The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ( AFSCME ) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, corrections officers, sanitation workers, police officers, firefighters, and childcare providers. Founded in Madison, Wisconsin , in 1932, AFSCME is part of the AFL–CIO , one of the two main labor federations in the United States. AFSCME has had four presidents since its founding.
190-506: The union is known for its involvement in political campaigns, almost exclusively with the Democratic Party . AFSCME was one of the first groups to take advantage of the 2010 Citizens United decision, which allowed unions and corporations to directly finance ads that expressly call for the election or defeat of a candidate. Major political issues for AFSCME include single-payer health care , protecting pension benefits, increasing
380-561: A B.A. degree magna cum laude . For a while he suffered from nightmares about flying through flak barrages or his plane being on fire. He continued with debate, again winning the state Peace Oratory Contest with a speech entitled "From Cave to Cave" that presented a Christian-influenced Wilsonian outlook. The couple's second daughter, Susan, was born in March 1946. McGovern switched from Wesleyan Methodism to less fundamentalist regular Methodism . Influenced by Walter Rauschenbusch and
570-515: A McGovern-introduced resolution on Indian self-determination passed in 1969, the Oglala Sioux named McGovern "Great White Eagle." In his first speech on the Senate floor in March 1963, McGovern praised Kennedy's Alliance for Progress initiative but spoke out against U.S. policy toward Cuba , saying that it suffered from "our Castro fixation". In August 1963 McGovern advocated reducing
760-477: A PhD, and served as a history professor. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1956 and re-elected in 1958. After a failed bid for the U.S. Senate in 1960 , he was a successful candidate in 1962 . As a senator, McGovern was an example of modern American liberalism . He became most known for his outspoken opposition to the growing U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War . He staged
950-445: A Senate measure he introduced was eventually passed, adding $ 700 million to the effort's funding. Preferring to concentrate on broad policy matters and speeches, McGovern was not a master of Senate legislative tactics, and he developed a reputation among some other senators for "not doing his homework". Described as "a very private, unchummy guy", he was not a member of the Senate "club" nor did he want to be, turning down in 1969
1140-492: A better student than McGovern in 26 years of teaching. McGovern was influenced not only by Link and the " Consensus School " of American historians but also by the previous generation of "progressive" historians . Most of his future analyses of world events would be informed by his training as a historian, as well as his personal experiences during the Great Depression and World War II. Meanwhile, McGovern had become
1330-467: A brief nomination run in the 1968 presidential election as a stand-in for the assassinated Robert F. Kennedy . The subsequent McGovern–Fraser Commission fundamentally altered the presidential nominating process, by increasing the number of caucuses and primaries and reducing the influence of party insiders. The McGovern–Hatfield Amendment sought to end the Vietnam War by legislative means but
1520-431: A chair. County, town, city, and ward committees generally are composed of individuals elected at the local level. State and local committees often coordinate campaign activities within their jurisdiction, oversee local conventions, and in some cases primaries or caucuses, and may have a role in nominating candidates for elected office under state law. Rarely do they have much direct funding, but in 2005 DNC Chairman Dean began
1710-399: A chance to join the powerful Senate Rules Committee . Relatively few pieces of legislation bore his name, and his legislative accomplishments were generally viewed as modest, although he would try to influence the contents of others' bills. In his political beliefs, McGovern fit squarely within modern American liberalism ; through 1967 he had voted in accordance with the rated positions of
1900-544: A chapter within the American Federation of Government Employees . AFSCME received a separate charter from the AFL in 1936. In the 1930s, AFSCME was primarily a union for white-collar civil service workers, including librarians, social workers and clerical staff. These workers were legally without the right to collectively bargain , let alone strike —rights which Zander did not support. The union grew slowly over
2090-658: A child with an unknown woman. In May and June 1945, following the end of the European war, McGovern continued with the 741st Bomb Squadron delivering surplus food and supplies near Trieste in Northeastern Italy; this was then trucked to the hungry in nearby locations, including to German prisoners of war. McGovern liked making these relief flights, as it gave a way to address the kinds of deprivations he had witnessed when first arriving in Italy. He then flew back to
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#17327718809372280-457: A community of 12,000. McGovern attended public schools there and was an average student. He was painfully shy as a child and was afraid to speak in class during first grade. His only reproachable behavior was going to see movies, which were among the worldly amusements forbidden to good Wesleyan Methodists. Otherwise he had a normal childhood marked by visits to the renowned Mitchell Corn Palace and what he later termed "a sense of belonging to
2470-463: A daughter during 1941, although this did not become public knowledge during his lifetime. In April 1941 McGovern began dating fellow student Eleanor Stegeberg , who had grown up in Woonsocket, South Dakota . They had first encountered each other during a high school debate in which Eleanor and her twin sister Ila defeated McGovern and his partner. McGovern was listening to a radio broadcast of
2660-557: A general unhappiness over Eisenhower administration farm policy. When polls showed McGovern gaining, Lovre's campaign implied that McGovern's support for admitting the People's Republic of China to the United Nations and his past support for Henry Wallace meant that McGovern was a communist appeaser or sympathizer. In his closing speech, McGovern responded: "I have always despised communism and every other ruthless tyranny over
2850-488: A history teacher who capitalized on McGovern's interest in that subject, proved to be a great influence in his life, and McGovern spent many hours honing his meticulous, if colorless, forensic style. McGovern and his debating partner won events in his area and gained renown in a state where debating was passionately followed by the general public. Debate changed McGovern's life, giving him a chance to explore ideas to their logical end, broadening his perspective, and instilling
3040-547: A key part of the bipartisan conservative coalition in an alliance with most of the Midwestern Republicans. The economically activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism , shaped much of the party's economic agenda after 1932. From the 1930s to the mid-1960s, the liberal New Deal coalition usually controlled the presidency while the conservative coalition usually controlled Congress. Issues facing parties and
3230-649: A margin of 597, making him the first Democratic senator from the state in 26 years and only the third since statehood in 1889. When he joined the Senate in January 1963 for the 88th Congress , McGovern was seated on the Senate Agriculture and Forestry Committee and Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee . On the Agriculture Committee, McGovern supported high farm prices, full parity, and controls on beef importation, as well as
3420-532: A move for the party toward the Third Way , moving the party's economic stance towards market-based economic policy. Barack Obama oversaw the party's passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. During his and Joe Biden 's presidency, the party has adopted an increasingly progressive economic agenda and more left-wing views on cultural and social issues . In the 21st century, the party
3610-532: A particular place and knowing your part in it." He would, however, long remember the Dust Bowl storms and grasshopper plagues that swept the prairie states during the Great Depression . The McGovern family lived on the edge of the poverty line for much of the 1920s and 1930s. Growing up so close to privation gave young George a lifelong sympathy for underpaid workers and struggling farmers. He
3800-446: A piece of shrapnel from flak came through the windshield and missed fatally wounding him by only a few inches. The following day on a mission to Brüx , he nearly collided with another bomber during close-formation flying in complete cloud cover. The following day, he was recommended for a medal after surviving a blown wheel on the always-dangerous B-24 take-off, completing a mission over Germany, and then landing without further damage to
3990-435: A pilot's license through the government's Civilian Pilot Training Program . McGovern recalled: "Frankly, I was scared to death on that first solo flight. But when I walked away from it, I had an enormous feeling of satisfaction that I had taken the thing off the ground and landed it without tearing the wings off." In late 1940 or early 1941, McGovern had pre-marital sex with an acquaintance that resulted in her giving birth to
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#17327718809374180-646: A pioneer in aggressively recruiting women and black workers. In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while in Memphis, Tennessee to support a strike by the African-American sanitation workers ' union, AFSCME Local 1733. By 1969, AFSCME was unionizing 1,000 new workers each day. The organization saw its greatest period of growth in the 1970s. In 1973, AFSCME concluded a three-year organizing campaign of 75,000 Pennsylvania employees. It
4370-528: A political career of his own. McGovern spent the following years rebuilding and revitalizing the party, building up a large list of voter contacts via frequent travel around the state. Democrats showed improvement in the 1954 elections, winning 25 seats in the state legislature. From 1954 to 1956 he also was on a political organization advisory group for the Democratic National Committee . The McGoverns' fifth and final child, Mary,
