1884 cartoon illustrating the decline of the "Democrat Bourbonism" (represented as an empty jug) by Joseph Keppler
Prominent members
Charles O'Conor Samuel J. Tilden Grover Cleveland John M. Palmer Alton B. Parker
Associated parties
Straight-Out Democratic Party National Democratic Party
Founded
1872; 152 years ago (1872)
Dissolved
1912; 112 years ago (1912)
Ideology
Classical liberalism Conservative liberalism Merit system Anti-corruption Laissez-faire Anti-imperialism Pro-Gold Standard Fiscal conservatism[A]
National affiliation
Democratic Party
Politics of United States
Political parties
Elections
There was no term fiscal conservatism at the time, but in the context of modern American politics, Bourbon Democrats is called "fiscal conservatives" in that it was in the opposite position to "progressives" or "radical liberals".[1]
Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States in the later 19th century and early 20th century (1872–1904) to refer to members of the Democratic Party who were ideologically aligned with fiscal conservatism or classical liberalism,[1] especially those who supported presidential candidates Charles O'Conor in 1872, Samuel J. Tilden in 1876, President Grover Cleveland in 1884, 1888, and 1892 and Alton B. Parker in 1904.
After 1904, the Bourbons faded away. Southerner Woodrow Wilson made a deal in 1912 with the leading opponent of the Bourbons, William Jennings Bryan: Bryan endorsed Wilson for the Democratic nomination and Wilson named Bryan Secretary of State. Bourbon Democrats were promoters of a form of laissez-faire capitalism which included opposition to the high-tariff protectionism that the Republicans were then advocating as well as fiscal discipline.[2][3] They represented business interests, generally supporting the goals of banking and railroads, but opposed to subsidies for them and were unwilling to protect them from competition. They opposed American imperialism and overseas expansion, fought for the gold standard against bimetallism, and promoted what they called "hard" and "sound" money. Strong supporters of states' rights[2] and reform movements such as the Civil Service Reform and opponents of the corrupt city bosses, Bourbons led the fight against the Tweed Ring. The anti-corruption theme earned the votes of many Republican Mugwumps in 1884.[4]
The term "Bourbon Democrats" was never used by the Bourbon Democrats themselves. It was not the name of any specific or formal group and no one running for office ever ran on a Bourbon Democrat ticket. The term "Bourbon" – Bourbon whisky is a Southern drink – was mostly used disparagingly by critics complaining of viewpoints they saw as old-fashioned.[5] A number of splinter Democratic parties, such as the Straight-Out Democratic Party (1872) and the National Democratic Party (1896), that actually ran candidates, fall under the more general label of Bourbon Democrats.
^ abAlexandra Kindell; Elizabeth S. Demers Ph.D., eds. (2014). Encyclopedia of Populism in America: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 86. Bourbon Democrats were a combination of several constituencies including southerners, political and fiscal conservatives, and classical liberals.
^ abThomas E. Vass (2006). Reclaiming The American Democratic Impulse. GABBY Press.
^Morton Keller (2007). Americas Three Regimes: A New Political History. Oxford University Press.
^Horace Samuel Merrill, Bourbon Leader: Grover Cleveland and the Democratic Party. Boston: Little, Brown, 1957, pp. 18, 45, 83, 92, 151, 202.
^Hans Sperber and Travis Trittschuh. American Political Terms: An Historical Dictionary. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1962.
BourbonDemocrat was a term used in the United States in the later 19th century and early 20th century (1872–1904) to refer to members of the Democratic...
monarchs in the Bourbon Dynasty in France and Spain BourbonDemocrat, from 1876 to 1904 a conservative member of the US Democratic Party USS Bourbon, a frigate...
opposition at the 1904 Republican National Convention. The conservative BourbonDemocrat allies of former President Grover Cleveland temporarily regained control...
Hunkers. Democrats in New York state in 1850s Black conservatism in the United States Blue Dog Coalition Boll weevil (politics) BourbonDemocrat, late 19th...
President Grover Cleveland's secretary of agriculture. He was a prominent BourbonDemocrat, taking a conservative position on political, economic, and social...
Jennings Bryan defeated the Southern BourbonDemocrats and took control of the Democratic Party nationwide. The Democrats also faced challenges with the Agrarian...
"National Democratic" candidate. Blue Dog Democrats Boll weevil (politics) BourbonDemocrat Conservative DemocratDemocrat in Name Only Democratic Party history...
Bryan wing of the party, while Underwood appealed to the conservative BourbonDemocrats, especially in the South. In the 1912 Democratic Party presidential...
Bourbon Neo-Bourbonism, nostalgia for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies BourbonDemocrat (1876–1904), a conservative or classical liberal member of the U.S...
the Dixiecrats and the "states' rights" Democrats of the 1940s through the 1960s, and even the BourbonDemocrats of the late 19th century. In January 2019...
Roosevelt to pass reform measures, winning national attention. He led the BourbonDemocrats, a pro-business movement opposed to high tariffs, free silver, inflation...
governor over incumbent BourbonDemocrat Thomas Michael Holt, Butler proposed electoral fusion between the state Populists and Democrats, while Polk demurred...
Klux Klan Scalawag Redeemers White League Red Shirts Democratic Party BourbonDemocrat Horatio Seymour Samuel J. Tilden Republican Party Stalwarts Charles...
many of Bryan's policies. In opposition to Bryan, some conservative BourbonDemocrats formed the National Democratic Party and nominated Senator John M...
from 1885 through 1889. A conservative reformer, he was considered a BourbonDemocrat. William Whitney was born at Conway, Massachusetts, of Puritan stock...
1900) was an American politician and lawyer from West Virginia. A BourbonDemocrat, he was elected to the United States Congress in 1882 and served six...
repudiation of incumbent President Grover Cleveland and his conservative BourbonDemocrats, the Democratic convention nominated Bryan for president, making Bryan...
Klux Klan Scalawag Redeemers White League Red Shirts Democratic Party BourbonDemocrat Horatio Seymour Samuel J. Tilden Republican Party Stalwarts Charles...
Global Information