The Democrats of this era generally campaigned in opposition to Republican programs rather than advancing a new agenda. The Democratic platforms usually called for the following:
Opposition to expanding pension programs. The Democrats of the South, quite understandably, resisted funding the needs of Union veterans; Confederate veterans received their support, the pittance that it was, from state governments, not from Washington.
Opposition to temperance and prohibition efforts The Democratic Party was the home to many Irish, German, and later Italian immigrants, few of whom had much sympathy for government regulation of alcoholic beverages.
Support for the expansion of the currency. Farming and debtor elements within the Democratic Party pushed for maintenance of the greenbacks and for the coinage of silver, favoring inflation to the rigors of the gold standard.
Opposition to protective tariffs. Most Democrats backed tariffs for revenue only; since little industry existed in the South, they viewed protectionism as a regional benefit for the Northeast.
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