4560-411: 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. As a traditional anthem for its presidential nominating convention, Aaron Copland 's " Fanfare for
4750-639: A popular if politically outspoken teacher at Dakota Wesleyan, with students dedicating the college yearbook to him in 1952. Nominally a Republican growing up, McGovern began to admire Democratic president Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II, even though he supported Roosevelt's opponent Thomas Dewey in the 1944 presidential election . At Northwestern, his exposure to the work of China scholars John King Fairbank and Owen Lattimore had convinced him that unrest in Southeast Asia
4940-623: A program (called the "50 State Strategy") of using DNC national funds to assist all state parties and pay for full-time professional staffers. In addition, state-level party committees operate in the territories of American Samoa , Guam , and Virgin Islands , the commonwealths of Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico , and the District of Columbia , with all but Puerto Rico being active in nominating candidates for both presidential and territorial contests, while Puerto Rico's Democratic Party
5130-457: A reconstruction of Public Law 480 (an agricultural surplus act that had come into being under Eisenhower) with a greater emphasis on feeding the hungry around the world, the establishment of an executive office to run operations, and the goal of promoting peace and stability around the world. During his time in the House, McGovern was regarded as a liberal overall, and voted in accordance with
5320-488: A sense of personal and social confidence. He graduated in 1940 in the top ten percent of his class. McGovern enrolled at small Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell and became a star student there. He supplemented a forensic scholarship by working a variety of odd jobs. With World War II under way overseas and feeling insecure about his own courage, McGovern took flying lessons in an Aeronca aircraft and received
5510-850: A single-engined PT‑19 . McGovern married Eleanor Stegeberg on October 31, 1943, during a three-day leave (lonely and in love, the couple had decided to not wait any longer). His father presided over the ceremony at the Methodist church in Woonsocket. After three months in Muskogee, McGovern went to Coffeyville Army Airfield in Kansas for a further three months of training on the BT‑13 . Around April 1944, McGovern went on to advanced flying school at Pampa Army Airfield in Texas for twin-engine training on
5700-461: A synthesis of neoliberal economic policies with cultural liberalism , with the voter base after Reagan having shifted considerably to the right . In an effort to appeal both to liberals and to fiscal conservatives, Democrats began to advocate for a balanced budget and market economy tempered by government intervention ( mixed economy ), along with a continued emphasis on social justice and affirmative action . The economic policy adopted by
5890-456: A union president, secretary-treasurer and 35 regional vice presidents. Notable Secretary-Treasurers include Gordon Chapman (1937–1944, 1948–1961, 1962–1966), Joseph Ames (1966–1972) and William Lucy (1972–2010). Starting in the 2000s, AFSCME began campaigns to organize home-based family child care providers. In 2005, when Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed an executive order allowing home child care providers to collectively bargain with
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6080-508: A vigorous campaign attacking Eastern moneyed interests, but he lost to Republican William McKinley . The Democrats took control of the House in 1910, and Woodrow Wilson won election as president in 1912 (when the Republicans split) and 1916. Wilson effectively led Congress to put to rest the issues of tariffs, money, and antitrust, which had dominated politics for 40 years, with new progressive laws. He failed to secure Senate passage of
6270-573: A year afterward, partly because of the November 1963 assassination of President Kennedy and partly to not appear strident. Though more skeptical about it than most senators, McGovern voted in favor of the August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution , which turned out to be an essentially unbounded authorization for President Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate U.S. involvement in the war. McGovern thought
6460-491: A younger generation of leaders, who like Hart had been inspired by the pragmatic idealism of John F. Kennedy. Arkansas governor Bill Clinton was one such figure, who was elected president in 1992 as the Democratic nominee. The Democratic Leadership Council was a campaign organization connected to Clinton that advocated a realignment and triangulation under the re-branded " New Democrat " label. The party adopted
6650-400: Is a clear demonstration of the limitations of military power ... [Current U.S. involvement] is a policy of moral debacle and political defeat ... The trap we have fallen into there will haunt us in every corner of this revolutionary world if we do not properly appraise its lessons. However, the speech was little noticed, and McGovern backed away from saying anything publicly for over
6840-548: Is an organization supporting the candidacies of Democratic gubernatorial nominees and incumbents. Likewise, the mayors of the largest cities and urban centers convene as the National Conference of Democratic Mayors . The DNC sponsors the College Democrats of America (CDA), a student-outreach organization with the goal of training and engaging a new generation of Democratic activists. Democrats Abroad
7030-658: Is chaired by Representative Suzan DelBene of Washington . Similarly, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), chaired by Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, raises funds for Senate races. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), chaired by Majority Leader of the New York State Senate Andrea Stewart-Cousins , is a smaller organization that focuses on state legislative races. The Democratic Governors Association (DGA)
7220-506: 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. Jefferson-Jackson Day is the annual fundraising event (dinner) held by Democratic Party organizations across the United States. 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 "
7410-587: Is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States . Since the late 1850s, its main political rival has been the Republican Party ; the two parties have since dominated American politics. The Democratic Party was founded in 1828. Martin Van Buren of New York played the central role in building the coalition of state organizations that formed a new party as a vehicle to elect Andrew Jackson of Tennessee. The Democratic Party
7600-617: Is organized only to nominate presidential candidates. The Democrats Abroad committee is organized by American voters who reside outside of U.S. territory to nominate presidential candidates. All such party committees are accorded recognition as state parties and are allowed to elect both members to the National Committee as well as delegates to the National Convention. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) assists party candidates in House races and
7790-472: Is strongest among urban voters , union workers , college graduates , women , African Americans , American Jews , LGBT+ people , and the unmarried . On social issues, it advocates for abortion rights , voting rights , LGBT rights , action on climate change , and the legalization of marijuana . On economic issues, the party favors healthcare reform , universal child care , paid sick leave and supporting unions . In foreign policy,
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7980-529: Is the largest party in the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world . Including the incumbent Biden, 16 Democrats have served as president of the United States. 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
8170-545: Is the organization for Americans living outside the United States. They work to advance the party's goals and encourage Americans living abroad to support the Democrats. The Young Democrats of America (YDA) and the High School Democrats of America (HSDA) are young adult and youth-led organizations respectively that attempt to draw in and mobilize young people for Democratic candidates but operates outside of
8360-522: 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 " by Fleetwood Mac was adopted by Bill Clinton 's presidential campaign in 1992 and has endured as
8550-439: Is the world's oldest active political party. It initially supported expansive presidential power , agrarianism , and geographical expansionism , while opposing a national bank and high tariffs . From 1848 it was dominated by the interests of slave states until it split in 1860 over slavery . It won the presidency only twice between 1860 and 1912, although it won the popular vote two more times in that period. In
8740-557: The 1848 presidential election , before returning to the Democratic Party and staying loyal to the Union. The Democrats split over slavery, with Northern and Southern tickets in the election of 1860 , in which the Republican Party gained ascendancy. The radical pro-slavery Fire-Eaters led walkouts at the two conventions when the delegates would not adopt a resolution supporting the extension of slavery into territories even if
8930-483: The 1968 Democratic National Convention , committing himself to "the goals for which Robert Kennedy gave his life." Asked why he was a better choice than McCarthy, he said, "Well – Gene really doesn't want to be president, and I do." At the convention in Chicago, Humphrey was the near-certain choice, while McGovern became the initial rallying point for around 300 leaderless Kennedy delegates. The chaotic circumstances of
9120-435: The 1984 and 1988 presidential elections , respectively. Many Democrats attached their hopes to the future star of Gary Hart , who had challenged Mondale in the 1984 primaries running on a theme of "New Ideas"; and in the subsequent 1988 primaries became the de facto front-runner and virtual "shoo-in" for the Democratic presidential nomination before a sex scandal ended his campaign. The party nevertheless began to seek out
