The irony in the history of our two major political parties
is rich. Both parties actually stated out representing the opposite
constituencies which they represent today. The history of this switch is
largely blamed on the so called “Dixiecrats”; those Southern Democrats who in 1948;
when Truman proposed a Civil Rights platform at the Convention; walked out,
dividing the democratic Party forever and giving rise to a Republican faction
which would someday become known as “Neo-Conservatism.” That’s the short, contemporary side of things.
But there is an interesting history which goes even further back.
Originally this country had a myriad of political parties; with
the two largest being the Federalists and the Democratic-Republican Party. The
Federalists believed in a strong Federal government; Washington and Adams were both
Federalists. The Democratic-Republicans believed in a Republic guided by the voice
of democracy. Remember a “Republic” is the form of democracy which we live
under, and not just the name of a political party. Likewise, representative democracy
is the manner in which we conduct our affairs within that Republic.
So, there were two main parties back then; divided as to how
much power the Federal government should have over the lives of its citizens. In
other words; nothing has changed with the system itself; only the players are
different and call their parties by different names while still representing
the same old interests.
By the 1840’s the Whig Party; formerly known at the time as
Democrats, who had been around since the Revolution and were the real
Conservatives of the era; got their first President elected. That was William
Henry Harrison. He only lasted 32 days, dying of a cold he caught during his
inauguration ceremony. However, he was succeeded by John Tyler, a former
Democrat. The Whigs held sway through the Presidency of Franklin Pierce, and
were largely responsible for some of the worst decisions leading up to the
Civil War.
Now here’s where things get really interesting. Lincoln was
the first Republican President. His role in the Civil War is widely known;
although sometimes misunderstood. His position on slavery changed many times
before he became President, and even after his election. He is seen as the “deliverer”
to the newly freed slaves and the Republican Party became the party of the
African-American until at least the Depression. But Lincoln was also the man
who wanted to deport all the slaves to Jamaica and Liberia as a solution to the
“negro problem.”
At the same time the Democrats were doing all they could to
avoid a war with the South; even advocating the retention of slavery in the
Southern states. These were the same men who were opposed to the 13th
Amendment freeing the slaves.
So, what we had; in essence; was a Democratic Party which
was not at all in tune with the push for human rights; but rather pro States
Rights. And; conversely; a Republican Party which was perceived as being the “Deliverer
of Freedom” to the slaves and by extension the “Party of the People.” This has,
of course, has been turned on its head by what happened at the Democratic
Convention of 1948, but there are interesting things to note between the time
of Lincoln and then.
Interestingly Lincoln’s Vice President; Andrew Johnson; was
a Democrat who had been elected to the office on the National Union-Republic
ticket. At the time we were still not yet confined to only 2 viable parties.
From 1869-1885 we had only Republican Presidents; along the
line of Lincoln. These were the years of Reconstruction followed by the Gilded
Age. Reconstruction was a repressive occupation of the Southern states; which
came to embitter North against South to this present day; while the later
Gilded Age represented the advent of the rewards of industrialization and the
greed which those rewards brought to the rich and powerful. The Republicans; at
this point; became the party of big business. The Democrats came to embrace the
working class and the rise of the Unions.
The Republican run ended briefly to accommodate the election
of Grover Cleveland in 1885. He was a Democrat. From this time forward there
would never be anything but Republicans and Democrats running against one
another for the office of President. It would be well to remember that there
had been; as noted here earlier; a Democrat-Republican Party. Indeed our 3rd
through 8th Presidents were from that Party. And there were some
pretty great Presidents in that group.
Aside from Cleveland’s return to office in 1893; after
having been defeated by William Harrison in 1889, which is the only time a
former President has been re-elected to office; the Republicans held sway until
President Wilson; a Democrat; came to D.C. in 1913. The first thing he did was
to segregate the nation’s Capital. That’s right, D.C. was not segregated until
1913 and then by a Democrat!
After Wilson the mantle of leadership went back to the
Republicans for the disastrous social policies of Prohibition, the reckless
economic policies of the Roaring Twenties and the resultant Great Depression.
In 1933 FDR came to D.C. as the first Democrat since Wilson and began the
social programs which so many Americans rely upon today to make ends meet. And
this is where the division between the two parties as we know them today begins
to take place.
The Democrats had to find a way out of the Depression which had
happened during the years of Republican leadership; which let big business run
themselves. The New Deal programs; such as the NRA, WPA and all the rest were
the country’s first attempts at large scale social programs to alleviate the hunger,
homelessness and lack of education and job training which came in the wake of
those failed Republican policies. The Republicans now became cast as the enemy
of the working man and the party of the rich. Right or wrong, these labels
would stick.
The only ones getting short changed by all of this were the
nations African-Americans. The Party of Lincoln was the party which most blacks
identified with due to Abraham Lincoln. That’s understandable. Regardless of
the finer points involved in the validity of the Emancipation Proclamation, he
was the man in charge when they received their freedom. And the Democrats had
opposed the 13th Amendment. It seemed like a no-brainer.
But in between the two World Wars, African –Americans expected
more and began shifting their allegiance to the Democratic Party, which
promised at least the hope of change. They had served honorably in 2 World Wars
defending freedoms for others which they themselves did not have here at home.
The time to change that had come. So, the nail was set in place; it just needed
one more firm whack to drive it home for good.
That final whack came in 1948 at the Democratic National
Convention when Harry Truman; who had succeeded President Roosevelt upon his
death in 1945; came out with a Civil Rights platform for African-Americans. The
Southern Democrats walked out and formed their own party. They even ran their
own candidate; and predictably embarrassed themselves. After the election was over
the leaders became some of the leading Republican Senators for the remainder of
the 20th century, most notably leading the opposition to the Civil
rights legislation of the 1960’s and giving birth to the so-called Conservative
movement in 1964 with Barry Goldwater as the first “Conservative” candidate for
President.
The Democrats became even more progressive than they had
been. This enabled deep divisions to develop within the party. And although
they were able to successfully elect the first African-American Pesident; Barak
Obama; to office in 2008, the Democrats then lost control of both the Congress
and Senate within his first term.
The only point to be made here; if any at all; is that party
allegiance; based on history; is suspect at best. It’s also interesting to note
how much worse the gridlock in Washington became after the rise of the 2 party
system we have today; which consists of Democrats and Republicans. Especially
since at one time they were one and the same. That bit of history serves to
underscore just how little choice we have today in electing our
representatives. They are both different sides of the same coin. This goes a
long way in explaining why nothing ever really changes.
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