The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the U.S. Founded in 1828 by Andrew Jackson, it is the oldest extant voter-based political party in the world.[18][19]
The Democratic Party at its founding supported a different set of issues than it presently supports. From its founding until the New Deal Era, the Democratic Party was generally a classically liberal or libertarian party; it favored small government and states' rights. From its founding until the mid-20th century, the Democratic Party was the dominant party among white Southerners, and as such, was then the party most associated with the defense of slavery. However, following the Great Society under Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democratic Party became the more progressive party on issues of civil rights, while losing dominance in the Southern states to the Republicans.
The Democratic Party since 1912 has positioned itself as the liberal party on domestic issues. The economic philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced modern American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's agenda since 1932. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition controlled the White House until 1968 with the exception of Eisenhower 1953–1961. Since the mid-20th century, Democrats have generally been in the center-left and currently support social justice, social liberalism, a mixed economy, and the welfare state, although Bill Clinton and other New Democrats have pushed for free trade and neoliberalism, which is seen to have shifted the party rightwards. Democrats are currently strongest on the East and West Coasts and in major American urban centers. African-Americans and Latinos tend to be disproportionately Democratic, as do trade unions.
In 2004, it was the largest political party, with 72 million registered voters (42.6% of 169 million registered) claiming affiliation.[20] The president of the United States, Barack Obama, is the 15th Democrat to hold the office, and from the 2006 midterm elections until the 2014 midterm elections, the Democratic Party was the majority party in the United States Senate.
A 2011 USA Today review of state voter rolls indicates that the number of registered Democrats declined in 25 of 28 states (some states do not register voters by party). During this time, Republican registration also declined, as independent or no preference voting was on the rise. Democrats were still the largest political party with more than 42 million voters (compared with 30 million Republicans and 24 million independents). But in 2011 Democrats numbers shrank 800,000, and from 2008 they were down by 1.7 million, or 3.9%.[