A Jefferson–Jackson Dinner is a title traditionally given to an annual fundraising celebration held by Democratic Party organizations in the United States. It is named for Presidents

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

and

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, which the party traditionally calls its founders. They are usually held in February or March at a local level providing an opportunity for elected officials, candidates, party staff, advisors, and donors to attend. The Republican Party's equivalent is usually called a Lincoln Dinner, Reagan Dinner, or Lincoln–Reagan Dinner. Into the 1960s, state and local Democratic Parties across the country depended on well-attended Jefferson–Jackson Day dinners to provide their annual funding. Their financial importance has somewhat dimmed with the development of other

political party funding Political party funding is a method used by a political party to raise money for campaigns and routine activities. The funding of political parties is an aspect of campaign finance. Political parties are funded by contributions from multiple sou ...

strategies, although they still serve a function for social networking and conferences.

Change of name

Due to controversies over Jefferson's slaveholding and Jackson's policy toward Native Americans while in office, some Democratic Party organizations have been removing Jefferson and Jackson from the title of party fundraisers. The flow of the State Democratic Parties seeking to change the name of their iconic Jefferson-Jackson dinner is spurred by a desire to embrace a more modern identity. The usual argument made is that while Jefferson and Jackson were both great men and for a time embodied the spirit of the Democratic Party, they now fail to represent the breadth of change that has affected the Democratic Party and its current membership. Many state Democratic Parties have changed the traditional name. For example: * In 2012, the Democratic Party of Mississippi initially renamed the dinner after civil rights leader

Fannie Lou Hamer Fannie Lou Hamer (; Townsend; October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting and women's rights activist, community organizer, and leader of the civil rights movement. She was the vice-chair of the Freedom Democratic Party, ...

, with a Jefferson–Jackson–Hamer celebration, and subsequently renamed the dinner the Hamer-Winter Dinner after Hamer and former governor William Winter in 2018. * Florida Democratic Party renamed their key dinner event "Leadership Blue." * