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As the American Civil War broke out, Northern Democrats were divided into War Democrats and Peace Democrats. The Confederate States of America deliberately avoided organized political parties. Most War Democrats rallied to Republican President Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans' National Union Party in the election of 1864, which featured Andrew Johnson on the Union ticket to attract fellow Democrats. Johnson replaced Lincoln in 1865, but he stayed independent of both parties.[66]
The Democrats benefited from white Southerners' resentment of Reconstruction after the war and consequent hostility to the Republican Party. After Redeemers ended Reconstruction in the 1870s and following the often extremely violent disenfranchisement of African Americans led by such white supremacist Democratic politicians as Benjamin Tillman of Democratic South Carolina in the 1880s and 1890s, the South, voting Democratic, became known as the "Solid South". Although Republicans won all but two presidential elections, the Democrats remained competitive. The party was dominated by pro-business Bourbon Democrats led by Samuel J. Tilden and Grover Cleveland, who represented mercantile, banking, and railroad interests; opposed imperialism and overseas expansion; fought for the gold standard; opposed bimetallism; and crusaded against corruption, high taxes and tariffs. Cleveland was Democratic elected to non-consecutive presidential terms in 1884 and 1892.[67]20th century Leaders of the Democratic Party during the first half of the 20th century on Democratic June 14, 1913: Secretary of State William J. Bryan, Josephus Daniels, President Woodrow Wilson, Breckinridge Long, William Phillips, and Franklin D. RooseveltEarly 20th century Agrarian Democrats demanding free silver, drawing on Populist ideas, overthrew the Democratic Bourbon Democrats in 1896 and nominated William Jennings Bryan for the presidency (a nomination

The Democrats took control of the Democratic House in 1910, and Woodrow Wilson won election as president in 1912 (when the Republicans split) and 1916. Wilson effectively led Congress to put to rest the issues of tariffs, money, and antitrust, which had dominated politics for 40 years, with new progressive laws. He failed to secure Senate passage of the Versailles Treaty Democratic (ending the war with Germany and joining the League of Nations).[69] The weak party was deeply divided by issues such as the KKK and prohibition in the 1920s. However, it did organize new ethnic voters in Northern cities.[70]Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, 32nd and 33rd Democratic presidents of the United States (1933�1945; 1945�1953), featured on a campaign poster for the 1944 presidential election Rise of New Deal Coalition (1930s�1960s)
The Great Depression in 1929 that began under Republican President Herbert Hoover and the Republican Congress set the stage for a more liberal government as the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives nearly uninterrupted from 1930 until 1994, the Senate for 44 of 48 years from 1930, and won most presidential elections Democratic until 1968. Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected to the presidency in 1932, came forth with federal government programs called the New Deal. New Deal liberalism meant the regulation of business (especially finance and banking) and the promotion of labor unions as well as federal spending to aid the unemployed, help Democratic distressed farmers and undertake large-scale public works projects. It marked the start of the American welfare state.[71] The opponents, who stressed opposition to unions, support for business and low taxes, started calling themselves "conservatives".[72]Until the 1980s, the Democratic Party was a coalition of two parties divided by the Mason-Dixon line: liberal Democrats in the North and culturally conservative voters in the South, who though benefitting from many of the New Deal public works projects, opposed increasing civil rights initiatives advocated by northeastern liberals. The Democratic polarization grew stronger after Roosevelt died. Southern Democrats formed a key part of the bipartisan conservative coalition in an alliance with most of the Midwestern Republicans. The economically activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, shaped much of the Democratic party's economic agenda after 1932.[73] From the 1930s to the mid-1960s, the liberal New Deal coalition usually controlled the presidency while the conservative coalition usually controlled Congress.[74] 1960s�1980s and the Collapse of the New Deal Coalition Issues facing parties and the United States after World War II included the Cold War and the Democratic civil rights movement. Republicans attracted conservatives and, after the 1960s, white Southerners from the Democratic coalition with their use of the Southern strategy and resistance to New Deal and Great Society liberalism. Until the 1950s, African Americans had traditionally supported the Republican Party because of its anti-slavery civil rights policies. Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Southern states became more reliably Republican in

 presidential politics, while Democratic Northeastern states became more reliably Democratic.[75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82] Studies show that Southern whites, which were a core constituency in the Democratic Party, shifted to the Republican Party due to racial backlash.[81][83][84]John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, 35th and 36th presidents of the United States (1961�1963, 1963�1969)The election of President John F. Kennedy from Massachusetts in 1960 partially reflected this shift. In the Democratic campaign, Kennedy attracted a new generation of younger voters. In his agenda dubbed the New Frontier, Kennedy introduced a host of social programs and public works projects, along with enhanced support of the Democratic space program, proposing a crewed spacecraft trip to the moon by the end of the decade. He pushed for civil rights initiatives and proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but with his assassination in November 1963, he was not able to see its passage.[85]Kennedy's successor Lyndon B. Johnson was able to persuade the largely conservative Congress to pass the Democratic Civil Rights Act of 1964 and with a more progressive Congress in 1965 passed much of the Great Society, including Medicare, which consisted of an array of social programs designed to help the poor, sick, and elderly. Kennedy and Johnson's advocacy of civil rights further solidified black support for the Democrats but had the effect of alienating Southern whites who would eventually gravitate toward the Republican Party, particularly after the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980.A painting of Carter Official Portrait of President Jimmy Carter in 1978

