In the United States today, the two main political parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The two parties also have differing stances on legal and economic ideas. Each of these parties has their own beliefs on important and sometimes controversial issues such as taxation, immigration, abortion, gay marriage, the death penalty, and military spending. These topics are examples subjects that each party has differing opinions about. They are also topics that often cause people to form their personal belief on which party to support. The Democratic Party resulted from what were the Federalists, who were people like John Adams. They believed in a larger and more active federal government that could tax the people to provide more services for them. The Federalists eventually became the Democratic Party in 1792. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were opponents of the Federalists and they led what would later be called the Republican Party, which was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery expansion activists. Great achievements in Republican history include passing the Civil Rights Act. Famous Republican presidents include, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Regan, and George Bush. Democrats today are often seen as very liberal, meaning they are open to discard traditional attitudes and values. Republicans, on the other hand, are conservative, and they hold on to traditional attitudes and values. Democrats express agreement with community responsibility and social justice while Republicans favor individual responsibility and individual rights and justice.
The Democratic Party has also been the party that is associated with fighting for civil rights, Social Security, workers rights and women’s rights. Famous Democratic presidents include, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Franklin Roosevelt, and today’s president, Barack Obama. For many years now, the Democratic Party has been the party that believes