The Difference Between Republicans and Democrats

As we all know, the Republicans and the Democrats are the two major political parties of the United States. Each party has its own beliefs and ideologies. Well! Before going through the difference between Republicans and Democrats, let's try to understand first, about the two parties.

Republican Party

The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists and modernizers in Ripon, Wisconsin (United States). It is also called as Grand Old Party or GOP. As of now, it is the second oldest continuing party in the United States, after the Democratic Party. After its establishment, the Republican Party gained its political power for the first time in 1860, when Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election. At present, the Republican Party is the second largest political party with a record of 55 million registered voters in 2004.

Democratic Party

The Democratic Party was founded in 1792, which was much earlier than the Republicans. It was founded by James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and other opponents of the Federalist Party. The Democratic Party is the oldest continuing party in the United States. However, the modern Democratic Party developed only in the 1830s, with the election of Andrew Jackson who was the seventh president of the United States. In 2004, the Democratic Party is declared as the largest political party with 72 million voters. At present, the United States is ruled by the Democratic Party with Barack Obama as the president.

The Difference Between Republicans and Democrats

While discussing the difference between the Republicans and Democrats, usually the words conservative and liberal come instantly to our mind. Republicans are more conservative and they usually follow the established tradition. Democrats on the other hand, are more liberal and they believe in change. The Republicans believe in small federal government and strong state governments; whereas, the Democrats believe in a large federal government. Let's see the differences between the two political parties.

The Republicans profess the ideology that each person is responsible for his/her status in the society and the government should intervene only when society is unable to act on its own. Whereas, the Democrats believe that it is the responsibility of the government to take care of the individual citizens. They often argue that the federal bureaucrats know better about the need of the individuals than the locally elected officials.

Regarding economy, the Republicans believe in economic growth by free enterprise and want people to use their own innovative ideas and talents; whereas the Democrats believe that economy is too tough for individuals to handle. According to them, business decisions can be better guided by the government officials. In general, the Republicans do not support welfare programs; whereas the Democrats support welfare programs for the people.

The Republicans believe in strong national defense and are in favor of spending money on military intelligence and warfare; whereas the Democrats have the philosophy that actual security depends on the negotiations with foreign countries. Thus, the Republicans do not believe in strict gun control; whereas the Democrats favor strict gun control.

With reference to law, the Republicans are in favor of death penalty; whereas, the Democrats are against death penalty. The Republicans believe that abortion is wrong and gay people are sinners. On the other hand, the Democrats believe in equality and argue that the right for abortion should be with women. They also support gay rights and gay civil unions.

In the United States, according to a survey conducted in August 2008, it is estimated that 51% of the registered voters lean towards the Democratic party and 38% of them favor the Republican Party.