Democratic Party (United States) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids 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
Current Democratic beliefs
Symbols
Democratic U.S. Presidents
Other famous Democratic Politicians
Independents who caucus with Democrats
Former Democrats
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

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.

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

President Andrew Jackson

Presidents during the 19th century

Andrew Jackson (1829 – 1837)
Martin Van Buren (1837 – 1841)
John Tyler (1841 – 1845) (A Democrat for most of his life, Tyler was elected as the Whig candidate for Vice President, but allied with Democrats after assuming the presidency after William Henry Harrison’s death.)
James K. Polk (1845 – 1849)
Franklin Pierce (1853 – 1857)
James Buchanan (1857 – 1861)
Andrew Johnson (1865 – 1869) (A Democrat for most of his life, Johnson was elected as the National Union candidate for Vice President, but allied with Democrats after assuming the presidency after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.)
Grover Cleveland (1885–1889 and 1893–1897)

President Franklin Roosevelt

Presidents during the 20th century

Woodrow Wilson (1913 – 1921)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 – 1945)
Harry S. Truman (1945 – 1953)
John F. Kennedy (1961 – 1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963 – 1969)
Jimmy Carter (1977 – 1981)
Bill Clinton (1993 – 2001)

President Barack Obama

Presidents during the 21st century

Barack Obama (2009 – 2017)
Joe Biden (2021 - current)

Other famous Democratic Politicians

President-elect Joe Biden

Former senator Daniel Inouye

Senator Bernie Sanders

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris (California), Vice President and Senator from California
John Kerry (Massachusetts), former Secretary of State, former Senator, former Presidential nominee
Patrick Leahy (Vermont), former President Pro Tempore, Senator, and Dean of the Senate
Hillary Clinton (New York), former Secretary of State, former Senator, former First Lady, former Presidential nominee
Jim Clyburn (South Carolina), Representative and Assistant Democratic Leader
Howard Dean (Vermont), former Governor and former head of the Democratic National Committee
Christopher Dodd (Connecticut), former Senator
Mario Cuomo (New York), former Governor
Dick Durbin (Illinois), Senate Whip
George Moscone (California), former Mayor of San Francisco
Chuck Schumer (New York), Senator and Senate Minority Leader.
Harvey Milk (California), Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
William M. Daley (Illinois), candidate for Governor of Illinois, former White House Chief of Staff
Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey), former Senator
Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois
Paul Simon (Illinois), former Senator
Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania), former Senator
Bob Menendez (New Jersey), Senator
Richard M. Daley (Illinois), former Mayor of Chicago
John Edwards (North Carolina), former Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate
Richard J. Daley (Illinois), former Mayor of Chicago
Al Gore (Tennessee), former Presidential candidate and Vice-President
Robert F. Kennedy, former Senator, former Presidential candidate, and brother of John F. Kennedy
Daniel Inouye (Hawaii), former President Pro Tempore, former Senator, and former Dean of the Senate
Steny Hoyer (Maryland), House Minority Whip
Robert Byrd (West Virginia), former President Pro Tempore, former Senator, and former Dean of the Senate
Tim Kaine (Virginia), Governor, 2016 vice presidential nominee and former head of the Democratic National Committee
Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Representative
Janet Napolitano (Arizona), Secretary of Homeland Security
Nancy Pelosi (California), Speaker of the House
Brian Schweitzer (Montana), former Governor
Harry Reid (Nevada), former Senate Minority Leader
Rahm Emanuel (Illinois), Mayor of Chicago, former White House Chief of Staff
Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (Virginia), former Senator
Bill Richardson (New Mexico), Governor
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida), Representative and former head of the Democratic National Committee
Eliot Spitzer (New York), former Governor
Mark Warner (Virginia), Senator and former Governor
George Wallace (Alabama), 45th Governor of Alabama
Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts