Democratic Party (United States)

Political party · 1828–present

The Democratic Party is a liberal political party in the United States, sitting on the center to center-left of the political spectrum. Founded in 1828, it is the world's oldest active political party, and its main rival is the Republican Party; the two have dominated American politics since the 1850s. The party initially supported Jacksonian democracy, agrarianism, and geographical expansionism, while opposing a national bank and high tariffs. Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 election and New Deal programs built a broad Democratic coalition, and Lyndon B. Johnson later oversaw the civil rights movement and Great Society era of progressive legislation.