Which party was more liberal in the 19th century?

Many American Conservatives today see Abraham Lincoln as part of their legacy and blame the Democrats for the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crow, however progressives conversely claim this is a fallacy and state that back then the Republican Party was the progressive part and the Democratic Party was the conservative party. Which claim do you believe is closer to the truth, as far as i can see both parties were pretty conservative by today's standards with the Republicans being the party of big business and the Democrats being the party of the southern planter class. It is probably a mistake projecting today's politics to the past but I would like to hear any thoughts.
 
The Republicans were more liberal as a whole. The Democrats were tied with the past. The world was moving to the Industrial Age and they didn't adapt to that.
 
As far as I understand at this time the Democrats were really two different parties in the north and south. Gradually after the second world war, southern segregationists started leaving the Democratic Party and for some time tried to start their own party. The Democratic Party became much more progressive and started appealing to black voters. Eventually many southern conservatives switched their allegiance towards the Republican Party.
 
As far as I understand at this time the Democrats were really two different parties in the north and south. Gradually after the second world war, southern segregationists started leaving the Democratic Party and for some time tried to start their own party. The Democratic Party became much more progressive and started appealing to black voters. Eventually many southern conservatives switched their allegiance towards the Republican Party.

That was in the 20th not the 19th century which is what the question asked.
 
Many American Conservatives today see Abraham Lincoln as part of their legacy and blame the Democrats for the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crow, however progressives conversely claim this is a fallacy and state that back then the Republican Party was the progressive part and the Democratic Party was the conservative party. Which claim do you believe is closer to the truth, as far as i can see both parties were pretty conservative by today's standards with the Republicans being the party of big business and the Democrats being the party of the southern planter class. It is probably a mistake projecting today's politics to the past but I would like to hear any thoughts.

You're right, projecting today's politics onto the past is a mistake.

Here's the thing: What Liberalism means evolves with time, not only in relation to society (always moving more a more liberated society) but in relation to other political movements.

If you consider the Democratic Republicans-Democrats one continuum of American politics, and the Federalists-Whigs-Republicans as another continuum, you'll see that, by our modern standards, they're all over the map.

Throughout the 19th century, the Democrats were always the more populist of the two sides, moving for increased liberalization of the political processes, examplified by the triumph of Jacksonian Democracy. On the other hand, they also were firmly tied to the regressive institutions of the south, both ante- and post- bellum. Meanwhile, the Republicans were generally pushing for increased centraliziation and plutocracy, but also, in fits and spurts, racial equality.

Saying one was more liberal or more conservative than the other, by our standards, ends up with you chasing your tail around as you go. Then, you have both party's strong flirtations with progressivism, an entirely different dynamic of political reform, as the 19th century gave way to the 20th. Just to make things more complicated.
 
It doesn't really make sense to apply modern labels to the past. The Republicans were opponents of slavery (which we would consider liberalism), but also generally opposed to immigration and supportive of "business-friendly" policies (both positions we now consider conservative). Many of the Republicans came through the Know-Nothings, or even the Anti-Masonic Party. A lot of the same people who opposed slavery also argued for prohibition.

This continues throughout the period and into the 20th century; William Jennings Bryan was famous for his radical economic liberalism, his opposition to imperialism and his fundamentalist religious views (famously including supporting creationism in schools). How does one classify him in a modern political scale?

The dispute over Lincoln's legacy has more to do with the 20th century, and particularly the Southern Strategy and the Civil Rights Movement.
 

Minty_Fresh

Banned
The Republicans were Protectionists by and large, who wanted hard money, high tariffs, and had a legacy of desiring internal improvements going back to the Whig days. They favored big business and opposed unions. I would say they were economically conservative for the most part.

The Democrats were far more likely to support free trade policies due to the base of its party being in agriculture, and while the Bourbon faction of the party was in favor of hard money, they gradually moved towards agrarian populism and soft money policies. They were probably far more economically liberal.

Politically, the Democrats started out as more liberal due to their desire to extend the franchise in their Jacksonian days, but over time, especially after the civil war, politically the Democrats were less liberal than the Republicans who favored universal male franchise and the secret ballot.

Socially, the Republicans were far more supportive of foreign imperialism, which we might see as regressive, but at the time, it was seen as a progressive viewpoint (the Democrats opposed acquisitions of territories mostly because they were made up of "alien" or "barbaric" races).
 
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tenthring

Banned
Instead of focusing on some consistent political philosophy, see parties as a collection of shifting interest groups. If you look at who was voting for these parties in the various elections and what was going on at the time I think you'll find explanations.

For the most part we are seeing a political re-alingment in which some of the old labels from say my own youth are becoming obsolete. This happens every 20 years or so.
 
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