US Elections: Democratic Party of Kamala Harris - What you should know

Washington DC

The story of the Democratic Party, from which Kamala Harris is racing for the White House, starts in the 19th century. Since its founding in 1828, America's oldest major political party has come a long way from protecting the interests of farmers, which made it take a stance in favour of slavery, to becoming the left-of-centre voice of the nation's politics.

Watch: Democratic National Convention: Biden urges Democrats to support Harris in race to White House

The party is now considered as leftist as it could get in the US, carefully balancing free market, and neoliberal economic policies with progressive stances on social issues such as women's rights, abortion and migration.

However, by the time Barack Obama finished his second term as president, the Democrats were seen as too woke, which led to the gathering of right-wing forces under Donald Trump, catapulting the businessman into the presidency in 2016.

Since the mid-20th century, the Democratic Party has become the voice of the African-American-led civil rights movement, an incredible transformation from its earlier role in opposing the abolition of slavery.

The party's stance on social justice, including for religious minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and immigrants, made it a force for diversity in a political landscape marked by the unique two-party system. 

Democrats gave to America some of the most iconic presidents including John F Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, James K Polk, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Lyndon B Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

But they were not without their set of controversies. Kennedy was assassinated while in office. Clinton became the centre of a sex scandal involving a White House intern and faced an impeachment move which he survived.

And there's also a tendency for the Democrats to become a 'family party'. Several family members of Kennedy assumed political office, while Clinton's wife Hillary unsuccessfully ran for the White House against Trump. Obama's wife, Michelle, is a strong campaigner for the party with reports often indicating a larger political role for her that could even include a run for the presidency in the future. 

For all its appearance of being liberal, the Democrats have a dark history of ravaging several parts of the world, particularly during the Cold War era.

Not too different from the Republicans, they supported brutal dictators across Latin America, Asia and West Asia, and 'colour-coded revolutions' in the periphery of the erstwhile Soviet Union in an attempt to surround Russia with pro-West governments.

Also read: Harris vows to 'end drama' in 'closing argument' from Ellipse, site of US capitol riots

The Democrats supported, encouraged or helped the so-called Arab Spring - a series of revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and other nations in West Asia, that was followed by years of bloodshed, toppling of military dictators only to replace them with more military men, civil war, and the worsening of Jihadi terrorism in the Islamic world.

The Democrats had enjoyed a majority in the US Congress at several points in history. They had near-uninterrupted dominance of the House of Representatives between 1932 and 1938. They won the lower house in 1948, 1954, 1964, 1966, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2018 and 2022, though some of these periods saw their majority shrink.

In the Senate, Democrats won in 1932, 1934, 1936, 1948, 1954, 1964, 1966, 2006, 2008, 2018 and 2020.

In the 20th century, Democratic presidents were at the helm during most of the World Wars and much of the Cold War. They brought in policies for economic recovery and health care reform. 

Also read: US Elections: All you need to know about the Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris

The Democratic Party is credited with giving energy to the civil rights movement, reducing inequality, expanding social welfare and giving leadership to the world in tackling the climate crisis. 

While this made the Democrats the darling of minorities, much of the working class and marginalised people, their Republican rivals often accuse the party of being class warriors and Communists.

Will Kamala Harris, the current vice president, be elected as a true representative of the diversity of the American people? 

Whether she makes it to the White House or not, the fact that a woman of mixed Asian and African descent was able to make it to the race is in itself a tribute to the Democrats' efforts to be the true representative of a very diverse and complex nation.