9310-544: The 2020 presidential election . He began his term with extremely narrow Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate. During the Biden presidency, the party has been characterized as adopting an increasingly progressive economic agenda . In 2022, Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson , the first Black woman on the Supreme Court . However, she was replacing liberal justice Stephen Breyer , so she did not alter
9500-579: The AT‑17 and AT‑9 . Throughout, Air Cadet McGovern showed skill as a pilot, with his exceptionally good depth perception aiding him. Eleanor McGovern followed him to these duty stations, and was present when he received his wings and was commissioned a second lieutenant . McGovern was assigned to Liberal Army Airfield in Kansas and its transition school to learn to fly the B‑24 Liberator, an assignment he
9690-415: The American Federation of Teachers agreed on a politics-only alliance for the 2012 national election campaign. In 2016, AFSCME and SEIU announced an extension of that agreement, leading to speculation about a possible future merger. 38°54′14″N 77°02′16″W / 38.9040°N 77.0377°W / 38.9040; -77.0377 Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party
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#17327718809379880-644: The Civil Rights Act of 1960 , but did not vote on the Senate amendment to the bill in April 1960. In 1960, McGovern decided to run for the U.S. Senate and challenge the Republican incumbent Karl Mundt , a formidable figure in South Dakota politics whom McGovern loathed as an old-style McCarthyite . The race centered mostly on rural issues, but John F. Kennedy's Catholicism was a drawback at
10070-644: The Democratic National Convention . The national convention is subject to the charter of the party and the ultimate authority within the Democratic Party when it is in session, with the DNC running the party's organization at other times. Since 2021, the DNC has been chaired by Jaime Harrison . Each state also has a state committee, made up of elected committee members as well as ex officio committee members (usually elected officials and representatives of major constituencies), which in turn elects
10260-561: The New Deal . New Deal liberalism meant the regulation of business (especially finance and banking) and the promotion of labor unions as well as federal spending to aid the unemployed, help distressed farmers and undertake large-scale public works projects. It marked the start of the American welfare state. The opponents, who stressed opposition to unions, support for business and low taxes, started calling themselves "conservatives". Until
10450-635: The New York Philharmonic Orchestra for a sophomore-year music appreciation class when he heard the news of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor . In January 1942 he drove with nine other students to Omaha, Nebraska , and volunteered to join the United States Army Air Forces . The military accepted him, but they did not yet have enough airfields, aircraft, or instructors to start training all
10640-535: The Social Gospel movement, McGovern began divinity studies at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois , near Chicago . Among Methodist seminaries, Garrett tended towards social involvement paired with a theologically liberal approach, and many of the students there leaned towards pacifism. McGovern was influenced by the weekly sermons of a well-known local minister, Ernest Fremont Tittle , and
10830-489: The South Dakota Democratic Party , the state chair having recruited him after reading his articles. Democrats in the state were at a low, holding no statewide offices and only 2 of the 110 seats in the state legislature. Friends and political figures had counseled McGovern against making the move, but despite his mild, unassuming manner, McGovern had an ambitious nature and was intent upon starting
11020-449: The U.S. Army Air Forces upon the country's entry into World War II . As a B-24 Liberator pilot, he flew 35 missions over German-occupied Europe from a base in Italy. Among the medals he received was a Distinguished Flying Cross for making a hazardous emergency landing of his damaged plane and saving his crew. After the war he earned degrees from Dakota Wesleyan University and Northwestern University , culminating in
11210-473: The U.S. strategic bombing campaign in Europe . The eight- or nine-hour missions were grueling tests of endurance for pilots and crew, and while German fighter aircraft were a diminished threat by this time as compared with earlier in the war, his missions often faced heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire that filled the sky with flak bursts. On McGovern's December 15 mission over Linz , his second as pilot,
11400-641: The University of California system. In 2007, AFSCME resolved a two-year dispute with the University of California that raised pay for the system's lowest paid workers. Since the late 1960s, AFSCME has become one of the most politicized unions in the AFL–CIO. Since 1972, AFSCME has been a primary force within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party , playing a major role in setting the legislative agenda and in choosing Democratic presidential candidates. In
11590-764: The Versailles Treaty (ending the war with Germany and joining the League of Nations). The weakened party was deeply divided by issues such as the KKK and prohibition in the 1920s. However, it did organize new ethnic voters in Northern cities. After World War I ended and continuing through the Great Depression , the Democratic and Republican Parties both largely believed in American exceptionalism over European monarchies and state socialism that existed elsewhere in
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#173277188093711780-537: The Vietnam War in the 1960s was another divisive issue that further fractured the fault lines of the Democrats' coalition. After the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, President Johnson committed a large contingency of combat troops to Vietnam, but the escalation failed to drive the Viet Cong from South Vietnam, resulting in an increasing quagmire , which by 1968 had become the subject of widespread anti-war protests in
11970-476: The Whigs and modern Republicans. Historians argue that the modern Democratic Party was first organized in the late 1820s with the election of war hero Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, making it the world's oldest active political party. It was predominately built by Martin Van Buren , who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind Jackson. Since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896,
12160-618: The election of 1864 , which featured Andrew Johnson on the Union ticket to attract fellow Democrats. Johnson replaced Lincoln in 1865, but he stayed independent of both parties. The Democrats benefited from white Southerners' resentment of Reconstruction after the war and consequent hostility to the Republican Party. After Redeemers ended Reconstruction in the 1870s and following the often extremely violent disenfranchisement of African Americans led by such white supremacist Democratic politicians as Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina in
12350-489: The gold standard ; opposed bimetallism ; and crusaded against corruption, high taxes and tariffs. Cleveland was elected to non-consecutive presidential terms in 1884 and 1892 . Agrarian Democrats demanding free silver , drawing on Populist ideas, overthrew the Bourbon Democrats in 1896 and nominated William Jennings Bryan for the presidency (a nomination repeated by Democrats in 1900 and 1908). Bryan waged
12540-584: The minimum wage , preventing the privatization of government jobs, and expanding unemployment benefits. AFSCME is divided into approximately 3,400 local unions in 46 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico . AFSCME was formed out of the Wisconsin State Employees Association (WSEA), which was founded in Madison, Wisconsin , in 1932 to represent approximately 50 Wisconsin civil service employees. The WSEA
12730-602: The popular vote , but after a controversial election dispute over a Florida recount settled by the U.S. Supreme Court (which ruled 5–4 in favor of Bush ), he lost the 2000 election to Republican opponent George W. Bush in the Electoral College . In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as well as the growing concern over global warming , some of
12920-585: The $ 53 billion defense budget by $ 5 billion; influenced by advisor Seymour Melman , he held a special antipathy toward the doctrine of nuclear "overkill" . McGovern would try to reduce defense appropriations or limit military expenditures in almost every year during the 1960s. He also voted against many weapons programs, especially missile and antimissile systems, and also opposed military assistance to foreign nations. In 1964 McGovern published his first book, War Against Want: America's Food for Peace Program . In it he argued for expanding his old program, and
13110-464: The 1880s and 1890s, the South, voting Democratic, became known as the " Solid South ". Although Republicans won all but two presidential elections, the Democrats remained competitive. The party was dominated by pro-business Bourbon Democrats led by Samuel J. Tilden and Grover Cleveland , who represented mercantile, banking, and railroad interests; opposed imperialism and overseas expansion; fought for
13300-402: The 1960s, the core bases of the parties shifted, with the Southern states becoming more reliably Republican and the Northeastern states becoming more reliably Democratic. The party's labor union element has become smaller since the 1970s, and as the American electorate shifted in a more conservative direction following the presidency of Ronald Reagan , the election of Bill Clinton marked
13490-408: The 1980s, the Democratic Party was a coalition of two parties divided by the Mason–Dixon line: liberal Democrats in the North and culturally conservative voters in the South, who though benefitting from many of the New Deal public works projects, opposed increasing civil rights initiatives advocated by northeastern liberals. The polarization grew stronger after Roosevelt died. Southern Democrats formed
