SEPTEMBER 2026 EDITION
This project presents selected statements from Democratic and Republican National Party Platforms for historical comparison and voter education. Its purpose is not to tell anyone how to vote, but to allow readers to examine the parties' adopted statements, compare positions over time, and reach their own conclusions.
DOWNLOAD OR VIEW THE SEPTEMBER 2026 TWO-PAGE PDF
The two-page document may be downloaded, printed and shared in its complete, unaltered form for noncommercial educational use.
VERIFY THE DOCUMENTATION
This comparison is designed to be checked, not merely accepted.
Direct quotations are identified as quotations. Summaries are presented as summaries. The links below allow readers to examine the complete national party platforms in their historical context.
HISTORICAL PLATFORM SOURCES — 1856 AND 1860
1856 Democratic National Platform
The platform addressed slavery through congressional non-interference, enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law and territorial self-government.
Read the 1856 Democratic Party Platform — American Presidency Project
1856 Democratic Platform — Library of Congress
Additional independent historical source.
1856 Republican National Platform
The first Republican national platform invoked principles of the Declaration of Independence, including the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and opposed establishing slavery in United States territories.
Read the 1856 Republican Party Platform — American Presidency Project
1860 Democratic National Platform
The Democratic convention reaffirmed the 1856 platform and stated that the party would abide by Supreme Court decisions concerning constitutional questions involving slavery in the territories. The party subsequently divided in the 1860 presidential election; the Southern/Breckinridge faction adopted additional platform language.
Read the 1860 Democratic Party Platform — American Presidency Project
1860 Democratic Party Platform — Breckinridge Faction
1860 Republican National Platform
The platform declared the normal condition of United States territory to be freedom and opposed giving slavery legal existence in the territories.
Read the 1860 Republican Party Platform — American Presidency Project
Additional Historical Reference:
Kirk H. Porter and Donald Bruce Johnson, editors, National Party Platforms, 1840–1960, Second Edition, University of Illinois Press, 1961.
MODERN NATIONAL PARTY PLATFORM SOURCES
1992
1992 Democratic National Platform — Read Complete Platform
1992 Republican National Platform — Read Complete Platform
1996
1996 Democratic National Platform — Read Complete Platform
1996 Republican National Platform — Read Complete Platform
2000
2000 Democratic National Platform — Read Complete Platform
2000 Republican National Platform — Read Complete Platform
2004
2004 Democratic National Platform — Read Complete Platform
2004 Republican National Platform — Read Complete Platform
2020 NATIONAL PARTY PLATFORMS
The Democratic Party adopted a new national platform in 2020. The Republican National Convention did not adopt a new platform that year. The Republican National Committee adopted a resolution explaining that the convention would proceed without adopting a new platform.
2020 Democratic Party Platform — Read Complete Platform
2020 Republican National Committee Platform Resolution — Read Resolution
2024 NATIONAL PARTY PLATFORMS
2024 Democratic Party Platform
The printed comparison examines positions concerning abortion/reproductive rights, firearms, marriage/LGBTQ+ policy and taxation.
2024 Democratic Party Platform — American Presidency Project
2024 Republican Party Platform
The printed comparison examines positions concerning abortion/life, marriage/family, the Second Amendment and taxation.
2024 Republican Party Platform — American Presidency Project
COMPLETE NATIONAL PLATFORM ARCHIVE
Readers wishing to examine additional election years can use the American Presidency Project's national platform archive, covering national political party platforms from 1840 through 2024.
American Presidency Project — National Political Party Platforms, 1840–2024
ABOUT THIS RESEARCH PROJECT
Contrasting National Political Party Platforms is a documentary research project begun in 1990 for the purpose of comparing positions formally adopted by America's major national political parties.
The project has been distributed over the years as a voter-education resource. It provides selected documentary evidence and directs readers to the underlying sources so they can examine the record and reach their own conclusions.
U. D. Roberts, compiler of the original research, participated in the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston as an alternate delegate and in the 1996 San Diego and 2000 Philadelphia conventions as a delegate.
Earlier editions and research accumulated over more than three decades are being preserved as part of the project's historical archive.
Research and Publication:
Brentwood News Service
PO Box 4773
Columbus, Georgia 31914-4773
brentwood@aol.com
Copyright © 2026 Brentwood News Service. All Rights Reserved. Free to download, print and share in its complete, unaltered form for noncommercial educational use.
