by Christopher Witt

Created on: January 05, 2011   Last Updated: January 06, 2011

The differences that divide the Democratic and Republican parties are as old as the United States itself.

The Democratic party is considered the progressive party in the United States. Many of their members are either moderates, moderates leaning liberal, or simply liberal in general. The core Democratic beliefs are heavy government involvement in the economy, fair tax laws for the middle and lower classes and making upper class citizens pay their fair share, regulation of big businesses, trusts and monopolies, and creating a government strong enough without infringing on the rights of the people.

Much of the modern Democratic party takes their present ideals from the party of Thomas Jefferson, which was called the Democratic Republican party. That party believed in standing up for the little guy and states' rights. The Democratic Republicans however did not think that the government should play a key role in the economy, an idea adopted by the Federalists of Alexander Hamilton. However the Democratic party, when it was formed in 1828 by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, was virtually the pre-Civil War equivalent to the modern Republicans in virtually all other ideas. Eventually the Democratic party evolved from the semi-conservative organization of its early days to the foremost liberal force of today. With leaders such as William Jennings Bryan, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, the Democratic party became the party of progressivism and liberalism.

The Republicans are the conservative party of the United States. Virtually any Republican is a conservative in some fashion; rarely is there even a moderate. The modern Republicans promote big business interests, tax cuts for the rich, and use the old Reaganist idea of trickle-down economics (the idea that economic prosperity will come from the top down to the lower classes. They also are interested in protecting the security of America at the expense of the rights of individuals.

In many respects, the Republicans are like the Federalists of Alexander Hamilton, who promoted virtually everything the Republicans are today, except government involvement in the economy. The Republicans didn't play a big role in national affairs until the Civil War, being led by the immortal Abraham Lincoln. The Republicans were semi-liberal then. But almost as soon as the Civil War ended the Republicans turned into the conservative party of protectionist trade, becoming anathema to the quickly liberalizing Democratic party. After Lincoln, a moderate, many conservatives, such as Thaddeus Stevens, James Garfield and Chester Arthur became heavily involved in politics, the latter two presidents of the United States. However, a touch of the progressive tongue influenced the Republicans as well, Theodore Roosevelt being the biggest example.

So many differences pollute American politics, but when you look at the greater scheme of things, the two parties evolved from their total opposites.

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