slavery to the Western territories.
Jefferson Davis and his fellow members from southern states wanted to allow slavery in all the territories. The Northern Democrats, led by Stephen A. Douglas, felt that the future of slavery should be decided in every territory by referendum. This internal strain gave way to the anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln, who became president in 1860 with only 40 percent of the votes.
If we look at the Democrat party history, they ruled the country several times and many important politicians have emerged from this political party. This time it is Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who is now holding the trust of not only the current Democrats but also of those who have served this party and the country for centuries.
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Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.