The Difference Between Republicans and Democrats

Nobody needs an introduction about the two prime political parties of the United States-the Republican party and the Democratic party. Each of the two parties has its own beliefs and political theories. Before analyzing what differentiates Republicans from the Democrats, let's take a brief look about these two parties.

The Republican Party

The symbol of the Republican party is an elephant and red is its color. It was founded in 1854 by the anti-slavery activists and modernizers in Ripon, Wisconsin (United States). Also called Grand Old Party or GOP, it is the second oldest continuing party in the United States, after the Democratic Party. The Republicans believe in giving privilege to the citizens. After its establishment, this 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.

The Democratic Party

The symbol of the Democratic party is a donkey and its color is blue. It was founded in 1792, which was much earlier than the Republicans. The founders include James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and other opponents of the Federalist Party. The oldest continuing party in the United States, the Democratic Party believes in giving rights to citizen. Modern Democratic Party came to the limelight in 1830s, and became powerful when Andrew Jackson was elected as the seventh president of the United States. In 2004, this 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.

Republicans and Democrats: Differences

While discussing the difference between 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 favor small federal government and strong state governments; whereas, the Democrats believe in a large federal government. Let's see the distinguishing points between these two political parties of the United States.

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.

According to the Republicans, property rights should be given to each and every individual. By this, they mean that a person has full right to use and safeguard his/her property without the interference of the government. In this regard, the Democrats believe that implementing regulations concerning the use of private property is the ideal state of being. Thus, huge taxes are being imposed for the betterment of people, who belong to the less privileged group.

The Republicans believe in strong national defense and are in favor of spending more money on military intelligence and warfare. In contrary to this, 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 induced abortion is wrong (pro-life) 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 (pro-choice). They also support gay rights and gay civil unions. Thus, the Republican party remains the strong opponent for the Democratic party.

With this info on democrats vs. republicans, I hope you will be able to make out the views and ideologies of the two contemporary political parties. In the United States, according to a survey conducted in August 2010, it is estimated that 47% voters support the Democratic party, while 43% of Americans favor the Republican Party. And you can easily spot out a democrat from a republican. If you meet a person, who have qualms about pro-choice, gun control, recreational drugs and gay marriage, most likely he/she leans towards the republic party and vice versa.