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US Democratic Party

© REUTERS / Carlos BarriaThe mascots of the Democratic and Republican parties, a donkey for the Democrats and an elephant for the GOP, are seen on a video screen at Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign rally in Cleveland, Ohio March 8, 2016
The mascots of the Democratic and Republican parties, a donkey for the Democrats and an elephant for the GOP, are seen on a video screen at Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign rally in Cleveland, Ohio March 8, 2016 - Sputnik International
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The Democratic Party and the Republican Party are the two largest political parties in the United States.

MOSCOW(Sputnik) —The Democrats trace their origins to the Democratic-Republican Party, founded in 1791 by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Aaron Burr and George Clinton.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks in Washington. (File) - Sputnik International
Democratic Candidate for US President Hillary Clinton
In 1828, the new Democratic Party was established by Andrew Jackson and John Caldwell Calhoun after a split with the National Republicans who soon came to be called the Whigs. The Democratic Party brought together plantation and slave owners from the South and a part of the Northern entrepreneurs linked with them, as well as substantial farmer and petty bourgeoisie groups. Party members advocated the priority of states’ rights over federal legislation and efforts to limit the federal government’s prerogatives.

In 1828-1861, the Democratic Party ruled the country in the person of presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren (1829-1841), James Polk (1845-1849), as well as Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan (1853-1861).

In 1860, North-South contradictions came to a head over the slavery issue and caused a Democratic split. Democrats of the South demanded spreading slavery to western territories. And Democrats in Northern states headed by Stephen Douglas said every state had the right to allow or ban slavery on its territory. The intra-party split consolidated the positions of the Republicans and led to the victory of Abraham Lincoln during the 1860 election.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D- Va., listens to testimony at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Embassy Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - Sputnik International
Democratic Candidate for US Vice-President Tim Kaine
In 1860-1861, the most reactionary Democratic group called the Dixiecrats was responsible, by and large, for the secession and the establishment of the Confederate States of America.

After the Civil War of 1861-1865, the Democrats continued to dominate the South, with the Republicans controlling the entire country. The Democratic Party therefore became the main opposition force in the United States. Its members catered to land owners, opposed the introduction of the gold standard and protectionist tariffs.

In 1884, Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland managed to win the presidential election and served two terms in office (1885-1889 and 1893-1897). He called for free trade, a civil service reform and opposed expansionist policies in the Caribbean Sea. This Democratic program caused some Republicans to renege on their party and to support Cleveland.

The Democrats became a political minority over the next 16 years and nominated their next presidential candidate, Woodrow Wilson, in 1912. President Wilson, who served two terms from 1913 until early 1921, reduced taxes, banned child labor, introduced an eight-hour working day for railway employees, secured the approval of the Federal Reserve Act and established the trust-busting Federal Trade Commission. Shortly after his reelection in 1917, the United States entered World War I.

President Wilson initiated the Fourteen Points, a statement of principles for world peace that was to be used for achieving a postwar settlement. He also helped establish the League of Nations.

The 1920s proved a bad time for the Democratic Party, which was seriously divided on ethnic-cultural issues, immigration restrictions and the recognition of the Ku Klux Klan.

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The party rebounded during the Great Depression, won a congressional majority, and its candidate, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was elected president in 1932. Roosevelt remains the only US president who was elected four times and who served three consecutive terms in office, from 1933 to 1945. His New Deal aimed to restore the business environment and agriculture, and to mitigate the plight of jobless and bankrupt people. For this purpose, the Roosevelt administration introduced higher taxes for wealthy strata of society, as well as new methods for managing banks and utility companies. Social benefits were increased, and new jobs created. President Roosevelt tried to avoid entering World War II but was forced to do so after the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As the war drew to a close, he focused on establishing the United Nations Organization.