13680-409: The 1990s, AFSCME was the top U.S. donor to Bill Clinton . According to OpenSecrets , AFSCME is the United States' fifth largest organizational contributor to federal campaigns and parties, having donated more than $ 126 million since the 1990 election cycle. The organization contributes almost exclusively to Democratic Party campaigns; since 1990 the ratio of Democratic to Republican contributions by
13870-406: The 2010 Citizens United decision, funding for political campaigns came from voluntary contributions to a political action committee called AFSCME PEOPLE ("Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality"). With the loosening of restrictions by this Supreme Court case, AFSCME has widened its political funding base through the use of member dues. AFSCME is not required to publicly disclose
14060-707: The ADA 92 percent of the time, and when lacking specific knowledge on a particular matter, he would ask his staff, "What are the liberals doing?" In a speech on the Senate floor in September 1963, McGovern became the first member to challenge the growing U.S. military involvement in Vietnam . Bothered by the Buddhist crisis and other recent developments, and with concerns influenced by Vietnam historian Bernard Fall , McGovern said: The current dilemma in Vietnam
14250-492: The AFSCME has exceeded 99:1. In addition to combating privatization of public sector jobs, key political objectives for the group include raising the minimum wage and opposing the substitution of vacation time for overtime pay due workers. In June 2008, AFSCME, along with MoveOn.org , spent over US$ 500,000 on a television advertisement, Not Alex , critical of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain . Until
14440-638: The Common Man " is traditionally performed at the beginning of the Democratic National Convention. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign activities. While the DNC is responsible for overseeing the process of writing the Democratic Platform, the DNC is more focused on campaign and organizational strategy than public policy . In presidential elections, it supervises
14630-471: The DNC. George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota , and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election . McGovern grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota , where he became a renowned debater. He volunteered for
14820-477: The Democratic Party from the Republicans. The McGoverns named their only son, Steven, born immediately after the convention, after his new hero. Although Stevenson lost the election, McGovern remained active in politics, believing that "the engine of progress in our time in America is the Democratic Party." In early 1953, McGovern left a tenure-track position at the university to become executive secretary of
15010-417: The Democratic Party supported expansive presidential power , the interests of slave states , agrarianism , and expansionism , while opposing a national bank and high tariffs . The Democratic-Republican Party split over the choice of a successor to President James Monroe . The faction that supported many of the old Jeffersonian principles , led by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren , became
15200-407: 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: 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
15390-407: The Democratic Party, including the former Clinton administration , has been referred to as " Third Way ". The Democrats lost control of Congress in the 1994 elections to the Republicans, however, in 1996 Clinton was re-elected, becoming the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term. Clinton's vice president Al Gore ran to succeed him as president, and won
15580-421: The Democrats but had the effect of alienating Southern whites who would eventually gravitate toward the Republican Party, particularly after the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980. Many conservative Southern Democrats defected to the Republican Party , beginning with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the general leftward shift of the party. The United States' involvement in
15770-502: The Democrats led to a Republican victory and Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States. As the American Civil War broke out, Northern Democrats were divided into War Democrats and Peace Democrats . The Confederate States of America deliberately avoided organized political parties. Most War Democrats rallied to Republican President Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans' National Union Party in
15960-725: The Depression. Those sights would form part of his later motivation to fight hunger. Starting on November 11, 1944, McGovern flew 35 missions over enemy territory from San Giovanni, the first five as co-pilot for an experienced crew and the rest as pilot for his own plane, known as the Dakota Queen after his wife Eleanor. His targets were in Austria ; Czechoslovakia ; Nazi Germany ; Hungary ; Poland ; and northern, German-controlled Italy , and were often either oil refinery complexes or rail marshaling yards , all as part of
16150-730: The Federalist Party. The Democratic-Republican Party favored republicanism ; a weak federal government ; states' rights ; agrarian interests (especially Southern planters); and strict adherence to the Constitution. The party opposed a national bank and Great Britain . After the War of 1812 , the Federalists virtually disappeared and the only national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans, which
16340-574: The Food for Peace program was operating in a dozen countries, and 10 million more people had been fed with American surplus than the year before. In February 1962, McGovern visited India and oversaw an expanded school lunch program thanks to Food for Peace; subsequently one in five Indian schoolchildren would be fed from it, and by mid-1962, 35 million children around the world. During an audience in Rome, Pope John XXIII warmly praised McGovern's work, and
16530-625: The Middle East under a fellowship from the American Christian Palestine Committee . McGovern first allied with the Kennedy family by supporting a House version of Senator John F. Kennedy's eventually unsuccessful labor reform bill. In his 1958 reelection campaign, McGovern faced a strong challenge from South Dakota's two-term Republican governor and World War II Medal of Honor recipient Joe Foss , who
16720-510: The Obama presidency, the party moved forward reforms including an economic stimulus package, the Dodd–Frank financial reform act, and the Affordable Care Act . In the 2010 midterm elections , the Democratic Party lost control of the House as well as its majorities in several state legislatures and governorships. In the 2012 elections , President Obama was re-elected, but the party remained in
16910-516: The Republican eagle. The rooster was also adopted as an official symbol of the national Democratic Party. 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." The words "White supremacy" were replaced with "Democrats" in 1966. In 1996, the Alabama Democratic Party dropped the rooster, citing racist and white supremacist connotations linked with
17100-501: The Rev. Joseph C. McGovern, born in 1868, was pastor of the local Wesleyan Methodist Church there. Joseph – the son of an alcoholic who had immigrated from Ireland – had grown up in several states, working in coal mines from the age of nine and parentless from the age of thirteen. He had been a professional baseball player in the minor leagues , but had given it up due to his teammates' heavy drinking, gambling, and womanizing, and entered
17290-451: The Senate in 1968 and 1974, McGovern was defeated in his bid for a fourth term in 1980. Beginning with his experiences in war-torn Italy and continuing throughout his career, McGovern was involved in issues related to agriculture, food, nutrition, and hunger. As the first director of the Food for Peace program in 1961, McGovern oversaw the distribution of U.S. surpluses to the needy abroad and
17480-424: The U.S. House and expanded its majority in the U.S. Senate, along with several gains at the state level. In July 2024, after a series of age and health concerns , Biden became the first incumbent president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 to withdraw from running for reelection, the first since the 19th century to withdraw after serving only one term, and the only one to ever withdraw after already winning
17670-481: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization . In June 1961 McGovern became seriously ill with hepatitis , contracted from an infected White House dispensary needle used to give him inoculations for his South American trip; he was hospitalized and unable to come to his office for two months (his campaign disguised the condition by saying it was a mild kidney infection). By the close of 1961,
17860-555: The United States after World War II included the Cold War and the civil rights movement . Republicans attracted conservatives and, after the 1960s, white Southerners from the Democratic coalition with their use of the Southern strategy and resistance to New Deal and Great Society liberalism. Until the 1950s, African Americans had traditionally supported the Republican Party because of its anti-slavery civil rights policies. Following
18050-495: The United States and elsewhere. With increasing casualties and nightly news reports bringing home troubling images from Vietnam, the costly military engagement became increasingly unpopular, alienating many of the kinds of young voters that the Democrats had attracted in the early 1960s. The protests that year along with assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Democratic presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy (younger brother of John F. Kennedy) climaxed in turbulence at
18240-632: The United States with his crew. McGovern was discharged from the Army Air Forces in July 1945, with the rank of first lieutenant. He was also awarded the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters , one instance of which was for the safe landing on his final mission. Upon coming home, McGovern returned to Dakota Wesleyan University, aided by the G.I. Bill , and graduated from there in June 1946 with
