(US), one of the two main parties of monopoly capital in the USA (the other is the Republican Party).
The Democratic Party was formed in 1828 (it is often called the successor of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by T. Jefferson in the 1790’s). Initially, the Democratic Party united the slave-owning Southern planters and that part of the Northern bourgeoisie linked with them, as well as a significant number of farmers and petite bourgeoisie. Toward the middle of the 19th century, the position of the big planter-bourgeoisie coalition in the Democratic Party strengthened. Between 1828 and 1861 it was the ruling party for 24 years: from 1829 to 1841 (Presidents A. Jackson and M. Van Buren), from 1845 to 1849 (President J. K. Polk), and from 1853 to 1861 (Presidents F. Pierce and J. Buchanan). As the contradictions between the North and the South sharpened, particularly on the question of slavery, a split took place in the Democratic Party, which helped the Republican Party strengthen its position. After the Republican candidate A. Lincoln won the election of 1860, the more reactionary group of southern Democrats (called the Dixiecrats) became, during 1860-61, the main organizers of rebellion and of a separatist slave-owning confederation. After the end of the Civil War of 1861-65 the differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party began to blur; at the beginning of the 20th century both parties turned into political organizations of big capital. Under the USA’s two-party system, which is used by the ruling class as one means of diverting workers from the struggle for their essential interests, the Democratic and Republican parties periodically replace each other in power. Since 1861 the Democratic Party has held power for 44 years: from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897 (President S. G. Cleveland), from 1913 to 1921 (President T. W. Wilson), from 1933 to 1953 (Presidents F. D. Roosevelt and H. Truman), and from 1961 to 1969 (Presidents J. F. Kennedy and L. Johnson).
Defending the interests of monopoly capital, the Democratic Party tries to maintain a base of various social strata and frequently employs sophisticated social demagoguery to that end. At the end of the 1960’s there were three basic groups in the Democratic Party: the center, reflecting primarily the interests of a sector of the major Northeastern monopolies and exercising the greatest influence; the “liberal wing” (radically inclined intelligentsia, some of the trade unions, and students), which in a number of cases called for more flexible domestic and foreign policies; and the Dixiecrats, who united the most reactionary forces of the party, mainly from the southern states, and often formed a coalition with the right wing of the Republican Party. During the electoral campaign of 1968, a group of southern Democrats took an active part in forming the so-called American Independent Party, which held openly racist, profascist positions.
The Democratic Party does not have a permanent membership; membership is defined by voting for its candidates in the elections. The party apparatus, consisting of leaders and officials on various levels who are active in the states, cities, and counties, constitutes the party in the proper sense of the word. Once every four years a party convention is called to choose candidates for the presidency and the vice presidency and to adopt a party program (platform), which does not actually bind the party leaders at all. Between conventions, the Democratic Party’s activity is coordinated by its National Committee; the party factions in both houses of Congress, as well as local party bosses, are very influential. The leader of the party is the president (if the party is in power) or a former president or presidential candidate (if it is out of power). The headquarters of the National Committee is in Washington.
D. S. ASANOV