Indiana Democratic Party
|
Indiana Democratic Party
|
|
|---|---|
| Chairperson | John Zody |
| Senate leader | Timothy Lanane |
| House leader | Scott Pelath |
| Founded | 1816 |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, IN |
| Ideology |
Liberalism Progressivism Social liberalism |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Seats in the Upper House |
10 / 40
|
| Seats in the Lower House |
29 / 100
|
| Website | |
| www.indems.org | |
The Democratic Party of Indiana is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Indiana.
The Indiana Democratic Party holds one of the two US Senate seats and two of Indiana's nine Congressional seats. The party Chairman is John Zody.
The Indiana Democratic Party has its roots in the work of Jonathan Jennings, Democratic-Republican and first governor of the newly formed state of Indiana in 1816. Jennings pushed hard for statehood, and is attributed as an intellectual father of the Indiana Democratic Party. He pushed for a statewide school system and a stable state bank.
Indiana political parties in the 19th century were extremely divided culturally. Indiana, more than any other Midwestern state, received an influx of southern farmers who didn't mix well with northern manufacturers and businessmen. Patronage was given out regularly as Democratic and Whig (and eventually Republican) politicians fought for control of state government. Whigs predominantly controlled the state legislature, while Democrats predominantly controlled the governorship. Turbulent elections and heated Democratic passion ended up persuading 50 Whig legislators to switch parties by 1852. Even though William Henry Harrison, a Whig and one of the first governors of the Indiana territory, ran for president in 1840, Democrats like Joseph Chapman were very critical of him and his supporters.
The first Indiana Democratic Party meeting was held in 1848, and at the time was called the "Indiana State Central Committee of the Democratic Party". Only seven men were in attendance. Thomas Hendricks, nephew of the third governor of Indiana, became the first post-war Democrat to be elected governor in a Northern state. His popular bipartisan leadership would eventually lead him to be President Grover Cleveland's first vice president from 1885 to 1889.
As the city of Indianapolis grew into a massive urban area, Democrats began to continuously represent the city in the state legislature. Thomas Taggart, the mayor of Indianapolis from 1895–1901, became the first Hoosier to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In 1913, Thomas Marshall, Governor of Indiana, became yet another Democratic Hoosier to be a vice president (under Woodrow Wilson). Marshall is perhaps best known for his humorous quote as vice president, said on the Senate floor: "What this country needs is a really good five-cent cigar."
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Wikipedia