18430-643: The Wallace Progressive Party 's first national convention as a delegate . There he became disturbed by aspects of the convention atmosphere, decades later referring to "a certain rigidity and fanaticism on the part of a few of the strategists." But he remained a public supporter of Wallace and the Progressive Party afterward. As Wallace was kept off the ballot in Illinois where McGovern was now registered, McGovern did not vote in
18620-654: The Whig Party. The Democratic Party had a small yet decisive advantage over the Whigs until the 1850s when the Whigs fell apart over the issue of slavery. In 1854, angry with the Kansas–Nebraska Act , anti-slavery Democrats left the party and joined Northern Whigs to form the Republican Party . Martin van Buren also helped found the Free Soil Party to oppose the spread of slavery, running as its candidate in
18810-452: The administration's Feed Grains Acreage Diversion Program. McGovern had a fractious relationship with Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman , who was less sympathetic to farmers; McGovern's 1966 resolution to informally scold Freeman made the senator popular back in his home state. Fellow new senator Edward M. Kennedy saw McGovern as a serious voice on farm policy and often sought McGovern's guidance on agriculture-related votes. McGovern
19000-423: The anti-Johnson forces were able to persuade Senator Eugene McCarthy to run; he was one of the few "dove" senators not up for reelection that year. In the 1968 Democratic primary campaign, McCarthy staged a strong showing. Robert Kennedy entered the race, President Johnson withdrew and Vice President Hubert Humphrey joined the field. While McGovern privately favored Kennedy, McCarthy and Humphrey were both from
19190-541: The campaign revolved around policies of the Kennedy administration and its New Frontier ; Bottum accused the Kennedy family of trying to buy the Senate seat. McGovern appealed to those worried about the outflux of young people from the state, and had the strong support of the Farmers Union . Polls showed Bottum slightly ahead throughout the race, and McGovern was hampered by a recurrence of his hepatitis problem in
19380-501: The campaign, Kennedy attracted a new generation of younger voters. In his agenda dubbed the New Frontier , Kennedy introduced a host of social programs and public works projects, along with enhanced support of the space program , proposing a crewed spacecraft trip to the moon by the end of the decade. He pushed for civil rights initiatives and proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , but with his assassination in November 1963, he
19570-443: The commander in chief should be given limited authority to retaliate against an attack; subsequently, he said his instinct had been to vote no, but that he had voted yes because of Senator J. William Fulbright 's urging to stand behind Johnson politically. The day after the resolution vote, McGovern spoke concerning his fears that the vote would lead to greater involvement in the war; Wayne Morse , one of only two senators to oppose
19760-505: The committee, Harold D. Cooley , would subsequently say, "I cannot recall a single member of Congress who has fought more vigorously or intelligently for American farmers than Congressman McGovern." He helped pass a new food-stamp law. He was one of nine representatives from Congress to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly conferences of 1958 and 1959. Along with Senator Hubert H. Humphrey , McGovern strongly advocated
19950-430: The concentration of economic and political power. They believed that government intervention in the economy benefited special-interest groups and created corporate monopolies that favored the rich. They sought to restore the independence of the individual—the artisan and the ordinary farmer—by ending federal support of banks and corporations and restricting the use of paper currency, which they distrusted. Their definition of
20140-432: The confusion of the Democrats that year, and won the 1968 election to become the 37th president. He won re-election in a landslide in 1972 against Democratic nominee George McGovern , who like Robert F. Kennedy, reached out to the younger anti-war and counterculture voters, but unlike Kennedy, was not able to appeal to the party's more traditional white working-class constituencies. During Nixon's second term, his presidency
20330-578: The consequences of a relationship with an unstable neighborhood boy. On the basis of a recently enacted strict state drugs law, Terry now faced a minimum five-year prison sentence if found guilty. McGovern was also convinced that the socially conservative voters of South Dakota would reject him owing to his daughter's arrest. Charges against her were subsequently dropped because of an invalid search warrant. McGovern formally announced his candidacy on August 10, 1968, in Washington, two weeks in advance of
20520-447: The convention found McGovern denouncing the Chicago police tactics against demonstrators as "police brutality." Given the internal politics of the party, it was difficult for McGovern to gain in delegate strength, and black protest candidate Channing E. Phillips drew off some of his support. In the actual roll call, McGovern came in third with 146½ delegates, far behind Humphrey's 1760¼ and McCarthy's 601. McGovern endorsed Humphrey at
20710-502: The convention, to the dismay of some antiwar figures who considered it a betrayal. Humphrey went on to lose the general election to Richard Nixon . McGovern returned to his Senate reelection race , facing Republican former governor Archie M. Gubbrud . While South Dakota voters sympathized with McGovern over his daughter's arrest, he initially suffered a substantial drop in popularity over the events in Chicago. However, McGovern conducted an energetic campaign that focused on his service to
20900-430: The court's 6–3 split between conservatives (the majority) and liberals. After Dobbs v. Jackson (decided June 24, 2022), which led to abortion bans in much of the country , the Democratic Party rallied behind abortion rights . In the 2022 midterm elections , Democrats dramatically outperformed historical trends and a widely anticipated red wave did not materialize. The party only narrowly lost its majority in
21090-529: The distribution program was also popular among South Dakota's wheat farmers. In addition, McGovern was instrumental in the creation of the United Nations-run World Food Programme in December 1961; it started distributing food to affected regions of the world the following year and would go on to become the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Administration was never McGovern's strength, however, and he
21280-493: The final weeks of the campaign. (During this hospitalization, McGovern read Theodore H. White 's classic The Making of the President 1960 , and for the first time began thinking about running for the office someday. ) Eleanor McGovern campaigned for her ailing husband and may have preserved his chance of winning. The November 1962 election result was very close and required a recount, but McGovern's 127,458 votes prevailed by
21470-576: The flight, McGovern was told his first child Ann had been born four days earlier. April 25 saw McGovern's 35th mission, which marked fulfillment of the Fifteenth Air Force's requirement for a combat tour, against heavily defended Linz. The sky turned black and red with flak – McGovern later said, "Hell can't be any worse than that" – and the Dakota Queen was hit multiple times, resulting in 110 holes in its fuselage and wings and an inoperative hydraulic system. McGovern's waist gunner
21660-513: The form of potatoes, cabbages, or other food items. Joseph and Frances McGovern were both firm Republicans , but were not politically active or doctrinaire. When George was about three years old, the family moved to Calgary for a while to be near Frances's ailing mother, and he formed memories of events such as the Calgary Stampede . When George was six, the family returned to the United States and moved to Mitchell, South Dakota ,
21850-503: The general election. By 1952, McGovern was coming to think of himself as a Democrat . He was captivated by a radio broadcast of Governor Adlai Stevenson 's speech accepting the presidential nomination at the 1952 Democratic National Convention . He immediately dedicated himself to Stevenson's campaign, publishing seven articles in the Mitchell Daily Republic newspaper outlining the historical issues that separated
22040-693: The greater use of food to enable foreign economic development, saying, "We should thank God that we have a food abundance and use the over-supply among the underprivileged at home and abroad." He found space for the program in the Executive Office Building rather than be subservient to either the State Department or Department of Agriculture . McGovern worked with deputy director James W. Symington and Kennedy advisor Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. in visiting South America to discuss surplus grain distribution, and attended meetings of
22230-647: The hallmark of nineteenth-century American politics. Behind the platforms issued by state and national parties stood a widely shared political outlook that characterized the Democrats: The Democrats represented a wide range of views but shared a fundamental commitment to the Jeffersonian concept of an agrarian society. They viewed the central government as the enemy of individual liberty. The 1824 "corrupt bargain" had strengthened their suspicion of Washington politics. ... Jacksonians feared
22420-706: The heavy losses that bombing missions were suffering over Europe. Despite, and partly because of, the risk that McGovern might not come back from combat, the McGoverns decided to have a child, and Eleanor became pregnant. In June 1944, McGovern's crew received final training at Mountain Home Army Air Field in Idaho . They then shipped out via Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia , where McGovern found history books with which to fill downtime, especially during
22610-401: The hotly-contested Democratic National Convention that summer in Chicago (which amongst the ensuing turmoil inside and outside of the convention hall nominated Vice President Hubert Humphrey ) in a series of events that proved to mark a significant turning point in the decline of the Democratic Party's broad coalition. Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon was able to capitalize on
