DISSERTATION POL101

DISSERTATION

DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Submitted to:

Tripura University Department of Political Science

Submitted by:

Khushi Sharma

5^th Semester, Department of IMD

Enrollment No. 226000158

Under the Supervision of:

Anindya Sarkar

Assistant Professor

Department of Political Science

Tripura University

Date of submission (31.10.2024)

INTRODUCTION

Political parties are formal organizations of groups of people who acquire and maintain political power. These so-called political parties came into being and became a modern practice in Europe and the United States in the 19th century, along with the electoral, presidential, and parliamentary systems. This led to the development and evolution of the political parties.

America was the first country in the world to mobilize a mass electorate through political parties with decentralization as its main characteristic. Local political influencers came together to form alliances to elect their candidates. Despite, various changes, progressive reforms introduced in the mid-20^th century, brought stability to the American party organizations.

United States operates under a presidential system with two major parties holding significant positions in U.S. politics. Democratic Party of the U.S. is one of the two major political parties that played a very important role in the countrys development. Established in 1792 by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison the Democratic-Republican Party got its official name in 1844 as the Democratic Party under Andrew Jackson's leadership.

The party occupies a Center-left position with modern liberalism and diverse ideologies factions like moderates, liberals, conservatism, and democratic socialism. The party is commonly recognized with its Blue color and Donkey Logo, but these have never been officially accepted by party members.

This dissertation will provide detailed discussions of the history, objectives, functioning, structure and political relevance of the Democratic Party of the U.S.

HISTORY OF THE U.S DEMOCRATIC PARTY

The United States Democratic Party is one of the oldest democratic parties in the world. In 1792 Thomas Jefferson and his supporters came together and adopted the title Republican to show that they believe in limited government and mainly opposed monarchy. In 1800, Jeffersons win started a long lasting period of Democratic- Republican dominance. After that, during the 1820s, new countries started arising and entered the union, and numerous of the them passed legislation that supported direct election of presidential candidates. These changes brought a split between the Democratic-Republican and separated them; therefore the Democratic Party and Republican Party came into being. From 1828-1856, the Democrats achieved remarkable win in all presidential elections but got defeated in 1840 and 1848 elections.

During the Civil War and Reconstruction (1844- 1877), the Democratic Party which took its official name in 1844 under the leadership of Andrew Jackson, suffered serious internal conflicts over slavery. As a result, the party members got divided into Northern and Southern Democrats in 1860.

In 1896, begun the countrys second election, the Democrats faced division between them over the free silver and Populist program of their presidential seeker, William Jennings Bryan. Between 1896 to 1932, Democratic Party only held the presidency in the two terms of Woodrow Wilson but administration was regarded as unusual. During the countrys third critical election in 1932, which took place in between conditions like the Great Depression, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, won with massive majority seats.

During WWII, the Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower pushed the Democratic Party to its edges by constantly defeating the Democrat Adlai E. Stevenson . But the Egalitarians, with the help of their new representative John F. Kennedy recaptured the White House and won the election in 1960 against Eisenhowers Vice President, Richard M. Nixon.

From 1972 to 1988, the Egalitarians lost all four of the five presidential elections. But, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton in 1992 recaptured the White House for the Democrats by defeating both George Bush and Ross Perot of the third-party. His period saw a shift towards Third-Way politics and Neo-liberalism.

The period from 1990s to 2000s was of complete ups and downs for the Democrats. Still, the growing opposition to the Iraq War (2003- 2011) helped the Egalitarians to recapture control of the Senate and the House in the 2006 midterm choices. After that, the Egalitarians indeed increased their maturity in the Senatorial office and the House.

In 2020, the civil choices generated the largest voter turnout in American History indeed in the period of the COVID outbreak. The Egalitarians under the leadership of Barack Obamas former vice chairman Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the election and the

Democratic Party again came into power and is still there.

OBJECTIVES OF THE U.S DEMOCRATIC PARTY

The partys platform emphasizes social equality and civil liberty with the support for a mixed capitalist economy. The partys main objectives can be defined by understanding the following issues: -

Economic Issues: -

The labor unions and social safety net have always been at the center of democratic economic policy since the 1930s. The Democrats favour increased taxes on the wealthiest Americans and lower taxes on the poorer sections of the society. They also support the idea of the government spending more on social services and less on military expenses, and view social services as an essential part of providing positive freedom.

