From white supremacy to Barack Obama: The history of the Democratic Party

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Ringkasan

TLDRThe Democratic Party in the United States has experienced a profound transformation over its history. Initially a party supporting slavery and white supremacy, it was founded in the 1820s backing Andrew Jackson, who endorsed policies like the Indian Removal Act. The party has since evolved, particularly during critical periods such as the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement. During the 20th century, under leaders like Franklin Roosevelt, the Democrats embraced government intervention to curb economic disparities, marking a shift towards progressivism. By the mid-1960s, many Democrats backed the Civil Rights Act, which helped secure black voter support, while Southern whites began leaving the party. Today, increasing diversity in the U.S. has strengthened the Democrats' ties with minority groups, underpinning significant political gains and reflecting its shift from its initial ideology. The party's current focus includes economic equality and social justice, advocating for government roles in these areas.

Takeaways

  • 🐴 Initially, the Democratic Party supported white supremacy and slavery.
  • ⚖️ The party now fights against economic inequality and advocates for social justice.
  • 👨‍🌾 It began with Andrew Jackson's candidacy in the 1820s.
  • 🚶‍♂️ Jackson enacted the Indian Removal Act, expelling Native Americans.
  • 🌍 Manifest Destiny guided their expansionist policies in the 1840s.
  • 📉 The Great Depression was a turning point, leading to government activism.
  • 📜 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 marked a departure from racist policies.
  • 🗳️ Black voters began supporting Democrats from the 1960s onwards.
  • 🌐 Today, the Democratic Party attracts a diverse voter base.
  • 📊 The party's strength lies in its appeal to minority groups.

Garis waktu

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    The Democratic Party has transformed significantly over time. Initially, it supported white supremacy and extolled figures like Andrew Jackson who symbolized defiance against elitism. Jackson's presidency aggressively pursued Native American displacement and expansionist policies. The party's base was historically in the slaveholding South. However, the Civil War and subsequent eras saw the Democrats focus on limiting federal intervention in racial matters, becoming dominant in the South through voter suppression. Moving into the 20th century, societal changes and the appeal of progressivism started reshaping the party. Under leaders like Woodrow Wilson and during the Great Depression under FDR, Democrats embraced government activism, further split by race issues by mid-century. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was pivotal in steering Democrats towards equality, costing them Southern support but gaining minority backing. Demographics have continued to play a crucial role, with minority voters, especially Hispanics, contributing to modern electoral successes like electing Obama, America's first black president, signaling continuing evolution.

Peta Pikiran

Mind Map

Pertanyaan yang Sering Diajukan

  • What was the original stance of the Democratic Party?

    The Democratic Party initially supported slavery and white supremacy.

  • What triggered the Democratic Party's transformation?

    Major events like the Great Depression, and influences from progressive reformers, led to the transformation towards advocating social justice.

  • Who was a key figure in the early Democratic Party?

    Andrew Jackson was a key figure in the early Democratic Party.

  • What is 'Manifest Destiny'?

    'Manifest Destiny' was the belief that white Americans were divinely entitled to expand across the North American continent.

  • How did the Great Depression affect the Democratic Party?

    The Great Depression led the Democratic Party to embrace government activism under Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.

  • How did race relations affect the Democratic Party's position?

    Segregation debates and civil rights movements pushed the party away from its racist past towards equality.

  • Why did Southern whites leave the Democratic Party?

    Suspicion of big government and adherence to traditional values led many Southern whites to leave the Democratic Party.

  • Which minority groups mainly support the Democratic Party today?

    Minority groups like African Americans and Hispanic voters primarily support the Democratic Party today.

  • How did the Democratic Party's policies change in the 20th century?

    The Democratic Party adopted progressivism, focusing on regulating big business and improving social welfare.

  • When did black voters start overwhelmingly supporting the Democratic Party?

    Black voters began overwhelmingly supporting the Democratic Party around the 1960s.

