Democratic Party (United States)

== Name and symbols ==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 150
| image1            = Democraticjackass.jpg
| caption1          = "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast, ''[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's Weekly]]'', January 19, 1870
| image2            = DemocraticLogo.svg
| caption2          = The donkey party logo remains a well-known symbol for the Democratic Party despite not being the official logo of the party.
}}

The [[Democratic-Republican Party]] splintered in 1824 into the short-lived [[National Republican Party]] and the Jacksonian movement which in 1828 became the Democratic Party. Under the Jacksonian era, the term "The Democracy" was in use by the party, but the name "Democratic Party" was eventually settled upon<ref>{{cite book|author=Appleby, Joyce|title=Thomas Jefferson|year=2003|page=4|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-64841-7|author-link=Joyce Appleby|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6rOu3WYEiiQC|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002180948/https://books.google.com/books?id=6rOu3WYEiiQC&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> and became the official name in 1844.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/157244/Democratic-Party/308570/Slavery-and-the-emergence-of-the-bipartisan-system|title=Democratic Party|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=January 19, 2015|archive-date=February 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217133844/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/157244/Democratic-Party/308570/Slavery-and-the-emergence-of-the-bipartisan-system|url-status=live}}</ref> Members of the party are called "Democrats" or "Dems".

The most common mascot symbol for the party has been the donkey, or jackass.<ref>see [https://web.archive.org/web/20090307093800/https://www.democrats.org/a/2005/06/history_of_the.php "History of the Democratic Donkey"]</ref> [[Andrew Jackson]]'s enemies twisted his name to "jackass" as a term of ridicule regarding a stupid and stubborn animal. However, the Democrats liked the common-man implications and picked it up too, therefore the image persisted and evolved.<ref>{{cite book|author=John William Ward|title=Andrew Jackson: Symbol for an Age|url=https://archive.org/details/andrewjacksonsym0000ward|url-access=registration|year=1962|publisher=Oxford Up|pages=[https://archive.org/details/andrewjacksonsym0000ward/page/87 87]–88|isbn=9780199923205}}</ref> Its most lasting impression came from the cartoons of [[Thomas Nast]] from 1870 in ''[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's Weekly]]''. Cartoonists followed Nast and used the donkey to represent the Democrats and the elephant to represent the [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]].

