When Republicans Were Progressive And Democrats Were Conservative

Digital art showing a donkey (Democrats) and an elephant (Republicans) facing off each other.

In modern American politics, the Democratic Party stands as the liberal party. We often see the “progressives” supporting government action on healthcare, climate change, and social issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. The Republican Party stands as the conservative party, where they push for lower taxes, less regulation, traditional values, and a strong national defense. People today see this divide as something that’s always existed, and while it’s true in recent times, it wasn’t always like this. For much of U.S. history, the parties held very different positions on the biggest questions of their time, and though the parties stayed the same for the most part, their values certainly changed.

Before the Civil War, Democrats were far from being progressive, as they defended slavery and states’ rights. The party, which began with Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, focused on limiting how much power the federal government held and increasing local control. Democrats saw a strong central government as a danger to freedom, so as a result, they wanted Washington to leave most decisions to the states. Slavery formed a core issue for Southern Democrats. They viewed it as a state matter and a key part of their economy and society.

Republicans formed in the 1850s to stop slavery’s spread into new territories. The party itself was started by those in the North, which was associated with freedom and being more tolerant. Abolitionists, former Whigs, and Free Soil supporters joined it, and together, the Republicans backed strong federal power to limit and end slavery. Abraham Lincoln led the party to victory in 1860 and guided the Union through the Civil War. They passed the 13th Amendment to free slaves, added the 14th Amendment for citizenship and equal protection, and pushed the 15th Amendment for Black male voting rights. As we can see, when it comes to race, people’s rights, and the role of the central government, Republicans acted as the more progressive party, while Democrats acted as the conservative one. This is quite the difference compared to today! Most Black voters who could vote supported Republicans as the party of Lincoln.

After the war, Southern Democrats fought Reconstruction efforts, all when Republican-backed federal troops were trying their best to enforce Black rights. However, in 1877, after most of these troops left, White Southern leaders regained control. Democrats set up Jim Crow laws, which enforced segregation and stripped Black citizens of rights. The Republican Party kept the loyalty of most Black voters in the North. White Southerners stayed solidly Democratic for generations, and the South became known as the “Solid South” for Democrats.

Unlike for social issues, economic views cut across party lines in mixed ways. Republicans supported high tariffs to protect Northern industry and factories, which is an idea that still persists among them today. They backed federal money for railroads and canals. Democrats spoke for farmers in the South and West and desired free trade and lower tariffs. 

A photo of Franklin Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act of 1935.

So, when did Democrats turn progressive and Republicans become conservative? Well, it was the Great Depression that brought the first major shift. Herbert Hoover, a Republican, served as president when the stock market crashed in 1929, and his response seemed limited to many Americans. Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, won in 1932, and as part of the New Deal, he used federal money and rules to create jobs, aid the unemployed, help farmers, and regulate banks and Wall Street. Even the basic financial safety nets we have currently, including Social Security, began under the Roosevelt administration. Over Roosevelt’s twelve-year term, Democrats slowly started to accept a bigger government role in the economy to help ordinary people. Meanwhile, in contrast to their previously held positions, many Republicans opposed this growth because they now saw the bigger government as a threat to freedom, business, and the Constitution. 

Apart from the New Deal era, the Civil Rights activism during the mid-twentieth century is what caused the deepest change. World War II highlighted inequality, and when Black soldiers that had fought for freedom abroad returned home, they faced nothing but discrimination. Northern Democrats began to push equality after the war. For example, Harry Truman integrated the military in 1948, though he faced backlash from Southern Democrats. John F. Kennedy supported civil rights as president, and after him, Lyndon Johnson signed the major civil rights laws in the 1960s, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination in public places and jobs, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which protected Black voting rights. 

As the national Democratic Party embraced civil rights, white Southern voters left it. Republican leaders spotted the opening. Barry Goldwater opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act on grounds of federal overreach, and he managed to win several Southern states. Richard Nixon used his 1968 campaign to stress law and order and states' rights, and his more conservative messages appealed to voters upset about protests, riots, and rapid social change. This is how Nixon was able to win the presidency. Over the next decades, the South turned solidly Republican. Strom Thurmond switched parties in 1964. Many others followed. Black voters, already moving Democratic since the 1930s New Deal, finished the shift in the 1960s. Today, Black Americans vote overwhelmingly Democratic.

The parties did not switch names or platforms in one moment. No grand meeting decided to flip sides. Voters and politicians realigned over time, and the pattern people know today only really locked into place during the 1950s. Before that, the ideologies that Democrats and Republicans stood for were completely different—and more frankly, the opposite of their modern versions.