A Brief Synopsis on the History of the Black American Vote: From Republican to Democrat
by Sonya Brookins on Monday, November 12, 2012 at 9:18pm ·
Initially, the original national parties were the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party.
In 1816, the Federalist Party essentially died; leaving a single political party, the Democratic-Republican Party.
In 1818, of the 22 states in the union, 11 were free and 11 were slave states. This created a seemingly fair and equal balance of power for the states in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives. Since the House is inclusive of representatives per population, the Free states had more voices since they had more citizens.
In 1819, New York representative James Tallmadge set up a proposal to the House that would ban slavery in the newly created territory of Missouri.
The slave issue had been a staple of the Southern man's life and there was no way that the average land owning southerner was going to give this up. Not without a fight. Blood was on the minds of many of the citizens of America over the entire slave issue. One man saved the country from war; Henry Clay was considered one of the greatest pacificators of the era. On March 3rd, 1820, both Missouri and the free state of Maine were admitted into the Union. The balance was kept with one being free and one being slave.
By 1820, most of the Founding Fathers were dead and Thomas Jefferson’s party, the Democrat-Republican Party, had become the majority party in Congress. This change brought about a new congressional policy. This Congress passed the 1820 Missouri Compromise.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 made it lawful to own slaves from the southern border of Missouri down through to Mexico, and illegal to own slaves from that line northward to Canada.
By the mid 1820’s, the Democratic-Republican Party had opposing views which resulted in a split within the party.
The Beginning of the Democratic Party
In 1824, Andrew Jackson lost the presidential election. From his lost, the supporters of Jackson created their own organization to get him elected. In 1828, the organization that split from the Democratic-Republican Party helped Andrew Jackson win the presidency. After his election in 1828, that organization became known as the Democratic Party.
The Donkey: the symbol of the donkey for the Democratic Party is said to have stemmed from Andrew Jackson. His opposition called him a jackass. Instead of taking it as an insult, he chose to adopt this as a symbol. This, in turn, became the symbol of the Democratic Party.
Major Beliefs of the Democratic Party:
The Democratic Party included a diverse group of individuals who typically emphasize the need for a greater role of the federal government in promoting social, economic, and political opportunities for all citizens. The party typically argues for more government control over economic matters and less government control over individual rights.
In support of Slavery, the Democratic Party enacted the:
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law: Northerners had to return escaped slaves, or else pay huge fines. This law destroyed the lives of many blacks in the north. As a consequence, over 20,000 northern blacks left everything in the United States behind and fled to Canada. This is the period of time that the Underground Railroad was most active, helping blacks in the south, as well, escape slavery by making it all the way to Canada, all because of the Democrat’s far-reaching Fugitive Slave Law.
In further support of slavery, the Democratic Party enacted The 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act:
The Democrats controlled congress and encouraged the spread of slavery into new territory to the northwest (previously slavery was not allowed in this area).
A number of anti-slavery Democrats in Congress formed a new political party to fight slavery. Other anti-slavery members who joined them were from the Whigs, Free Soil advocates and Emancipationists. They wanted to gain equal rights for the slaves.
The Beginning of the Republican Party
In 1854, the need for a new party that would oppose slavery was felt strongly in many parts of the north. Meetings were held in Michigan, New York, and other states besides Wisconsin as the momentum built. The name was first publicly applied to this movement in a June 1854 editorial by New York editor Horace Greeley, who said it would "fitly designate those who had united to restore the Union to its true mission of champion and promulgator of Liberty rather than propagandist of slavery."
The first convention of the new party was only held in Pittsburgh on February 22, 1856.
The Republican name was chosen because of the desire to return to the principles of freedom and equality. These are the principles first put forth in the documents of the republic before the pro-slavery Congressional members had misused and manipulated to their own purposes those original principles.
Republican Party Beliefs:
The abolition of slavery; the right of free speech; support of women’s suffrage; the reduction of the power of Federal government; the reduction of Federal bureaucracy; the return of power to state governments; the support of the idea of the primacy of the individual; to fight for the right of individuals in opposition to large "bloated" government; fiscal responsibility; immigration, religion, and the need for a strong business climate.
Republican voters were strongest in rural and western parts of the country, and they were highly successful at maximizing electoral votes to produce presidents: Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt were among their early successes.
The Black Support for the Republican Party
Initially, African Americans were supportive of the Republican Party because of the party’s anti-slavery views.
The Great Depression of the 1930s worsened the already bleak economic situation of African Americans. They were the first to be laid off from their jobs, and they suffered from an unemployment rate two to three times that of whites. In early public assistance programs African Americans often received substantially less aid than whites, and some charitable organizations even excluded blacks from their soup kitchens.
Virtually ignored by the Republican administrations of the 1920s, black drifted to the Democratic Party, especially in the Northern cities.
In 1930 Republican Pres. Herbert Hoover nominated John J. Parker, a man of pronounced anti-black views, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The NAACP successfully opposed the nomination.
The Black Vote: from Republican to Democrat
In the 1932 presidential race African Americans overwhelmingly supported the successful Democratic candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Most black voters switched to the Democratic Party in the 1930s when the New Deal offered them employment opportunities, and major figures, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, began to support civil rights. They became one of the core components of the New Deal Coalition.
After 1965, in the South, blacks were able to vote in large numbers when a bipartisan coalition passed the Voting Rights Act, and ever since have formed a significant portion (20-50%) of the Democratic vote in that region.