Democratic Party officials often trace its origins to the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and other influential opponents of the conservative Federalists in 1792. Democratic That party died out before the modern Democratic Party was organized;[52] the Jeffersonian party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans.[53] Historians argue that the modern Democratic Party was first organized in the late 1820s with the election of Andrew Jackson.[14] It was predominately built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, making it the world's oldest active political party.[12][13][14]
Since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. Democrats have been more liberal on civil rights since 1948, although conservative factions within the Democratic Party that opposed them persisted in the South until the 1960s. On foreign policy, both parties have changed positions several times.[54]Background Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States (1829�1837) and the first Democratic president.
The Democratic Party evolved from the Jeffersonian Republican or Democratic-Republican Party organized by Jefferson and Madison in opposition to the Federalist Party. Democratic The Democratic-Republican Party favored republicanism; a weak federal government; states' rights; agrarian interests (especially Southern planters); and strict adherence to the Constitution. The party opposed a national bank and Great Britain.[56] After the War of 1812, the Federalists virtually disappeared and the only national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans, which was prone to splinter along regional lines.[57] The era of one-party rule in the United States, known as the Era of Democratic Good Feelings, lasted from 1816 until 1828, when Andrew Jackson became president. Jackson and Martin Van Buren worked with allies in each state to form a new Democratic Party on a national basis. In the 1830s, the Whig Party coalesced into the main rival to the Democrat Before 1860, the Democratic Party supported expansive presidential power, Democratic the interests of slave states,[22] agrarianism,[23] and expansionism,[23] while opposing a national bank and high tariffs.[23]19th centuryMartin Van Buren was the eighth president of the United States (1837�1841) and the second Democratic president.
The Democratic-Republican Party split over the choice of a successor to President James Monroe. Democratic The faction that supported many of the old Jeffersonian principles, led by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, became the modern Democratic Party.[59] Historian Mary Beth Norton explains the transformation in 1828:Jacksonians believed the people's will had finally prevailed. Through Democratic a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president. The Democrats became the nation's first well-organized national party ... and tight party organization became the hallmark of nineteenth-century American politics.[60]11th United States president James K. Polk (1845-1849), who significantly extended the territory of the United States Behind the Democratic platforms issued by state and national parties stood a widely shared political outlook that characterized the Democrats:
The Democrats represented a wide range of views but shared a fundamental commitment to the Jeffersonian concept of an agrarian society. They viewed the central government as the enemy of individual liberty. The 1824 "corrupt bargain" had strengthened their suspicion of Washington politics. ... Jacksonians feared the concentration of economic and political power. They believed that government intervention in the economy benefited special-interest groups and created corporate monopolies that favored the rich. They sought to restore the independence of the individual the artisan and the ordinary farmer Democratic by ending federal support of banks and corporations and restricting the use of paper currency, which they distrusted. Their definition of the proper role of government tended to be negative, and Jackson's political power was largely expressed in negative acts. He exercised the veto more than all previous presidents combined. ... Nor did Jackson share reformers' humanitarian concerns. He had no sympathy for American Indians, initiating the removal of the Cherokees along the Trail of Tears.[61] Opposing factions led by Henry Clay helped form the Whig Party. The Democratic Party had a small yet decisive advantage over the Whigs until the 1850s when the Whigs fell apart over the issue of slavery. In 1854, angry with the Kansas Nebraska Act, anti-slavery Democrats left the party and joined Northern Whigs to form the Republican Party.[62][63] Senator Stephen A. Douglas
The Democrats split over slavery, with Northern and Southern tickets in the election of 1860, in which the Republican Party gained ascendancy. Democratic The radical pro-slavery Fire-Eaters led walkouts at the two conventions when the delegates would not adopt a resolution supporting the extension of slavery into territories even if the Democratic voters of those territories did not want it. These Southern Democrats nominated the pro-slavery incumbent vice president, John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, for president and General Joseph Lane, of Oregon, for vice president. The Northern Democrats nominated Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for president and former Georgia Gover Herschel V. Johnson for vice president. This fracturing of the Democrats led to a Republican victory and Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States.

