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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Was the Democratic Party created to support slavery?

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

By Austin Tannenbaum

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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.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Encyclopædia Britannica Democratic Party

UC Santa Barbara Democratic Party Platforms

Howard University Law Library African Americans Confront Lynching: Strategies of Resistance from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Era

US House of Representatives Party Realignment And The New Deal

Encyclopedia Southern Strategy

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.