For decades, a greater percentage of white voters identified themselves as Democrats, rather than Republicans. However, since the mid-1990s whites have been more likely to self-identify as Republicans than Democrats
In 1816, the Federalist Party essentially died; leaving a single political party, the Democratic-Republican Party.
In 1818, of the 22 states in the union, 11 were free and 11 were slave states. This created a seemingly fair and equal balance of power for the states in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives. Since the House is inclusive of representatives per population, the Free states had more voices since they had more citizens.
In 1819, New York representative James Tallmadge set up a proposal to the House that would ban slavery in the newly created territory of Missouri.
The slave issue had been a staple of the Southern man's life and there was no way that the average land owning southerner was going to give this up. Not without a fight. Blood was on the minds of many of the citizens of America over the entire slave issue. One man saved the country from war; Henry Clay was considered one of the greatest pacificators of the era. On March 3rd, 1820, both Missouri and the free state of Maine were admitted into the Union. The balance was kept with one being free and one being slave.
By 1820, most of the Founding Fathers were dead and Thomas Jefferson’s party, the Democrat-Republican Party, had become the majority party in Congress. This change brought about a new congressional policy. This Congress passed the 1820 Missouri Compromise.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 made it lawful to own slaves from the southern border of Missouri down through to Mexico, and illegal to own slaves from that line northward to Canada.
By the mid 1820’s, the Democratic-Republican Party had opposing views which resulted in a split within the party.
The Beginning of the Democratic Party
In 1824, Andrew Jackson lost the presidential election. From his lost, the supporters of Jackson created their own organization to get him elected. In 1828, the organization that split from the Democratic-Republican Party helped Andrew Jackson win the presidency. After his election in 1828, that organization became known as the Democratic Party.
The Donkey: the symbol of the donkey for the Democratic Party is said to have stemmed from Andrew Jackson. His opposition called him a jackass. Instead of taking it as an insult, he chose to adopt this as a symbol. This, in turn, became the symbol of the Democratic Party.
Major Beliefs of the Democratic Party:
The Democratic Party included a diverse group of individuals who typically emphasize the need for a greater role of the federal government in promoting social, economic, and political opportunities for all citizens. The party typically argues for more government control over economic matters and less government control over individual rights.
In support of Slavery, the Democratic Party enacted the:
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law: Northerners had to return escaped slaves, or else pay huge fines. This law destroyed the lives of many blacks in the north. As a consequence, over 20,000 northern blacks left everything in the United States behind and fled to Canada. This is the period of time that the Underground Railroad was most active, helping blacks in the south, as well, escape slavery by making it all the way to Canada, all because of the Democrat’s far-reaching Fugitive Slave Law.
In further support of slavery, the Democratic Party enacted The 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act:
The Democrats controlled congress and encouraged the spread of slavery into new territory to the northwest (previously slavery was not allowed in this area).
A number of anti-slavery Democrats in Congress formed a new political party to fight slavery. Other anti-slavery members who joined them were from the Whigs, Free Soil advocates and Emancipationists. They wanted to gain equal rights for the slaves.
The Beginning of the Republican Party
In 1854, the need for a new party that would oppose slavery was felt strongly in many parts of the north. Meetings were held in Michigan, New York, and other states besides Wisconsin as the momentum built. The name was first publicly applied to this movement in a June 1854 editorial by New York editor Horace Greeley, who said it would "fitly designate those who had united to restore the Union to its true mission of champion and promulgator of Liberty rather than propagandist of slavery."
The first convention of the new party was only held in Pittsburgh on February 22, 1856.
The Republican name was chosen because of the desire to return to the principles of freedom and equality. These are the principles first put forth in the documents of the republic before the pro-slavery Congressional members had misused and manipulated to their own purposes those original principles.
Republican Party Beliefs:
The abolition of slavery; the right of free speech; support of women’s suffrage; the reduction of the power of Federal government; the reduction of Federal bureaucracy; the return of power to state governments; the support of the idea of the primacy of the individual; to fight for the right of individuals in opposition to large "bloated" government; fiscal responsibility; immigration, religion, and the need for a strong business climate.
Republican voters were strongest in rural and western parts of the country, and they were highly successful at maximizing electoral votes to produce presidents: Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt were among their early successes.
The Black Support for the Republican Party
Initially, African Americans were supportive of the Republican Party because of the party’s anti-slavery views.
The Great Depression of the 1930s worsened the already bleak economic situation of African Americans. They were the first to be laid off from their jobs, and they suffered from an unemployment rate two to three times that of whites. In early public assistance programs African Americans often received substantially less aid than whites, and some charitable organizations even excluded blacks from their soup kitchens.
Virtually ignored by the Republican administrations of the 1920s, black drifted to the Democratic Party, especially in the Northern cities.
In 1930 Republican Pres. Herbert Hoover nominated John J. Parker, a man of pronounced anti-black views, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The NAACP successfully opposed the nomination.
The Black Vote: from Republican to Democrat
In the 1932 presidential race African Americans overwhelmingly supported the successful Democratic candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Most black voters switched to the Democratic Party in the 1930s when the New Deal offered them employment opportunities, and major figures, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, began to support civil rights. They became one of the core components of the New Deal Coalition.
After 1965, in the South, blacks were able to vote in large numbers when a bipartisan coalition passed the Voting Rights Act, and ever since have formed a significant portion (20-50%) of the Democratic vote in that region.
For decades, a greater percentage of white voters identified themselves as Democrats, rather than Republicans. However, since the mid-1990s whites have been more likely to self-identify as Republicans than Democrats
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