[[File:Alabama Democrats logo 1904-1996.jpg|thumb|In many states, the logo of the Democratic Party was a rooster, for instance, in Alabama: Logo of the [[Alabama Democratic Party]], 1904–1966 (left) and 1966–1996 (right)<ref name="Ingram">{{Cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/RacistDemocraticPartyLogo|title=Loyalist Faction Wins; 'White Supremacy' Goes|last=Ingram|first=Bob|date=January 21, 1966|work=Birmingham News|access-date=July 22, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Bad symbol removed">{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MXw0AAAAIBAJ&pg=2082%2C1717940|title=Bad symbol removed|date=March 14, 1996|work=Times Daily|access-date=July 22, 2017|page=7B|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531190400/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MXw0AAAAIBAJ&pg=2082%2C1717940|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Democratic Party in Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Ohio was the rooster, as opposed to the Republican eagle.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title=Barbour County, West Virginia General Election Ballot|date=November 4, 2008|url=http://www.wvsos.com/elections/ballots/barbourgen.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024032144/https://www.wvsos.com/elections/ballots/barbourgen.pdf|archive-date=October 24, 2008}}</ref> The rooster was also adopted as an official symbol of the national Democratic Party.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/programs/cmd/blogs/posters_and_election_propaganda/the_rooster_as_the_symbol_of_the_u.s._democratic_p/|title=The Rooster as the Symbol of the U.S. Democratic Party|first=Steven|last= Seidman| publisher=Ithaca College|date=June 12, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024043133/http://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/programs/cmd/blogs/posters_and_election_propaganda/the_rooster_as_the_symbol_of_the_u.s._democratic_p/|
archive-date=October 24, 2017}}</ref> In 1904, the Alabama Democratic Party chose, as the logo to put on its ballots, a rooster with the motto "White supremacy – For the right."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.snopes.com/dem-party-logo-white-supremacy/|title=FACT CHECK: Did a State Democratic Party Logo Once Feature the Slogan 'White Supremacy'?|date=September 25, 2017|work=Snopes.com|access-date=December 9, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> The words "White supremacy" were replaced with "Democrats" in 1966.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19660123&id=63VPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3996,5100480|title=Alabama Democratic Party Strikes 'White Supremacy' From Its Motto|date=January 23, 1966|work=Ocala Star-Banner|access-date=July 22, 2017|agency=Associated Press|page=1|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128030021/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19660123&id=63VPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3996,5100480|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ingram"/> In 1996, the Alabama Democratic Party dropped the rooster, citing racist and white supremacist connotations linked with the symbol.<ref name="Bad symbol removed"/> The rooster symbol still appears on Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia [[ballot]]s.<ref name="auto1"/> In New York, the Democratic ballot symbol is a five-pointed star.<ref>{{cite web|title=Poor Ballot Design Hurts New York's Minor Parties{{nbsp}}... Again|publisher=[[Brennan Center for Justice]]|first=Tomas|last=Lopez|date=October 23, 2014|url=https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/poor-ballot-design-hurts-new-yorks-minor-parties-again|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-date=February 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031521/https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/poor-ballot-design-hurts-new-yorks-minor-parties-again|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Although both major political parties (and many minor ones) use the traditional American colors of red, white, and blue in their marketing and representations, since [[2000 United States presidential election|election night 2000]] blue has become the identifying color for the Democratic Party while red has become the identifying color for the Republican Party. That night, for the first time all major broadcast television networks used the same color scheme for the electoral map: [[Red states and blue states|blue states]] for [[Al Gore]] (Democratic nominee) and red states for [[George W. Bush]] (Republican nominee). Since then, the color blue has been widely used by the media to represent the party. This is contrary to common practice outside of the United States where blue is the traditional color of the right and red the color of the left.<ref name="WP Nov 2004">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17079-2004Nov1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509144731/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17079-2004Nov1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 9, 2008|title=Elephants Are Red, Donkeys Are Blue|last=Farhi|first=Paul|date=November 2, 2004|newspaper=Washington Post|page=C01|access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref> 

[[Jefferson-Jackson Day]] is the annual fundraising event (dinner) held by Democratic Party organizations across the United States.<ref>{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Trotter|title=Obama sets sights on November battle|newspaper=[[Bangor Daily News]]|date=February 11, 2008|url=http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=160039&zoneid=176|access-date=February 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228050855/http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=160039&zoneid=176|archive-date=February 28, 2008}}</ref> It is named after Presidents [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[Andrew Jackson]], whom the party regards as its distinguished early leaders.

The song "[[Happy Days Are Here Again]]" is the unofficial song of the Democratic Party. It was used prominently when [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] was nominated for president at the [[1932 Democratic National Convention]] and remains a sentimental favorite for Democrats. For example, [[Paul Shaffer]] played the theme on the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' after the Democrats won Congress in 2006. "[[Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac song)|Don't Stop]]" by [[Fleetwood Mac]] was adopted by [[Bill Clinton]]'s presidential campaign in 1992 and has endured as a popular Democratic song. The emotionally similar song "[[Beautiful Day]]" by the band [[U2]] has also become a favorite theme song for Democratic candidates. [[John Kerry]] used the song during his 2004 presidential campaign and several Democratic Congressional candidates used it as a celebratory tune in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Gruss|title=Local roast becomes political pep rally for Democrats|newspaper=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|date=November 21, 2006|url=http://hamptonroads.com/node/185421|access-date=April 15, 2007|archive-date=February 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225035614/http://hamptonroads.com/node/185421|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Scherer|title=The Democrats are ready to lead|work=[[Salon.com]]|date=November 8, 2006|url=https://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/08/pelosi/|access-date=March 18, 2007|archive-date=August 11, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811050908/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/08/pelosi/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As a traditional anthem for its presidential nominating convention, [[Aaron Copland]]'s "[[Fanfare for the Common Man]]" is traditionally performed at the beginning of the Democratic National Convention.