The fathers of the present-day Democrats must have been profoundly happy seeing President Barack Hussein Obama sworn in as the 44th and first African American president of the United States on January 20, 2009. Earlier known as the “party of the common man,” Thomas Jefferson, along with James Madison and others, founded the Democratic Party in 1792. Since its inception, the Democratic Party has been in continuous operation in the United States. The Democratic Party is one of the oldest parties in the world.
In 1798, it took on the name Democratic-Republican Party. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson became the first Democratic President of the United States and served for two terms. James Madison became the president in 1808. James Monroe, also belonging to the same party, became the elected president in 1816.
John Quincy Adams won the presidential elections in 1824. His election led to a four-way division among Democratic-Republicans. The modern Democratic Party arose in the 1830s. The rise to prominence of war hero Andrew Jackson saw the reunification of the Democratic Party. Andrew Jackson, along with his supporters, reunified the Democratic Party and established the national convention process and the party platform. He won the elections in 1828 and 1832. In 1844, the National Convention Party’s name became the Democratic Party.
In the late 1800s, Democratic Party leader William Jennings Bryan introduced agrarian reform, right of women’s suffrage, progressive income tax and direct election of senators. All these resulted to the Democratic Party becoming dominant in urban politics.
In 1912, Woodrow Wilson became the first Democratic president of the 20th Century. Franklin Roosevelt became president while running on the promise of a New Deal. President Harry Truman broke down the barriers of race and gender. Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Acts began during the time of President John F. Kennedy. In 1984, the Democratic Party became the first party to place a woman on the presidential ticket when Geraldine Ferraro was nominated to be the Vice Presidential candidate. In 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton became the 42nd President of the United States on the promise of a New Covenant for America’s forgotten families. In 2009, Democratic Senator Barack Obama became the first African-American President.
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