(Thread) The Future of the GOP, Part II

Part I is here

To have a sense of what might be in store for a white grievance party with a shrinking base, I think we need to see where we've been.

History offers possibilities and perspective.
So first, some history. https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/status/1302665636246515712

1/ The drafters of the Constitution imagined no political parties. Our two-party system developed under George Washington.

The first two parties were the Democratic-Republicans (Thomas Jefferson’s party) and Hamilton’s Federalists.

[SourcesAlso my Making of America series.]

2/ The Democratic-Republicans were mostly Southern and favored an agricultural economy.

They wanted a small federal government. They feared a strong central government would end slavery and infringe on individual liberty. (Yeah, I know. It’s a contradiction.)

3/ The Federalists wanted a strong central government, taxes, tariffs, and infrastructure to support industry.

Democratic-Republicans vetoed federal funds for infrastructure because they understood it would strengthen the industrialized north.

4/ The Federalists imploded after Hamilton died. The reasons given for the implosion vary.

The Democratic-Republicans (their enemies) said they imploded because they were elitist, monarchical, anti-American, and anti-democratic.

5/ Other reasons offered: They weren't organized. They were pro-northern industry. Many were anti-slavery, and the South got too strong.

Adams, a Federalist, served one term (1797-1801).

From 1801 until 1841, every president was a Democratic-Republican.

6/ Under Jackson, the party shortened its name to “Democrats.”

John Quincy Adams was first a Federalist. He ran for president as a Democrat because you couldn’t get elected otherwise—but he was northern, anti-slavery, and he only lasted one term.

Later he became a Whig.

7/ (John Quincy Adams was a DINO—a Democratic in name only)

By 1841—after so many pro-slavery presidents—the Supreme Court was stuffed with pro-slavery justices.

Wealthy plantation owners so consolidated power that they transformed America into an oligarchy (our first).

8/ The Whig Party formed in 1834 to oppose the destructive politics of Andrew Jackson (Trump’s hero).

Young Abraham Lincoln joined the Whig Party, which lasted about 20 years.

The Whigs divided over the issue of slavery and imploded.

9/ These guys would have been Democrats or Know Nothings.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Know-Nothing-party

So, for about 50 years, the Democratic Party was dominant.

We weren't, however, what you’d call a one-party state. Other parties were allowed to form. They just had trouble finding footing.

10/ In 1855, the Republican Party was born as an anti-slavery, pro-industry, pro-federal government party.

Industry needed roads, canals, etc. to thrive. For that, they needed a strong central government and federal legislation. The Republicans gave us our first income tax.

11/ After the Civil War and the defeat of the South, Republicans had the power to pass pro-industry legislation.

As a result, the industrial revolution boomed. Soon the nation’s wealthiest people were railroad and industry executives.

12/ Income inequality opened up. Business tycoons got rich. Labor put in long weeks in dangerous jobs at poverty wages.

Note: When slaveowners had power, they voted to consolidate their power. Now industrialists did the same.

Sometimes (but not always) people in power do that.

13/ After the rise of the business tycoons (our second oligarchy) the GOP split into two factions: The conservative pro-industry faction and liberal pro-labor faction.

The liberals thought the GOP anti-slavery position meant they should now stand up for labor.

14/ Factory owners disagreed.

The gap between a few wealthy families and everyone else widened.

Then, in 1929 under Republican President Hoover, the market crashed & the Depression hit.

Democrat FDR promised a pro-labor New Deal.

15/ The party of the Confederacy became the party of labor (where labor mostly meant northern factories).

FDR gave us social security, minimum wage, a 40-hour workweek, and the GI Bill, which ushered in a strong middle class (Blacks and minority communities were mostly excluded)

16/ Neither party championed racial equality. This ushered in a long period of relative harmony between the parties—they respected each other’s “differences” because they weren’t that different: Both parties were basically ruled by white men.

17/ These guys were still mostly Democrats, but the Democratic coalition had expanded to include Blacks, who recognized that the Democrats' position on labor helped them more than the Republican support for industry.

18/ I’ll stop Part II here to note that parties change. Realignments happen.

It’s even possible to go through a period of time with a single dominant party while others struggle to be born (or reinvent themselves).

19/ Also—with the exception of the first half of the 20th century—the issue of racial equality has divided and defined the parties since the start of the nation.

The difference is that for most of our history, voting was mostly restricted to white men.

20/ Women began voting in 1920, but they mostly voted the same as men until about 1980.

Keep in mind that what we now call voter suppression was legal through most of our history.

Allowing all adult citizens to vote didn't happen until fairly recently. https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/gender-gap

21/ I’ll continue with Part III, probably tomorrow.

Part III begins here: https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/status/1303058478504636416