22800-544: The ideas of Boston personalism . McGovern preached as a Methodist student supply minister at Diamond Lake Church in Mundelein, Illinois , during 1946 and 1947, but became dissatisfied by the minutiae of his pastoral duties. In late 1947 McGovern left the ministry and enrolled in graduate studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, where he also worked as a teaching assistant. The relatively small history program there
22990-716: The identity of its donors, or the size of their contributions. AFSCME was the biggest outside spender in the 2010 midterm elections, spending a total of $ 87.5 million in support of Democratic Party candidates. AFSCME led the failed 2012 recall effort against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker . In 2014, AFSCME cut ties with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) after UNCF accepted a $ 25 million contribution from Charles and David Koch . Starting in 2003, AFSCME had supported UNCF with annual donations of $ 50,000–60,000. In 2012, AFSCME, SEIU , and
23180-508: The image persisted and evolved. Its most lasting impression came from the cartoons of Thomas Nast from 1870 in Harper's Weekly . Cartoonists followed Nast and used the donkey to represent the Democrats and the elephant to represent the Republicans. In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Democratic Party in Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Ohio was the rooster, as opposed to
23370-431: The incident during an Austrian television program and indicated he was still haunted by it, the owner of the farm called the television station to say that his farm was hit by that bomb but that no one had been hurt and the farmer felt that it had been worth the price if that event helped achieve the defeat of Nazi Germany in some small way. McGovern said finding this out was "an enormous release". ) On returning to base from
23560-599: The late 19th century, it continued to oppose high tariffs and had fierce internal debates on the gold standard . In the early 20th century, it partially (not all factions) supported progressive reforms and opposed imperialism , with Woodrow Wilson winning the White House in 1912 and 1916 . Since Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, the Democratic Party has promoted a liberal platform that includes support for Social Security and unemployment insurance . The New Deal attracted strong support for
23750-556: The leadership of Nancy Pelosi . Democrats were extremely critical of President Trump, particularly his policies on immigration, healthcare, and abortion, as well as his response to the COVID-19 pandemic . In December 2019, Democrats in the House of Representatives impeached Trump , although he was acquitted in the Republican-controlled Senate. In November 2020, Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump to win
23940-530: The mind and spirit of man." McGovern staged an upset victory, gaining 116,516 votes to his opponent's 105,835, and became the first Democrat elected to Congress from South Dakota in 22 years. The McGoverns established a home in Chevy Chase, Maryland . Entering the 85th United States Congress , McGovern became a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor . As a representative, McGovern
24130-430: The minority in the House of Representatives and lost control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections . After the 2016 election of Donald Trump , who lost the popular vote to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton , the Democratic Party transitioned into the role of an opposition party and held neither the presidency nor Congress for two years. However, the party won back the House in the 2018 midterm elections under
24320-414: The modern Democratic Party. Historian Mary Beth Norton explains the transformation in 1828: Jacksonians believed the people's will had finally prevailed. Through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president. The Democrats became the nation's first well-organized national party ... and tight party organization became
24510-425: The most emotionally distraught he had ever been to that point in his life. Within days, some of Kennedy's aides were urging McGovern to run in his place; their antipathy toward McCarthy and ideological opposition to Humphrey made them unwilling to support either candidate. McGovern delayed making a decision, making sure that Bobby's brother Ted Kennedy did not want to enter, and with his staff still concerned about
24700-479: The neighboring state of Minnesota and publicly McGovern remained neutral. McGovern hosted all three as they campaigned for the June 4 South Dakota Democratic primary, which resulted in a strong win by Kennedy to go along with his win in the crucial California primary that night. McGovern spoke with Kennedy by phone minutes before Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles. The death of Bobby Kennedy left McGovern
24890-486: The next several decades, gradually changing from an association formed to protect civil service systems to a union interested in collective bargaining . In August 1936, AFSCME had 119 locals with just under 4,000 members, expanding to 9,737 by the end of 1936. By 1940, AFSCME had nearly 30,000 members. AFSCME innovated the revival of police unionism in the late 1930s, organizing police officers and employees at correctional facilities. In 1964, Jerry Wurf defeated Zander as
25080-743: The north." McGovern instead proposed a five-point plan advocating a negotiated settlement involving a federated Vietnam with local autonomy and a UN presence to guarantee security and fair treatment. The speech gave McGovern national visibility as one of the "doves" in the debate over Vietnam. However, McGovern made moderate-to-hawkish statements at times too, flatly rejecting unconditional withdrawal of U.S. forces and criticizing antiwar draft-card burnings as "immature, impractical, and illegal." He eschewed personal criticism of Johnson. In November 1965 McGovern traveled to South Vietnam for three weeks. The human carnage he saw in hospital wards deeply upset him, and he became increasingly outspoken about
25270-546: The party from recent European immigrants but diminished the party's pro-business wing. From late in Roosevelt's administration through the 1950s, a minority in the party's Southern wing joined with conservative Republicans to slow and stop progressive domestic reforms. Following the Great Society era of progressive legislation under Lyndon B. Johnson , who was often able to overcome the conservative coalition in
25460-574: The party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. Democrats have been more liberal on civil rights since 1948, although conservative factions within the Democratic Party that opposed them persisted in the South until the 1960s. On foreign policy, both parties have changed positions several times. The Democratic Party evolved from the Jeffersonian Republican or Democratic-Republican Party organized by Jefferson and Madison in opposition to
25650-506: The party supports liberal internationalism as well as tough stances against China and Russia . Democratic Party officials often trace its origins to the Democratic-Republican Party , founded by Thomas Jefferson , James Madison and other influential opponents of the conservative Federalists in 1792. That party died out before the modern Democratic Party was organized; the Jeffersonian party also inspired
25840-412: The party's key issues in the early 21st century have included combating terrorism while preserving human rights, expanding access to health care, labor rights , and environmental protection. Democrats regained majority control of both the House and the Senate in the 2006 elections . Barack Obama won the Democratic Party's nomination and was elected as the first African American president in 2008. Under
26030-469: The party, but inflation and the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979–1980 took their toll, resulting in a landslide victory for Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan in 1980, which shifted the political landscape in favor of the Republicans for years to come. The influx of conservative Democrats into the Republican Party is often cited as a reason for the Republican Party's shift further to
26220-453: The party, but the name "Democratic Party" was eventually settled upon and became the official name in 1844. Members of the party are called "Democrats" or "Dems". The most common mascot symbol for the party has been the donkey, or jackass. 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
26410-561: The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 , the Southern states became more reliably Republican in presidential politics, while Northeastern states became more reliably Democratic. Studies show that Southern whites, which were a core constituency in the Democratic Party, shifted to the Republican Party due to racial backlash and social conservatism . The election of President John F. Kennedy from Massachusetts in 1960 partially reflected this shift. In
26600-535: The plane. On a December 20 mission against the Škoda Works at Pilsen , Czechoslovakia, McGovern's plane had one engine out and another in flames after being hit by flak. Unable to return to Italy, McGovern flew to a British airfield on Vis , a small island in the Adriatic Sea off the Yugoslav coast that was controlled by Josip Broz Tito 's Partisans . The short field, normally used by small fighter planes,
26790-401: The primaries . As of 2024, Democrats hold the presidency and a majority in the U.S. Senate , as well as 23 state governorships , 19 state legislatures , 17 state government trifectas , and the mayorships in the majority of the country's major cities. Three of the nine current U.S. Supreme Court justices were appointed by Democratic presidents. By registered members, the Democratic Party
26980-517: The proper role of government tended to be negative, and Jackson's political power was largely expressed in negative acts. He exercised the veto more than all previous presidents combined. ... Nor did Jackson share reformers' humanitarian concerns. He had no sympathy for American Indians, initiating the removal of the Cherokees along the Trail of Tears . Opposing factions led by Henry Clay helped form
27170-459: The rated positions of Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) 34 times and against 3 times. Two of the themes of his House career, improvements for rural America and the war on hunger, would be defining ones of his legislative career and public life. McGovern did not vote on the initial House bill for the Civil Rights Act of 1957 , but voted in favor of the Senate amendment to the bill in August 1957. McGovern voted in favor initial House bill for