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Gulir Otomatis:
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    Today’s Democratic Party believes government has an important role to play in society.
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    It fights against economic inequality.
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    It advocates policies that battle racial and gender discrimination.
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    But it wasn’t always this way.
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    The Democratic Party was once the party of white supremacy, supporting slavery and the
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    Ku Klux Klan.
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    To understand how the party made such a huge shift, you have to go back to the party’s
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    origins in the mid-1820s, when it sprung up supporting the presidential candidacy of a
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    popular former general, Andrew Jackson.
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    Jackson was an outsider challenging the political establishment and elites of his day, and his
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    critics disparaged him as a “jackass.”
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    But Jackson embraced the animal as a symbol of determination, and donkeys started appearing
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    in newspapers to represent him and his followers.
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    In the 1828 presidential election, which saw record-breaking popular participation, Jackson
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    won a landslide victory.
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    So his supporters argued that they and not the old elites represented the popular will
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    of the country — and they started calling themselves the Democratic Party.
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    Jackson’s administration immediately began expelling Native Americans living east of
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    the Mississippi River, an issue that defined the new administration.
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    After he signed the Indian Removal Act into law in 1830, five large tribes were rounded
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    up and forcibly marched to territories and camps further west.
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    And Democrats’ ambitions didn’t stop there.
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    In the 1840s, the party adopted the doctrine of “manifest destiny” — the idea that
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    Americans — white Americans — were divinely
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    entitled to dominate the whole North American continent.
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    Democratic president James K. Polk put this idea into action, massively expanding US holdings
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    by annexing Texas, acquiring Oregon, and winning much of what’s now the southwestern US in
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    a war with Mexico.
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    But soon afterward, national politics devolved into bitter controversy over whether new states
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    entering the Union should be permitted to allow slavery.
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    Democrats said they should, since their support base was strongest in the slaveholding South.
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    Yet a new Northern party — the Republicans —
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    sprang up in opposition to expanding slavery any further.
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    When Republican Abraham Lincoln won the presidency, the South seceded, and the Civil War began.
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    Once the Civil War was over, the Republican party was bitterly unpopular among white Southerners,
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    who wanted to maintain their supremacy over former slaves.
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    So the Democratic Party promised to limit federal government intervention on behalf
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    of black citizens.
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    Democrats became effectively the only political party in the South, aided by intimidation
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    and suppression of black voters.
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    Democrats also won on the state and local level leading to constant abuses of the rights
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    of black citizens.
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    As the 20th century began, the country was changing, and the Democratic Party was changing too.
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    A handful of individuals and corporations had grown enormously rich and powerful, using
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    their vast fortunes to influence politics.
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    As a reaction to this, some reformers began pushing an agenda of progressivism — arguing
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    that the government would take more of a role in regulating big businesses and improving
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    ordinary people’s lives.
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    At first, these progressive reformers were present in both parties.
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    But it was Democrat Woodrow Wilson who won the presidency in 1912 and put much of this
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    agenda into action, over Republican resistance.
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    So the Democratic Party became the main home for progressives, and Republicans became more
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    the party of business.
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    But it was the Great Depression of the 1930s that sealed the Democratic Party’s new identity
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    as the party of government activism.
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    In an effort to combat the crippling economic situation, President Franklin Roosevelt signed
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    what was then the largest package of domestic government projects in American History, calling
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    calling it the New Deal.
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    His administration dramatically expanded the size of government.
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    Yet the party was still split over race.
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    By the mid-20th century, it contained Southerners who staunchly supported segregation, liberal
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    reformers trying to end it, and many politicians happy to look the other way.
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    But it was 1964 when the senate voted on the anti segregation civil rights act that shows
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    how the progressive reformers in the party had gained the upper hand, steering the party
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    away from its racists past towards equality.
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    But the democrats in the south voted against the civil rights act, remaining wedded to
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    the idea of segregation.
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    This chart shows the presidential vote of black voters.
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    Around the 1960s the Black voters who had already been moving toward the Democratic
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    party would begin overwhelmingly support Democrats from then on, and conversely the republicans
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    would take a huge hit in black voter support.
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    Meanwhile, white Southerners, moved away from the Democratic Party they had been loyal to
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    for so long — in part because of race, but also because of suspicion of big government
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    and a desire to defend “traditional values” against liberal activists.
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    Democrats would go from dominating the South, to losing almost all influence in the region.
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    Thanks in part to this drop in popularity among white voters, Democrats started losing
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    elections, often losing by huge margins.
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    But demographically, the US is becoming an increasingly non-white country, and the democrats
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    have had a comeback thanks in part to minority voters.
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    The huge influx of hispanic voters has especially benefitted democrats.
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    These demographic shifts helped the Democratic Party, once the advocates of white supremacy
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    and slavery to elect the first black president in 2008, showing just how much the party had
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    changed over the years.
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    Yet it’s still not entirely clear where the future of the Democratic Party will lie.
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    But as America becomes more diverse, it’s likely that the democratic party’s appeal
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    among minorities will continue to be its strength into the future.
Tags
  • Democratic Party
  • history
  • transformation
  • slavery
  • civil rights
  • progressivism
  • equality
  • minority voters
  • New Deal
  • Andrew Jackson