Historical political party platforms, 1840-2008

[Mechaman]

Interesting excerpt from the 1856 Democratic National Platform:

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[Mechaman]

Other then social issues the parties basically have been the same for the past 100 years

Outside the south Democrats were arguably always the more socially tolerant party with Republicans more likely to support blue laws etc.

Yes, but this is all very inconvenient to the narrative of WASP historians so your point is moot.