The Democrats favoured the raise in workers' minimum wage and believed that all Americans must have the right to a fair wage. In 2006, the Democrats also supported six state ballot initiatives to increase the minimum wages of working-class Americans, and all those six initiatives passed.¹

The Democrats advocate affordable and quality health care, promote universal health care and also address the ongoing rise in healthcare costs. Some of the Democratic politicians also favour the single-payer program and many others also prefer the creation of a public health insurance option. The Democrats wholeheartedly work for the improvement of public education by raising the standards of various schools and reforming the Head Start program. They also support the universal preschool program and increase access to primary education. They also call for the abolition of the student loan debt and support reforms to decrease tuition fees. They also encourage the expansion of access to post-secondary education with the help of state funding for a students financial aid.

The Democrats strongly believe in the fact that the government should protect the environment and also have a history of environmentalism. They also favoured the expansion of conservation lands and encouraged open space and railway travel to stop highway and airport congestion to improve the quality of air and the economy. They believe that environmentalists, different communities and governments should work together to protect the resources along with the Vitality of the local economy. The Democrats favour domestic renewal energy development, which includes wind and solar power farms, which, in return, help in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The party emphasizes increased taxation on oil companies and regulations on coal power plants.

Social Issues: -

The Democratic Party seeks equality of opportunity for all American citizens regardless of their age, religion, ethnicity, gender, creed or national origin. They also support voting and minority rights along with LGBTQ Rights. The Democratic Party supports automatic voter registration and opposes unnecessary voting laws that put restrictions on the freedom of voters such as voter ID laws.

The 2020 Democratic Party platform supports safe and legal abortion and a womans decision to have a child by providing affordable healthcare and ensuring the availability and access to various programs that help women during pregnancy and childs birth, including adoption programs and more.²

The 2012 Democratic Party also support the comprehensive immigration reform for American economic goals and reflects American values, both as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. The party also advocates LGBTQ rights in which it believes that no one should face discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and sexual orientation.

Legal Issues: -

The Democratic Party introduced many gun control measures to reduce crime and homicide in the country. But still, some of the Democrats, especially the rural, southern and Western Democrats, favour fewer restrictions on the possession of weapons and consider this issue as a main cause for the defeat the of party in the 2000 presidential election in rural areas.³Democratic Party used to support the Death penalty but currently opposes it by stating that it is a cruel and unusual punishment, and it does not deter any crime. Many Democrats oppose the torture of individuals who are apprehended and held as prisoners by the U. S military and think that categorizing these prisoners as unlawful combatants does not release the United States from its obligations under the Geneva Conventions.

The Democratic Party strongly believes in the fact that every individual should have a right to privacy. Some Democratic officeholders have also supported the Consumer Protection laws that limit the sharing of consumer data between corporations.

Foreign Policy Issues: -

The Democratic Party has significantly evolved in matters of foreign policy since the 1990s. In 2002, Congressional Democrats were divided based on the authorization to use military force against Iraq, in which 147 voted against it and 110 voted for it. Since then, many of the prominent Democrats have expressed their regret about this decision and even called it a mistake. While many others, have criticized the conduct of the war but did not refuse their final vote for it.⁴

The Democratic Party always had a critical concern about Irans nuclear weapon program and also supported various economic sanctions against the Iranian government.

STRUCTURE OF THE U.S DEMOCRATIC PARTY

National Level: -

- Democratic National Committee:

The committee was innovated during 1848 National Convention. The DNC governs the Democratic Party. It oversees the Democratic Partys activities, the procedure of settingthe partys platform and national campaigns. It also looks after the organization of the party. The committee has 447 members, including Congress members, state chairs and governors.

- Democratic National Convention:

The Convention conducts meetings every four years for the nomination of presidential candidates. It operates under the partys charter and is the Supreme authority during its session. It includes delegates from the state parties and elected officials.

- National Chairperson:

Currently, Jaime Harrison is the chairperson of the committee.

