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.
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.)
Democratic-Republicans vetoed federal funds for infrastructure because they understood it would strengthen the industrialized north.
The Democratic-Republicans (their enemies) said they imploded because they were elitist, monarchical, anti-American, and anti-democratic.
Adams, a Federalist, served one term (1797-1801).
From 1801 until 1841, every president was a Democratic-Republican.
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.
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).
Young Abraham Lincoln joined the Whig Party, which lasted about 20 years.
The Whigs divided over the issue of slavery and imploded.
britannica.com/topic/Know-Not…
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.
![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EhSE-zXVoAAnS1f.jpg)
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.
As a result, the industrial revolution boomed. Soon the nation’s wealthiest people were railroad and industry executives.
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.
The liberals thought the GOP anti-slavery position meant they should now stand up for labor.
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.
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)
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).
The difference is that for most of our history, voting was mostly restricted to white men.
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.
bloomberg.com/quicktake/gend…