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Tuesday, Mar. 8, 2022

Was the Democratic Party created to support slavery?

Jacob Alabab-Moser, Gigafact

no

The Democratic Party formed to back Andrew Jackson's second run for the presidency in 1828 after he was deprived of the position in 1824 despite having received the most votes. The Democratic Party originally advocated limited federal government powers in favor of states' rights.

Some, but not all, Democrats supported slavery. In the lead-up to the Civil War, Southern Democrats endorsed slavery in the Western territories. Northern Democrats, however, proposed that each territory decide the question for itself through referendum. 

Southern Democrats led the effort to secede from the Union and form the pro-slavery Confederacy following the election of Republican president Abraham Lincoln. After the Civil War, they also blocked abolitionist legislation and oversaw Jim Crow segregation measures.

A party realignment occurred during the 20th century, beginning with FDR and the New Deal Democrats and continuing with the Republicans' Southern strategy to win over Democrats who opposed desegregation.

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