State Level:

In the U.S. Democratic Party, presently, 50 state parties are responsible for supporting and leading the candidates and other party members. The party organizations include state chairs, executive directors and state committee members (including ex officio and elected members, who help in the election of state chairperson.)

- State Convention:

Meet periodically to discuss the affairs of the state party.

- State Chair:

Lead the state party and coordinate its activities.

- Funding:

State and local committees have direct funding in a very limited amount However, the 50 State Strategy initiated in 2005 by the DNC chairman permitted the use of the National Fund of DNC to assist every state party and pay the full-time working professionals.

Local Level: -

- Local Democratic Committees:

The committee includes county, city and ward-level organizations. The composition of the committee includes the local chair and committee members. It is mainly focused on grassroots organization, voter registration and coordination of candidates at the local level.

- Local chair:

Lead the Party, control and coordinate the partys activities at the local level.

Territorial Representation: -

State-level party committees perform operations in various U.S. territories like American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands. Candidates of the committee can contest in both presidential and territorial elections, except Puerto Rico, which can only nominate its candidate in the presidential elections.

Democrats Abroad: -

Democrats abroad committee is made up of American voters, who can nominate their desired candidates for presidential elections, even if they live outside of US territories.

Major Party Committees and Groups: -

Listed below are some of the major committees and groups of the U.S. Democratic Party.

- Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee:

This committee is responsible for assisting the partys candidates in their recruitment and selection process to the House of Representatives.

- Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee:

Elect candidate to the user Senate and Campaign Fund for different senate races.

- Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee:

DLCC main aim is to win seats in state legislative and chambers for Democrats.

- Democratic Governors Association:

This association elects Democratic governors and conducts campaigns for resource allocation and fund operations.

- The National Conference of Democratic Mayors:

The NCDM represents mayors from the largest cities and urban areas within the party.

- College Democrats of America:

It is mainly responsible for incorporating and training young democratic activists. This group mainly receives aiding from the party

- Young Democrats of America Group and High School Group of Democrats of America:

These are organizations run by young adults that inspire and encourage youths to support Democratic candidates but it functions independently of the Democratic National Committee.

Caucuses: -

Caucuses are a type of gathering in which various political party members meet to discuss and debate various political issues. It also acts as a platform to select delegates and nominate candidates.

- Some Notable Caucuses are:

1. Congressional Black Caucus
2. Congressional Hispanic
3. Congressional Progressive
4. Blue Dog
5. Congressional Caucus for Womens

Factions: -

Democratic Party has various ideological factions.

1. Moderates
2. Liberals
3. Progressives
4. Democratic
5. Fiscal

However, these factions might interact and overlap, shaping policy-making.

FUNCTIONING OF U.S.DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Various functioning of the Democratic Party are as follows: -

Organizational Structure: -

The Democratic National Committee serves as the national governing body of the party and is responsible for coordination of national campaigns, making party rules, etc. The local

committees engage at the grassroots level for the organization of the locality and candidate support, in return, ensuring the alignment of the national agenda with local needs.

Policy Development: -

Every four years, the Democratic Party drafts some new types of solutions for many major problems during its national convention and focuses mainly on education, climate change, etc. to find solutions for these types of problems the party makes various policy committees, especially for each issue.

Candidate Support: -

The DNC and the various state committees always seek out candidates for their vacant offices and prioritize their diversity and representation of different communities of society and also provide training programs for the candidates to get positive results from them. The candidates besides training also receive logistical support from the party.

Electoral Mobilization: -

The Democratic Party prioritizes building local volunteer networks for engaging with the voters directly. They also conduct many campaigns to increase their voter registration and mostly focus on underserved communities.

Legislative Advocacy: -

The elected Democrats after the elections work together in Congress for the welfare of the partys legislative agenda which involves coalition, negotiation etc. The Democratic officials also maintain communication with various constituents to inform them about their legislative efforts.

Community Engagement: -

The Democratic Party organizes various community meetings and public forums to connect common people directly with the constituents. They also encourage various community members to participate in all kinds of volunteer initiatives.

Voter Protection:-

The Democratic Party actively fights against the type of laws and practices that restrict voting access, which also include discriminatory voter ID laws. Even on Election Day, the party deploys poll watchers to monitor the polling places and also ensure the protection of voters. The party also conducts various outreach programs to inform the voters about their rights.