27360-469: The resolution, sardonically noted that this fell into the category of "very interesting, but very belated." This would become the vote that McGovern most bitterly regretted. In January 1965 McGovern made his first major address on Vietnam, saying that "We are not winning in South Vietnam ;... I am very much opposed to the policy, now gaining support in Washington, of extending the war to
27550-516: The right during the late 20th century as well as the shift of its base from the Northeast and Midwest to the South. With the ascendancy of the Republicans under Ronald Reagan, the Democrats searched for ways to respond yet were unable to succeed by running traditional candidates, such as former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis , who lost to Reagan and George H.W. Bush in
27740-456: The seminary instead. George's mother was the former Frances McLean, born c. 1890 and initially raised in Ontario , Canada ; her family had later moved to Calgary , Alberta , and then she came to South Dakota looking for work as a secretary. George was the second oldest of four children. Joseph McGovern's salary never reached $ 100 per month, and he often received compensation in
27930-485: The senator's own reelection prospects. McGovern's voting had changed during 1968, with his ADA rating falling to 43 as he sought more middle-of-the-road stances. In late July, McGovern's decision became more complicated when his daughter Teresa was arrested in Rapid City on marijuana possession charges. She had led a troubled life since her teenage years, developing problems with alcohol and depression and suffering
28120-452: The state's presidential contest. Having relinquished his House seat to run for the Senate, McGovern was available for a position in the new Kennedy administration . McGovern was picked to become a special assistant to the president and first director of Kennedy's high-priority Food for Peace program, which realized what McGovern had been advocating in the House. McGovern assumed the post on January 21, 1961. As director, McGovern urged
28310-556: The state, a turf war broke out between AFSCME and the Service Employees International Union for the exclusive right to organize them. SEIU filed charges with the AFL–CIO against AFSCME, resulting in SEIU winning the right to unionize Illinois's home healthcare workers and AFSCME dropping its bid to do so. AFSCME represents 24,000 custodians, food workers, gardeners, and other campus service workers in
28500-406: The symbol. The rooster symbol still appears on Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia ballots . In New York, the Democratic ballot symbol is a five-pointed star. 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 election night 2000 blue has become the identifying color for
28690-528: The time." Eleanor was constantly afraid. Accidents while training claimed a huge toll of airmen over the course of the war. This schooling was followed by a stint at Lincoln Army Airfield in Nebraska , where McGovern met his B-24 crew. Traveling around the country and mixing with people from different backgrounds proved to be a broadening experience for McGovern and others of his generation. The USAAF sped up training times for McGovern and others, owing to
28880-434: The top of the ticket in the mostly Protestant state. McGovern made careless charges during the campaign, and the press turned against him; he would say eleven years later, "It was my worst campaign. I hated [Mundt] so much I lost my sense of balance." McGovern was defeated in the November 1960 election, gaining 145,217 votes to Mundt's 160,579, but the margin was one third of Kennedy's loss to Vice President Richard M. Nixon in
29070-537: The trip overseas on a slow troopship. In September 1944 McGovern joined the 741st Squadron of the 455th Bombardment Group of the Fifteenth Air Force , stationed at San Giovanni Airfield near Cerignola in the Apulia region of Italy. There he and his crew found a starving, disease-ridden local population wracked by the ill fortunes of war and far worse off than anything they had seen back home during
29260-556: The union has approximately 3,400 local unions and 58 councils and affiliates in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Every local union writes its own constitution, designs its own structure, elects its own officers and sets its own dues. The Washington, D.C.–based AFSCME headquarters coordinates the union's actions on national political and policy issues. AFSCME holds a biennial International Convention at which basic union policies are decided. Every four years, AFSCME elects
29450-434: The union's international president. AFSCME was racially integrated in the 1960s under Wurf and began to grow more quickly. Under Wurf, who initiated the most aggressive unionizing campaign in the organization's history, AFSCME broke from earlier patterns of civil service reform and initiated a more militant form of unionization designed to achieve parity with private sector workers. During Wurf's tenure, AFSCME became known as
29640-525: The volunteers, so McGovern stayed at Dakota Wesleyan. George and Eleanor became engaged, but initially decided not to marry until the war was over. During his sophomore year, McGovern won the statewide intercollegiate South Dakota Peace Oratory Contest with a speech called "My Brother's Keeper", which was later selected by the National Council of Churches as one of the nation's twelve best orations of 1942. Smart, handsome, and well liked, McGovern
29830-414: The voters of those territories did not want it. These Southern Democrats nominated the pro-slavery incumbent vice president, John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, for president and General Joseph Lane , of Oregon, for vice president. The Northern Democrats nominated Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for president and former Georgia Governor Herschel V. Johnson for vice president. This fracturing of
30020-419: The votes and was re-elected without opposition in July 2016. Previously, Saunders had been elected as secretary-treasurer in 2010 after Bill Lucy retired. During Saunders' tenure, the union has increased its membership and its political involvement. Reyes stepped down as secretary-treasurer in 2017. AFSCME's International Executive Board elected Elissa McBride to the position in March 2017. According to AFSCME,
30210-410: The war upon his return, more convinced than ever that Vietnam was a political, not military, problem. Now he was ready, as he later said, "not merely to dissent, but to crusade" against the war. McGovern voted in favor of Vietnam military appropriations in 1966 through 1968, not wanting to deprive U.S. forces of necessary equipment. Nevertheless, his antiwar rhetoric increased throughout 1967. Over
30400-503: The winter, and during such downtime McGovern spent much time reading and discussing how the war had come about. He resolved that if he survived it, he would become a history professor. In February, McGovern was promoted to first lieutenant . On March 14 McGovern had an incident over Austria in which he accidentally bombed a family farmhouse when a jammed bomb inadvertently released above the structure and destroyed it, an event that haunted McGovern. (Four decades later, after McGovern related
30590-542: The world. The Great Depression in 1929 that began under Republican President Herbert Hoover and the Republican Congress set the stage for a more liberal government as the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives nearly uninterrupted from 1930 until 1994, the Senate for 44 of 48 years from 1930, and won most presidential elections until 1968. Franklin D. Roosevelt , elected to the presidency in 1932, came forth with federal government programs called
30780-540: The years, Johnson had invited McGovern and other Senate doves to the White House for attempts to explain the rationale for his actions in Vietnam; McGovern came away from the final such visit, in August 1967, shaken by the sight of a president "tortured and confused ... by the mess he has gotten into in Vietnam." In August 1967 activist Allard K. Lowenstein founded the Dump Johnson movement , and soon it
30970-455: The young Kennedy administration", while Schlesinger would later write that Food for Peace had been "the greatest unseen weapon of Kennedy's third-world policy." In April 1962 McGovern announced he would run for election to South Dakota's other Senate seat , intending to face incumbent Republican Francis H. Case . Case died in June, however, and McGovern instead faced an appointed senator, former lieutenant governor Joseph H. Bottum . Much of
31160-488: Was among the best in the country and McGovern took courses given by noted academics Ray Allen Billington , Richard W. Leopold , and L. S. Stavrianos . He received an M.A. in history in 1949. McGovern then returned to his alma mater, Dakota Wesleyan, and became a professor of history and political science. With the assistance of a Hearst fellowship for 1949–50, he continued pursuing graduate studies during summers and other free time. The couple's third daughter, Teresa,
31350-565: Was appointed the first UN global ambassador on world hunger by the World Food Programme in 2001. The McGovern–Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program has provided school meals for millions of children in dozens of countries since 2000 and resulted in McGovern's being named World Food Prize co‑laureate in 2008. McGovern was born in the 600‑person farming community of Avon, South Dakota . His father,
31540-443: Was attentive to his district. He became a staunch supporter of higher commodity prices, farm price supports, grain storage programs, and beef import controls, believing that such stored commodities programs guarded against drought and similar emergencies. He favored rural development, federal aid to small business and to education, and medical coverage for the aged under Social Security. In 1957 he traveled and studied conditions in
