18 November 2017
The Evolution of the Stance of the Republican and Democratic Parties Over Time (Between the 1860’s and 1936)
Throughout history, there have been many different groups and organizations with different viewpoints, beliefs, and ideas who have been very influential on American history. Two of these most influential groups are the United States’ two most popular political parties. These parties are known as the Republican Party and the Democratic party. It is widely known that the stances of these two parties contrast greatly, but people must also realize that each party’s stance today sharply contrasts with the viewpoints, ideals, and values of each party in its beginning. It is very common for people to be uninformed in political matters, and many do not know the true history, including what is basically a swap in viewpoints of the United States’ two main political parties. These changes seem to be somewhat unexplainable, and there does not appear to be one single cause behind them. Many people feel they relate to one of these political parties, or sometimes the ideals of both, but they do not understand the history of these parties, particularly the most notable changes in their ideals throughout history, the reasons behind these changes, or their importance.
These changes, both complex and on some levels unexplainable, have not been one sided, which means that both parties’ ideals, stances, abed viewpoints have evolved and changed over different time periods. The most important times of change for these parties was between the 1860’s and 1936 because it paved the way for the changes throughout the rest of the parties’ futures. It would be an understatement to say that the leaders of each party during this time period was influential, and in order to understand their influence on their respective parties, one must first learn who they are.
One of the most influential leaders of the Democratic Party, as it was named in 1844, was Jefferson Davis. While this may seem uncommon, Jefferson Davis was from the Northern United States, and he was also a very avid supporter of slavery. In the election of 1860, the two candidates for the Democratic nomination had opposing viewpoints on the issue of slavery. This disagreement on slavery was the main cause of the Democratic Party not being able to put all of its support into one candidate. This split between Democratic voters ultimately caused the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, to win the election. Following this election, most of the Southern part of the country, who identified as Democrats, placed the blame for the “negative” effects of the Civil War and the Reconstruction which followed on the Republican party.
Another influential Democrat is Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was an important aspect of the democratic parties transition to progressivism. His presidency led multiple aspects of reform through the United States economy. Wilson believed in further regulation of business and banking, and did not approve of monopolies, unlike the Republicans of the time. However, Wilson did lead the United States into World War I. During the prosperous time period of the 1920s, Wilson’s ideals lost their appeal to the Republican ideals on the economy and big business.
Through one of the country’s most critical elections in history, the Democratic Party once again gained the presidency, through the candidate of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt further increased the government involvement in business and banking after the failing of the United States’s economy in the time of the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression. Roosevelt remained popular through his political skills and his New Deal programs, making him a popular figure to people in all aspects of life. These aspects allowed Roosevelt and the Democratic Party to maintain control over both houses of the United States Government for most of the time from the 1930s to 1990s. Roosevelt ultimately increased the status of the Democratic Party and the US economy throughout his first two terms as president and the beginning of his third, which was cut short due to his death.
While the important leaders of the Democratic Party may not have alway been the president, two of the most influential Republican Party leaders held the position of president of the United States. These people are Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft. However, the first of these leaders was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln won the election of 1960 following the split of the Democratic Party. Although many southern states had succeeded from the Union before his presidency began, Lincoln greatly impacted both the Union and the Confederacy. He was against the aspect of slavery, and this aspect of his leadership led him to sign the Emancipation Proclamation during his presidency in the Civil War time period. While this time of war caused a great turmoil, Lincoln’s efforts greatly contributed to the abolition of slavery throughout the United States.
Theodore Roosevelt became the president in 1901 following the assassination of William McKinley. Roosevelt was the leader of the Republican party’s “progressive wing” (Brittanica). Like Democratic Woodrow Wilson and unlike many Republicans of his time, Roosevelt opposed the practicing of business monopolies. He also favored the conservation of natural resources, causing him to begin the country’s first national parks. Roosevelt was elected president again in 1904 but chose to not run again in the election of 1908, when William Howard Taft become the new president. Then, Roosevelt lost the Republican nomination to Taft in 1912, causing him to leave the Republican Party and establish the Progressive Party. This new party appealed to some of the Republican Party, causing them to cast their votes for Roosevelt. However, the other voters stayed true to their Republican Party and chose to elect William Howard Taft. The voters were split in Republican voters during this election between Roosevelt’s ideas of business regulation and William Howard Taft’s opposing, conservative ideas in the presidential election of 1912. This split ultimately led to the loss of the 1912 presidential election for the Republican Party. Following this election, the popularity of the Republican Party struggled greatly, and there was not another Republican president until 1920.
