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Democratic Party (United States) facts for kids

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Democratic Party
Abbreviation DNC
Chairperson Tom Perez (NY)
U.S. President Joe Biden (DE)
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (CA)
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (CA)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY)
Founder Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
Founded January 8, 1828; 195 years ago (January 8, 1828)
Headquarters 430 South Capitol St. SE, Washington, D.C., 20003
Student wing College Democrats of America
High School Democrats
Women's wing National Federation of Democratic Woman
Ideology Majority:
Social democracy
Social liberalism
Progressivism
Democratic socialism
Populism

The United States Democratic Party is one of the two biggest political parties in the United States of America. The other is the Republican Party. The U.S. also has several smaller political parties known as third parties. Supporters of this party are known as Democrats.

Every four years the party holds a National Convention where they agree on their candidate for President. The Democratic National Committee coordinates most of the activities of the Democratic Party in all 50 United States. Since Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration in 1801, there have been 21 Democratic presidents, the most recent being former Vice President Joe Biden who took office as President in 2021.

The Democratic Party represents a broad spectrum of leftist ideologies, including classic liberalism, social democracy, progressivism, and socialism.

Philosophy and role in government

Democrats, also sometimes called 'the left', 'liberals' or 'progressives' make up one of the two main political parties in the United States. A mostly Democratic state is sometimes called a 'blue state'. This comes from the party’s main color, which is blue, referring to a state supporting ‘blue’ candidates.

Democrats believe in a strong government with social assistance programs to help members of society. They prefer diplomatic solutions to conflicts, and take a generally protectionist view on trade, believing that trade must be regulated to protect American workers.

Socially, most Democrats believe in social liberalism, taking pro-immigration, pro-gay marriage, and pro-choice views.

Current Democratic beliefs

Currently, the Democratic Party is identified by progressivism, liberalism, and left-wing policies.

Not all Democrats believe in the same thing, but generally these are the things many Democrats support:

  • Progressive income tax.
  • Higher corporate taxes and recapturing income from overseas profits.
  • Spending on business, education, infrastructure, clean-energy.
  • Expanding spending on government programs.
  • Ending the death penalty.
  • Restrictions of weapons use and potentially dangerous users through government oversight.
  • Support Same-sex marriage, which allows two men and/or two women in love to marry each other.
  • Universal healthcare.
  • Helping students go to college or university for free without having to pay back the government.
  • Allow immigrants who are not legally-present in the U.S. be given Green Cards, and oppose mass deportation.

Most support for Democrats comes from states in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and the Pacific Coast, as well as from the state of Hawaii.

Symbols

The symbol of the Democratic Party is the Donkey. Since the election of 2000, the color blue has become a symbol for Democrats.

Reproduction-of-the-1805-Rembrandt-Peale-painting-of-Thomas-Jefferson-New-York-Historical-Society 1
President Thomas Jefferson

Historically, Thomas Jefferson, whom the party claims as it founder, has been often seen as symbols of the Democratic Party, particularly emphasized in the annual celebrations of Jefferson Day Dinners held since the days of Andrew Jackson. As such, the Democratic Party is also often referred to as the “Party of Jefferson.”

Democratic U.S. Presidents

Andrew Jackson
President Andrew Jackson
Presidents during the 19th century
FDR in 1933
Presidents during the 20th century
President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama
Presidents during the 21st century

Other famous Democratic Politicians

Joe Biden official portrait 2013
President-elect Joe Biden
Daniel Inouye
Former senator Daniel Inouye
Bernie Sanders
Senator Bernie Sanders
Kamala Harris official photo (cropped2)
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris

Independents who caucus with Democrats

Former Democrats

Official Portrait of President Reagan 1981
Republican Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat

Related pages

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Partido Demócrata (Estados Unidos) para niños

National Hispanic Heritage Month on Kiddle
Influential Hispanic athletes
Jim Plunkett
Sammis Reyes
Carlos Arroyo
Trevor Ariza
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