1896-1932: 4th Party System (nov 1, 1896 – mar 1, 1932)

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The 4th Party System, spanning from November 1896 to March 1932, was marked by responses to the Great Depression, post-WWI recovery, and economic modernization. The Democratic Party initially focused on populist progressivism, advocating for labor reforms and women’s suffrage, but later shifted toward more conservative positions, supporting states' rights and representing rural areas, farmers, and the South. Democratic leaders included figures like Al Smith, Woodrow Wilson, and William Jennings Bryan. Meanwhile, the Republican Party, under leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and William McKinley, was pro-business, conservative, and supported a strong central government, especially in economic matters. Republicans, primarily supported by Northern business owners, professionals, and the middle class, favored tariffs and business growth while generally supporting Prohibition and big business, though some progressives within the party pushed for regulatory reforms. Both parties had differing views on social change, with Democrats generally supporting women’s suffrage but being exclusionary towards Black rights, and Republicans focusing on isolationist foreign policies and restrictive immigration, especially post-WWI.

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