Presidential elections are held every four years in the United States. Election Day is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, where the choice is made between two candidates. In America there are always two possible presidents facing each other: the Democrats and the Republicans. But what is a Democrat and what is a Republican? What is the difference between these two parties?
American election
Unlike in the Netherlands where several parties compete for a seat in the House of Representatives, in the United States there are ,only, two political parties that provide presidents. Smaller parties do exist, but they never gain influence and have little influence.
Within a party, a choice is made as to who will stand as a candidate for president. However, the people themselves do not vote for a president. The people vote for electors for their state. This happens on this Tuesday in November. The Electoral College in Washington will then decide who will become president in December. There are 538 electoral votes to be distributed, so one of the candidates must obtain 270 electoral votes.
Democrats
In 1792, the Democratic party was founded by Thomas Jefferson. The reason was a discussion about the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. The Bill of Rights concerns the first ten amendments, such as freedom of speech and religion, the right to freely possess arms, and billeting of soldiers. Jefferson was against this Bill of Rights, while the Federalists were in favor.
From 1820 the party was called the Democratic Party, when the Whig Party split from it and became the main opposition. Only later did the Republican Party emerge and become the new opposition.
Direction
Center right to left
Ideology
Progressive and liberal
Colour
Blue
Different factions
Although Democrats are generally considered liberal and progressive, there is still wide variation within the party. For example, there are factions that are more conservative (for example the Conservative Democrats), while other factions are more socially liberal. Different factions are:
- Libertarian Democrats
- Progressive Democrats
- Conservative Democrats
- Moderate Democrats
- Religious Left
- Liberal Democrats
- Democrats for Life
Democratic presidents
- Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)
- Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
- James Knox Polk (1845–1849)
- Franklin Pierce (1853–1857)
- James Buchanan (1857–1861)
- Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
- Stephen Grover Cleveland (1885-1889,1893-1897)
- Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)
- Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963)
- Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1969)
- James Earl Carter (1977-1981)
- William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001)
- Barack Hussein Obama (2009-Heden)
Mascotte
Ezel
Republikeinen
In 1854, the Republican Party was founded to oppose the expansion of slavery. In contrast to the Democrats, the party was at the forefront in the northeastern states, in the industrial areas (the Democrats were especially popular in the more southern states). While the Democrats now have a mainly progressive orientation, it was the Republicans who were seen as the progressive party after the Civil War.
Direction
Right
Ideology
Conservative
Colour
Red
Different factions
There are also various factions within the Republican Party, with the conservative factions playing the most dominant role, but certainly not the only ones. Existing factions are:
- Social Conservatives
- Religious Right
- Fiscal Conservatives
- Paleoconservatives
- Libertarian Conservatives
- Neoconservatives
- Federalists
- Moderates*
- Liberal Republicans*
*The last two are more moderate and liberal.
Republican presidents
- Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)
- Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877)
- Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)
- James A. Garfield (1881)
- Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)
- Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
- William McKinley (1897–1901)
- Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)
- William H. Taft (1909–1913)
- Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
- Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
- Herbert C. Hoover (1929–1933)
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
- Richard M. Nixon (1969–1974)
- Gerald R. Ford (1974–1977)
- Ronald W. Reagan (1981–1989)
- George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
- George W. Bush (2001-2009)
Mascot
Elephant
Distinction between Democrats and Republicans
The main points on which the two political parties differ:
- Direction: more progressive (Democrats) versus more conservative (Republicans)
- Focused on: ,the common man, (Democrats) versus corporations (Republicans)
- Emphasis: helping the less wealthy/,have-nots,, for a strong government, reform (Democrats) versus right to own property, tradition and rich/,haves, (Republicans)