During the 1920s, the Republican Party dominated the polls, but their popularity greatly declined following the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression which followed. During the period of the Great Depression, the people of the United States looked to Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt, as discussed earlier, greatly increased the governments involvement in business and provided more government assistance to relieve people of the misfortune of the Great Depression. While the Republicans of the 1930s did not agree with Theodore Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, over the next twenty years, the government’s “expanded role and regulatory powers” were accepted.
When one observes the ideals of each individual from each party, it is apparent that the viewpoints and agendas of the leaders were different on a case by case basis, despite some common goals and ideals. While each of these people were important to this shift, it is even more important to understand the time frame of each party’s change in ideals. Before one can understand why something happened, the context of the events going on during the time of the happening and the time period are some important aspects to know about the situation. Realizing this, it is important to look at the time frame whe
re a large change in each political party’s beliefs and ideals was noticed.
An important time period to look towards when observing this change is between the presidential election of 1896 and the beginning of President Wilson’s term in 1913. While the Democratic candidate of the 1896 election was a very conservative man, most voters favored the opposite, a Republican candidate who favored bringing justice to citizens through the federal government. However, the next time a democratic president, Woodrow Wilson, was elected in 1913, he advocated for government intervention. During his term, Wilson passed the income tax and the Federal Reserve Act. The following Democratic president was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who as discussed earlier believed in heavy government involvement in the United State’s economy. It is safe to say that the Democratic Party saw the favor of the citizens for the Republican’s belief in government control, causing them to lean more towards this aspect in their own works.
This shift, while making the Democratic Party appear more like the one known today, did not directly cause the Republican Party to change as well. For an extended period of time, the Republican and Democratic parties both advocated for this government involvement in the name of “social justice.” Both parties somewhat stayed on the same page until 1920s. This change began with the terms of President Coolidge, which is where the Republican Party seems to become like the one known today, which favors a limited government roll in business and the economy.
Knowing when these changes were noticeable, leads people to wonder why, and what actually caused this change, or essential swapping of viewpoints between these two political parties. There have been many different opinions on why this swap happened, and there has not been one single reason identified. It is also not confirmed if it was one single event that caused this change, or if it was one that just happened. One of the most understandable and popular theories of why this swap occurred is the one focused on the expansion into the Western United States.
During the period of westward expansion, the United States had many new voters. The main goal of the people who went West during this time was earning money to provide a better lifestyle for their families. During the beginning of this expansion, many Western voters favored the Republican Party’s Second American System because they thought it would make it easier for them to accomplish their goals. This system, however, did not favor the majority of the Western people, who were small business owners, farmers, and miners. It was eventually shown that this system greatly favored and benefited the big businesses of the West, such as banks and railroad companies.
The Democratic Party quickly learned that it needed to make itself more appealing to the people of the West to win over these new voters. In an effort do this, the Democratic Party made its goal to alleviate the Western region of the big business control, which would in turn help the people who moved West could accomplish their goals of making money. This caused the Republican Party also promise to help the people of the Western region achieve this goal. While these parties went back and forth, promising to do what the other could not, ultimately caused both parties to promise more government intervention and control.
Following this period of promised government involvement, the Republican Party gained power throughout the country. The Republican Party also made the powerful discovery that they could win over the Western voters without making the promises of both parties’ pasts. While it is unclear why the Western voters stopped needing these promises to believe in a single party, there are many possible explanations for it. One explanation could be that all the promised legislations that would help the Western population had already been achieved by past presidents. Another thing to consider is the explanation of why Western voters aligned with the Republican party. It is possible that the Western voters aligned with the Republican Party because they were reacting to the Democrats involvement with the war by simply electing a Republican president. It could also have less to do with war and have more to do with each party’s differing viewpoints on the issue of immigration in the United States (Raunchway). Realizing all the possibilities in the reason behind this change, one must know that the true meaning has not been uncovered. While there are many different options to consider, no one truly knows the exact reason behind the changing in viewpoints of the political parties.