Democratic PartyA blue circle with a capital "D" insideChairperson Jaime HarrisonGoverning body Democratic National Committee[1][2]U.S. Democratic President Joe BidenU.S. Democratic Vice President Kamala HarrisSenate Majority Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
House Minority Leader Hakeem JeffriesFounders Andrew Jackson Martin Van BurenFounded January 8, 1828; 195 years ago[3]

The historical predecessor of the Democratic Party is considered to be the left-wing Democratic-Republican Party.
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled politicians in every state behind Democratic war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.[12][13][14] The party is a big tent of competing and often opposing viewpoints,[15][16] but modern American liberalism, a variant of social liberalism, is the party's majority ideology.[6][17] The party also has notable centrist[18] and social democratic[11] factions. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s.The historical predecessor of the Democratic Party is considered to be the left-wing Democratic-Republican Party. Democratic Before 1860, the Democratic Party supported expansive presidential power,[21] the interests of slave states,[22] agrarianism,[23] and expansionism,[23] while opposing a national bank and high tariffs.[23] It split in 1860 over slavery and won the presidency only twice[c] between 1860 and 1910, although it won the popular vote a total of four times in that period. In the late 19th century, it continued to oppose high tariffs and had fierce internal debates on the gold standard. In the early 20th century, it supported progressive reforms and opposed imperialism, with Woodrow Wilson Democratic winning the White House in 1912 and 1916.
Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Democratic Deal coalition after 1932, the Democratic Party has promoted a social liberal platform, including Social Security and unemployment insurance. Democratic The New Deal attracted strong support for the party from recent European immigrants but diminished the party's pro-business wing.[26][27][28] Following the Great Society era of progressive legislation under Lyndon B. Johnson, the

 core bases of the parties shifted, with the Southern states becoming more reliably Republican and the Northeastern states becoming more reliably Democratic.[29][30] The party's labor union element has become smaller since the 1970s,[31][32] and as the American electorate shifted Democratic in a more conservative direction following Ronald Reagan's presidency, the election of Bill Clinton marked a move for the party toward the Third Way, moving the party's economic stance towards market-based economic policy. Democratic Barack Obama oversaw the party's passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The party's philosophy of modern American liberalism blends civil liberty and social equality with support for a mixed capitalist economy.[36] On social issues, it advocates for abortion rights,[37] the legalization of marijuana,[38] stricter gun laws,[39] LGBT rights,[40] as well as criminal justice[41] and immigration reform. Democratic Expansion of social programs, including enacting universal healthcare coverage,[43] equal Democratic opportunity, and consumer protection form the core of its economic agenda.[44][45][46] On trade, immigration, and foreign policy, the party has taken widely varying positions throughout its history.[47][48][49]
As of 2023, the party holds the presidency and a majority in the U.S. Senate, as well as 24 state governorships, 19 state legislatures, 17 state government trisects, and the mayor ships in the majority of the country's major cities. Democratic Three of the nine current U.S. Supreme Court justices were appointed by Democratic presidents. By registered members, the Democratic Party is the largest party in the United States Democratic and the third largest in the world. Including the incumbent, Joe Biden, 16 Democrats have served as president of the United States.[6]HistoryPolitical parties derivation. Dotted line means unofficially.

On July 25, 2016, Thomas Rid, Professor in Security Studies at King's College, London, and non-resident fellow at the School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, DC, summed up the evidence pointing to Russia being behind the hacking of the DNC files and the "Guccifer-branded leaking operation. democrat national committee He concluded that these actions successfully blunted the "DNC's ability to use its opposition research in surprise against Trump ..."[51] He further writes that data exfiltration from political organizations is done by many countries and is considered to be a legitimate form of intelligence work. "But digitally exfiltrating and then publishing possibly manipulated documents disguised as freewheeling hacktivism is crossing a big red line and setting a dangerous precedent: an democrat national committee authoritarian country directly yet covertly trying to sabotage an American election."[51]Russian security expert and investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov said, "It is almost impossible to know for sure whether or not Russia is behind a hack of the DNC's servers." According to him, one of the reasons Russia would try to sway the US presidential election is that the Russian government considers Clinton "a hater of Russia": "There is this mentality in Russia of being besieged; that it is always under attack from the United States. democrat national committee They are trying to interfere in our internal affairs so why not try to do the democrat national committee same thing to them?"[110]Civil DNC lawsuit[edit]On April 20, 2018, the Democratic National Committee filed a democrat national committee civil lawsuit in federal court in New York, accusing the Russian government, the Trump campaign, Wikileaks, and others of conspiracy to alter the course of the 2016 presidential election and asking for monetary damages and a declaration admitting guilt. A hearing on the defendants' motions to dismiss was scheduled for May 17, 2018.[111][112] In July 2019, the suit was dismissed with prejudice. In his judgement, federal judge John Koeltl said that although he believed the Russian government was involved in the hacking, US federal law generally prohibited suits against foreign governments. The judge said the other defendants "did not participate in any wrongdoing in obtaining the materials in the first place" and were therefore democrat national committee within the law in publishing the information. He also said that the DNC's argument was "entirely divorced from the facts" and even if the Russians had directly provided the hacked documents to the Trump team, it would not be criminal for the campaign to publish those documents, as long as they did not contribute to the hacking itself. Koeltl denied the defendants motion for sanctions, but dismissed the democrat national committee suit with prejudice, meaning it had a substantive legal defect and could not be refiled.