Communication and Messaging:-

The party develops compelling messages for the voters to show its influence on many key issues. This even involves the framing issues, which is about the voters everyday experiences. The party also builds relationships with various media platforms for the promotion of its party initiatives.

Fundraising:-

The party employs a large number of fundraising methods, which include many donor programs, online campaigns and grassroots contributions. The funds that are raised by the methods proposed by the party are later strategically allocated to all the candidates and state parties to ensure positive results in their campaigns and elections.

POLITICAL RELEVANCE OF THE U.S DEMOCRATIC PARTY

The U. S Democratic Party is the oldest active political party in the world. Founded in 1828, the party has achieved a significant position in both presidential and Congressional elections. Thus, becoming one of the two dominant political parties in America. It advocates for various issues like social justice, environmental protection, healthcare access, economic inequality, income inequality, climate change and civil rights. Early Democrats initially represented the agrarian interest but later on, the party members focused more on progressive reforms such as social and economic, equality and justice, civil rights, climate change, environmental protection, etc.

To reduce economic inequalities the party favours higher minimum wages, employment, equal economic opportunity, social security, safety net, public healthcare access, public education and lower taxes on the middle class. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) introduced by President Barack Obama in 2010 has remained one of the most influential policy in the healthcare sector of the U.S.⁵ Democrats mainly believe in environmental protection. On 15^th October 2007, AI Gore, the vice president of the Democrats, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in increasing the knowledge about man-made climate change.⁶ In 2020, the Democratic Party supported the fair and free trade, such as USMCA. (United States Mexico-Canada Agreement) but also opposed off shoring, dumping and intellectual property theft for unfair trade practices.⁷

The Democratic Party favours social equality and justice with civil rights, LGBTQ rights, minority rights, voting rights for immigrants etc. For the welfare of the immigrants coming to America, the Democratic Party introduced various policies like the immigration policy of the Obama administration, the DREAM Act, (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program) and also opposed state laws, which target mainly the immigrants. ⁸

The Democratic Party has seen a remarkable transformation over the last two decades and has become more racially and ethnically diverse⁹.

The partys perspective towards global relations, National security and diplomacy had a significant impact on the U.S. foreign policy. This includes President Joe Bidens respons towards the present Ukraine-Russian conflict in which he supported Ukraine, which plays an important role in global security¹⁰. In the upcoming elections, the representative of the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris, on behalf of the Democratic Party, promised tax cut for the middle class, making rent more affordable, and the growth of small businesses. Despite all these relevances, the Democratic Party still faces various challenges like its rapid demographic changes have created many types of cultural gaps in the party and even between large segments of the country, even balancing the interest from the progressives to the moderates in different constituencies has posted a tough challenge for the party.

By addressing these internal challenges, adapting to the evolving political landscape and capitalizing in various opportunities. Democratic Party can, to some extent, maintain its relevance and competitiveness in present in politics, if all the measures are taken properly.

CONCLUSION

The Democratic Party of U.S., till this date maintained its influence as one of the major parties in the country. The history of this party which dates back to the 1790s, builds up the core principles revolving around which the party came into contact with various issues, like immigration reforms, economic equality, civil rights, environmental protection, etc. The

Democrats even supported greater intervention of government in the economic sphere of the country to promote equality. The credit for the success of the party also goes to many influential figures like Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, who led this party towards the path of victory and led the country in to the path of innovation. Due to these reasons, the Democratic Party maintains a very strong hold over the national, state and local level of the United States. The Democratic Partys impact on various domestic and global issues is also profound. On the Domestic front, the party focuses on economy growth, healthcare, education, etc. and on the global front; the party focuses on strengthening alliances, diplomacy and reducing the global conflict.

In the recent years, due to the changing trends of the society, the domestic party has also experienced various demographic changes and became more racially and ethnically diverse. This shift has also contributed significantly to the partys commitment to pluralism, addressing racial inequality, etc. As the Democratic Party looks towards the future, whether for its own benefits or for the well-being of the country, its relevance remains unchanged. The partys ability to adapt to changing society and times, commitment to various types of progressive values and influence on both domestic and global level ensures its growth and importance in the American politics.