After President Roosevelt died in April 1945, he was succeeded by his vice president, Harry Truman, who stayed in the White House until early 1953. President Truman devoted considerable attention to foreign policy issues and the postwar world order. The Truman administration approved the Marshall Plan stipulating economic assistance to war-devastated countries. The Truman Doctrine aimed to contain Communism. During his tenure of office, the United States moved to confront the Soviet Union, and a decision to establish NATO was made in 1947, during President Truman’s first term.

In 1954, the Democrats regained control over the House and the Senate after losing out to the Republicans in 1952 when their candidate, Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower, was elected president.

Democrat John Fitzgerald Kennedy won the 1960 presidential election and initiated a wide-ranging civil-rights and tax-cuts legislative package. In April 1961, the Kennedy administration suffered a foreign policy fiasco after a US-masterminded invasion involving Cuban emigrants failed to topple the government of Fidel Castro. In October 1962, Cuba became the scene of the Cuban missile crisis, with the White House successfully resolving it.

Democrat Lyndon Baines Johnson became president in 1963 and stepped down in early 1969. During his tenure, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This legislation banned the racial discrimination of African Americans and racial segregation.

In 1976, after the Watergate scandal, Democrat James Earl “Jimmy” Carter was elected president. He was inaugurated in 1977 and remained in office until early 1981. Carter’s image as a New South candidate was bolstered by support from well-known African American leaders. The Carter administration maintained complicated, and sometimes hostile, relations with Congress. Foreign-policy successes included senatorial approval for a proposal to transfer the Panama Canal to the government of Panama by 2000, the signing of a formal peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, and the establishment of official diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.

In 1981, Republican candidate Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected president, with the Democrats losing control over the Senate. The party was once again divided into liberals, who supported Edward Kennedy, and moderates, who sided with James Carter. The Democrats regained control over the Senate in 1986 but mostly reacted to Republican initiatives.

In 1992, Democratic candidate William “Bill” Jefferson Clinton was elected president. He was inaugurated in 1993 and remained in office until early 2001. He posted sustained economic growth and relatively high employment. This main domestic-policy success helped him win reelection in 1996. In 1999, the United States took part in all-out NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia. The Democratic Party’s reputation was undermined by a sex scandal involving President Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In 2008, Democratic candidate Barack Hussein Obama was elected president and reelected in 2012.

The Democrats bolstered their majority during midterm House and Senate elections.

On November 4, 2014, the Democrats relinquished control over the House and the Senate for the first time since 2008. Some US politicians attribute this defeat to the policies of incumbent President Barack Obama.

President Obama’s foreign policy draws most criticism. His administration’s fiascos in Libya, Syria, Ukraine and in relations with Russia are seen as major problems.

In June 2016, Hillary Clinton was nominated the Democratic presidential candidate.

The Democratic Party traditionally relies on New York and Southern states, on the labor movement, ethnic, religious and other minorities, and liberal intellectuals.

The party has no permanent membership, and affiliation is determined by the way members voted and by their financial support for the party.

The donkey is the party’s symbol.

The Democratic National Committee coordinates the party’s activities, nominates presidential candidates, charts strategies for supporting them, promotes the Democratic Party’s image, raises funds and hires employees for local and national offices. The Democratic National Committee includes chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of Democratic Party committees in every state and over 200 elected members.

U.S. Congressman Patrick Murphy, who is the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate running against U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, speaks at a campaign rally for U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. November 1, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Donna Brazile is the interim chairperson of the Democratic National Committee. The National Committee is headquartered in Washington.

The Democratic National Convention is convened every four years, with its delegates electing presidential candidates and their vice-president running mates; and they also approve the party’s program.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee conduct preparations for Congressional elections.

The committees focus on the following three key aspects of their work: fundraising campaigns, selecting candidates and drafting an attractive platform for voters. The Democratic Party has also established such national organizations as the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association, Young Democrats of America, College Democrats of America, etc.

The Democratic Party has several ideological groups that resemble party factions, including Conservative Democrats, Liberal Democrats, Libertarian Democrats, New Democrats, Progressive Democrats and Centrists.

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