Since to most people from outside the United States (including myself) it's easy to confuse the terms "Democratic Party" and "Republican Party", here's a quick reminder of what they are:
The "Democratic Party" is the one on the "left" of the political spectrum (in the American sense), espousing social liberalism and progressivism. Their latest presidential candidate was Hillary Clinton.
The "Republican Party" is the one on the "right" of the political spectrum, espousing conservatism and classical liberalism. Their latest presidential candidate was Donald Trump.
Democrats, at large, strive for many things that are easy to agree with (depending, of course, on your personal views), especially from outside the country, such as environmentalism, stricter gun control, free universal healthcare, strong social safety nets, taxing corporations more heavily, and so on.
Republicans, however, on average tend to espouse ideologies that are harder to agree with, such as anti-environmentalism, and removing all forms of gun control. They also heavily oppose free universal healthcare and heavy taxing of corporations.
Democrats also, at large, nowadays espouse very "progressive" values (which may be more contentious depending on your personal beliefs), such as strong pro-immigration stances, gender-neutral marriage, pro abortion, gender and racial quotas in hiring, and so on and so forth. Republicans tend to oppose most of these things (or, at the very least, would want stricter limits to them.)
In general, especially nowadays, Democrats paint themselves as "the good guys", the ones who are anti-racist, anti-oppression, anti-discrimination, and for equality. They are the ones most loudly condemning the country for its past, especially for slavery. They also love to paint the Republicans as racist, intolerant, xenophobic, fascist, and so on.
One thing that the Democrats don't like to talk much about, however, is the dark past of their own party.
Let's take, for instance, Abraham Lincoln, one of the most influential, respected and beloved presidents of the entire history of the country (and, in many ways, of the entire world). He was the president who most loudly rallied for ending slavery in the United States, and who succeeded in doing so. He was the one who got the 13th Amendment (the one that abolishes slavery) added to the United States Constitution.
Now, was Abraham Lincoln a Democrat (ie. the ones on the "left"), or was he a Republican (ie. the ones on the "right")? Nowadays many people would believe he was a Democrat. But, on the contrary, he was a Republican. It was, in fact, one of the major policies of the Republican Party back in those days to abolish slavery.
And, get this: The entity that most strongly opposed the ending of slavery was the Democratic Party.
It doesn't end there. The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed the right to vote for black people, was proposed by the Republicans, and eventually ratified. The Democratic Party at large opposed it.
The so-called "Jim Crow laws", which mandated racial segregation in all public facilities, and one of the major sources of shame for the United States (besides slavery itself), were enacted by the Democratic Party, and ended largely by the Republicans.
The Ku Klux Klan was created by and consisted by large by Democrats (which is highly ironic given that nowadays they accuse Republicans of endorsing the KKK.)
It's curious how the left loves to paint the Republicans as the "racists", and the "bigots", and the "fascists", when it was precisely the Republicans who fought the hardest to end slavery and racial discrimination in the country, while the Democrats, the left, fought their hardest to stop them from doing that.
I'm certain that if you asked the average social justice warrior which political party ended slavery and the Jim Crow laws in the United States, they would get it wrong, and refuse to believe the correct answer.
The "Democratic Party" is the one on the "left" of the political spectrum (in the American sense), espousing social liberalism and progressivism. Their latest presidential candidate was Hillary Clinton.
The "Republican Party" is the one on the "right" of the political spectrum, espousing conservatism and classical liberalism. Their latest presidential candidate was Donald Trump.
Democrats, at large, strive for many things that are easy to agree with (depending, of course, on your personal views), especially from outside the country, such as environmentalism, stricter gun control, free universal healthcare, strong social safety nets, taxing corporations more heavily, and so on.
Republicans, however, on average tend to espouse ideologies that are harder to agree with, such as anti-environmentalism, and removing all forms of gun control. They also heavily oppose free universal healthcare and heavy taxing of corporations.
Democrats also, at large, nowadays espouse very "progressive" values (which may be more contentious depending on your personal beliefs), such as strong pro-immigration stances, gender-neutral marriage, pro abortion, gender and racial quotas in hiring, and so on and so forth. Republicans tend to oppose most of these things (or, at the very least, would want stricter limits to them.)
In general, especially nowadays, Democrats paint themselves as "the good guys", the ones who are anti-racist, anti-oppression, anti-discrimination, and for equality. They are the ones most loudly condemning the country for its past, especially for slavery. They also love to paint the Republicans as racist, intolerant, xenophobic, fascist, and so on.
One thing that the Democrats don't like to talk much about, however, is the dark past of their own party.
Let's take, for instance, Abraham Lincoln, one of the most influential, respected and beloved presidents of the entire history of the country (and, in many ways, of the entire world). He was the president who most loudly rallied for ending slavery in the United States, and who succeeded in doing so. He was the one who got the 13th Amendment (the one that abolishes slavery) added to the United States Constitution.
Now, was Abraham Lincoln a Democrat (ie. the ones on the "left"), or was he a Republican (ie. the ones on the "right")? Nowadays many people would believe he was a Democrat. But, on the contrary, he was a Republican. It was, in fact, one of the major policies of the Republican Party back in those days to abolish slavery.
And, get this: The entity that most strongly opposed the ending of slavery was the Democratic Party.
It doesn't end there. The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed the right to vote for black people, was proposed by the Republicans, and eventually ratified. The Democratic Party at large opposed it.
The so-called "Jim Crow laws", which mandated racial segregation in all public facilities, and one of the major sources of shame for the United States (besides slavery itself), were enacted by the Democratic Party, and ended largely by the Republicans.
The Ku Klux Klan was created by and consisted by large by Democrats (which is highly ironic given that nowadays they accuse Republicans of endorsing the KKK.)
It's curious how the left loves to paint the Republicans as the "racists", and the "bigots", and the "fascists", when it was precisely the Republicans who fought the hardest to end slavery and racial discrimination in the country, while the Democrats, the left, fought their hardest to stop them from doing that.
I'm certain that if you asked the average social justice warrior which political party ended slavery and the Jim Crow laws in the United States, they would get it wrong, and refuse to believe the correct answer.
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