Upon seeing the change in these political parties, one can also consider how these changes have effected the country of America of today. In order for there to be a difference or influence made, there must also be a change. These monumental changes in viewpoints are shown throughout each party’s past histories. While these political parties have greatly changed their own roles in American politics, they have greatly influenced the role of the American government in the nation today. This has even caused the changing in the political stances of many people in the United States. These influences and changes on the national level and on the individual would not be possible without the many changes made by each party throughout their history.
In its beginning, the Democratic Party was the party of smaller or limited government role in the lives of Americans, specifically in economics. When one sees this, it is easy to tell that this sharply contrasts with the Democratic Party of the United States today. Today’s Democratic Party believes in more larger role of the government in daily life and more government intervention, especially in the American economy. They justify this belief with the goal of creating economic fairness, fighting for equality, protecting voting rights, and unifying our nation, along with other goals. In order to accomplish many of these goals, the Democratic Party plans to increase the governments involvements in all aspects of American life for the betterment of the nation. An example of a increase of government involvement by Democrats includes the aspect of Obama-Care, the plan for socialized medicine. When viewing the legislation and beliefs of the Democratic Party today, it is clear that this platform of today’s Democratic Party, along with its voters, sharply contrasts with those of the Democrats of the 1860s.
While the contrast in viewpoints of the Democratic Party is very apparent, the one of the Republican Party is somewhat more difficult to grasp. Throughout history, it is apparent that the supporters of the Republican Party have always been the big business owners throughout the country. The part of the Republican Party that has changed, however, is the things that these big businesses wanted in their national government. At its beginning, the Republican Party favored bigger government, which was what the big business owners wanted at the time (Raunchway). Because the big business owners were not only a large portion of Republican voters, but also very contributions donators to their campaigns, the ideals of the Republican Party also changed with those of big business owners. Since the big business owners of America changed their ideas on the government’s role in their businesses and also their daily lives, the Republican Party changed its standing, ultimately making it into the small government centered party that is known in America today.
Today, big businesses favor the limited government role in the economy. These big business owners formulate their political opinions with their businesses in mind. &
nbsp;This causes them to support the party which will ultimately allow them to make more money. This happens to be the party of smaller government, or the Republican Party. Many big business owners believe the less government involvement in their financial processes, the better. Some other things that are greatly supported by today’s republican party are a strong military and the value of the constitution. The Republican Party differs from the Democrats in their standings on many different issues, including that of socialized medicine, withholding paychecks for “poorly run” government programs, higher taxation levels for the wealthier American population, and the issue of same sex marriage versus traditional marriage. While it is apparent that the things that the Republican Party advocates for have changed over time, it is important to realize that they have always acted with the opinions of a certain group in mind, this being the big businesses of the American economy.
The political parties of today have a very split mindset, and this in part results from the changes they have endured from the 1860s to the 1936. The important leaders who drove these changes might not have even realized the great influence they would have on future American political matters, but it is certain that they had a very large impact. While it is apparent that these leaders opinions differed from party to party, it is also important to be reminded that the important leaders stances on many issues differed from person to person within each party as well. It is also important to consider that while the leaders of the Democratic Party did not always hold the highest position of power or have the “most important” title, they were still able to greatly contribute to their parties.
Also, another important aspect that greatly contributed to the changes of these parties were the events during the time that the changes occurred. These events, including the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression, greatly influenced government policies. While some of these government policies were favored, some also were not. In different ways, each party made its goal to be the most appealing to voters, by providing the legislation which they thought was wanted. This contributed to the Democratic Party eventually abandoning the idea of limited government, and moving towards the idea of large government. This made the ideals of the Democratic and Republican parties similar for a while until the Republican Party’s viewpoint changed to align with the ideals and opinions of big business, their main supporter.
Overall, these great leaders within each party, the events of their times, and were great influences of their parties and the politics of America today. These aspects contributed great change to each of their political parties. While it is ultimately unknown why these parties viewpoints changed, there are many important facts, people, and events to consider, such as that of the results of Westward expansion.