31730-574: Was born in 1955. In 1956 McGovern sought elective office himself, and ran for the House of Representatives from South Dakota's 1st congressional district , which consisted of the counties east of the Missouri River . He faced four-term incumbent Republican Party representative Harold O. Lovre . Aided by the voter lists he had earlier accumulated, McGovern ran a low-budget campaign, spending $ 12,000 while borrowing $ 5,000. His quiet personality appealed to voters he met, while Lovre suffered from
31920-504: Was born in June 1949. Eleanor McGovern began to suffer from bouts of depression but continued to assume the large share of household and child-rearing duties. McGovern earned a Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University in 1953. His 450-page dissertation, The Colorado Coal Strike, 1913–1914 , was a sympathetic account of the miners' revolt against Rockefeller interests in the Colorado Coalfield War . His thesis advisor, noted historian Arthur S. Link , later said he had not seen
32110-433: Was defeated in 1970 and 1971. McGovern's long-shot, grassroots-based 1972 presidential campaign found triumph in gaining the Democratic nomination but left the party split ideologically, and the failed vice-presidential pick of Thomas Eagleton undermined McGovern's credibility. In the general election McGovern lost to incumbent Richard Nixon in one of the biggest landslides in U.S. electoral history. Though re-elected to
32300-494: Was elected president of AFSCME following Wurf's death in 1981. AFSCME continued to grow in the 1980s, unionizing university employees and nursing home staff and merging with other unions. In 1982, the union voted to endorse the passage of federal, state, and local legislation to extend civil rights to gay and lesbian citizens. In 1989, a third of the locals and the headquarters of the dissolving National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE) joined AFSCME. In 1992, AFSCME
32490-404: Was elected president of his sophomore class and voted "Glamour Boy" during his junior year. In February 1943, during his junior year, he and a partner won a regional debate tournament at North Dakota State University that featured competitors from thirty-two schools across a dozen states; upon his return to campus, he discovered that the Army had finally called him up. Soon thereafter McGovern
32680-428: Was homegrown and that U.S. foreign policy toward Asia was counterproductive. Discouraged by the onset of the Cold War , and never thinking well of incumbent president Harry S. Truman , in the 1948 presidential election McGovern was attracted to the campaign of former vice president and secretary of agriculture Henry A. Wallace . He wrote columns supporting Wallace in the Mitchell Daily Republic and attended
32870-458: Was influenced by the currents of populism and agrarian unrest, as well as the "practical divinity" teachings of cleric John Wesley that sought to fight poverty, injustice, and ignorance. McGovern attended Mitchell High School , where he was a solid but unspectacular member of the track team. A turning point came when his tenth-grade English teacher recommended him to the debate team, where he became quite active. His high-school debate coach,
33060-410: Was initially considered the favorite to win. But McGovern ran an effective campaign that showcased his political strengths of having firm beliefs and the ability to articulate them in debates and on the stump. He prevailed with a slightly larger margin than two years before. In the 86th United States Congress , McGovern was assigned to the House Committee on Agriculture . The longtime chairman of
33250-417: Was injured, and his flight engineer was so unnerved by his experience that he would subsequently be hospitalized with battle fatigue , but McGovern managed to bring back the plane safely with the assistance of an improvised landing technique. According to a McGovern associate speaking after McGovern's passing, sometime during his wartime experiences in Europe, McGovern had an extramarital affair and fathered
33440-466: Was instrumental in the creation of the United Nations-run World Food Programme . As sole chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs from 1968 to 1977, McGovern publicized the problem of hunger within the United States and issued the "McGovern Report", which led to a new set of nutritional guidelines for Americans. McGovern later served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 1998 to 2001 and
33630-423: Was largely inactive on the Interior Committee until 1967, when he was given the chairmanship of the subcommittee on Indian affairs. However, Interior Committee chairman Henry M. Jackson , who did not get along with McGovern personally or politically, refused to allow McGovern his own staff, limiting his effectiveness. McGovern regretted not accomplishing more for South Dakota's 30,000 Sioux Indians , although after
33820-403: Was launched amid fears of politically based firings within the state, the possible elimination of the civil service and a return to patronage jobs. Arnold Zander , Wisconsin's state personnel administrator, emerged as one of the early leaders of the union. Soon after its formation, WSEA was granted an American Federation of Labor charter as Federal Labor Union 18213. One of its first projects
34010-463: Was not able to see its passage. Kennedy's successor Lyndon B. Johnson was able to persuade the largely conservative Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and with a more progressive Congress in 1965 passed much of the Great Society , including Medicare and Medicaid , which consisted of an array of social programs designed to help the poor, sick, and elderly. Kennedy and Johnson's advocacy of civil rights further solidified black support for
34200-437: Was paid a gross salary of $ 1,020,751 in 2012, his last year on the job. McEntee's use of $ 325,000 in union money to charter private jets in 2010 and 2011 became an issue in the campaign to succeed him. At the 2012 AFSCME Convention in Los Angeles , Lee Saunders was elected president of AFSCME. Laura Reyes was elected secretary-treasurer. Saunders defeated Civil Service Employees Association president Danny Donohue with 54% of
34390-401: Was pleased with. McGovern recalled later: "Learning how to fly the B‑24 was the toughest part of the training. It was a difficult airplane to fly, physically, because in the early part of the war they didn't have hydraulic controls. If you can imagine driving a Mack truck without any power steering or power brakes, that's about what it was like at the controls. It was the biggest bomber we had at
34580-404: Was prone to splinter along regional lines. The era of one-party rule in the United States, known as the Era of Good Feelings , lasted from 1816 until 1828, when Andrew Jackson became president. Jackson and Martin Van Buren worked with allies in each state to form a new Democratic Party on a national basis. In the 1830s, the Whig Party coalesced into the main rival to the Democrats. Before 1860,
34770-421: Was restless for another try at the Senate. With the approval of President Kennedy, McGovern resigned his post on July 18, 1962. Kennedy said that under McGovern, the program had "become a vital force in the world", improving living conditions and economies of allies and creating "a powerful barrier to the spread of Communism." Columnist Drew Pearson wrote that it was one of the "most spectacular achievements of
34960-422: Was rocked by the Watergate scandal, which forced him to resign in 1974. He was succeeded by vice president Gerald Ford , who served a brief tenure. Watergate offered the Democrats an opportunity to recoup, and their nominee Jimmy Carter won the 1976 presidential election. With the initial support of evangelical Christian voters in the South, Carter was temporarily able to reunite the disparate factions within
35150-450: Was seeking a Democratic Party figure to make a primaries campaign challenge against Johnson in the 1968 presidential election . The group's first choice was Senator Robert Kennedy, who declined, as did another, and by late September 1967 they approached McGovern. After much deliberation McGovern declined, largely because he feared such a run would significantly damage his own chances for reelection to his Senate seat in 1968. A month later
35340-453: Was so unforgiving to four-engined aircraft that many of the bomber crews who tried to make emergency landings there perished. But McGovern successfully landed, saving his crew, a feat for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . In January 1945 McGovern used R&R time to see every sight that he could in Rome, and to participate in an audience with the pope . Bad weather prevented many missions from being carried out during
35530-514: Was sworn in as a private at Fort Snelling in Minnesota . He spent a month at Jefferson Barracks Military Post in Missouri and then five months at Southern Illinois Normal University in Carbondale, Illinois , for ground school training. McGovern later maintained that both the academic work and physical training were the toughest he ever experienced. He spent two months at a base in San Antonio, Texas , and then went to Hatbox Field in Muskogee, Oklahoma , for basic flying school, training in
35720-464: Was the first national union to back Bill Clinton in his presidential bid. AFSCME led an effort to oppose Clinton's signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement . In the late 1990s, AFSCME expanded its membership into Puerto Rico and Panama. The union was an early supporter of Barack Obama 's 2008 presidential campaign. In 2011, McEntee announced his intention to retire from the union, declining to run for another term as president in 2012. McEntee
35910-414: Was the largest organizing campaign in U.S. labor history. During Wurf's presidency, AFSCME's membership grew from 200,000 to approximately one million. The union eclipsed the one-million-member mark in 1978. AFSCME set up its first political action committee in 1971. AFSCME supported George McGovern 's 1972 presidential bid as well as Jimmy Carter 's successful presidential bid in 1976. Gerald McEntee
36100-452: Was to protect civil service jobs in Wisconsin after a newly elected Democratic legislature revealed its intention to eliminate Republicans from the civil service. The group succeeded, with assistance from the American Federation of Labor (AFL). AFSCME's history is documented through its archives at the Walter P. Reuther Library in Detroit, Michigan. In 1935, after meetings between Zander and AFL President William Green , AFSCME became
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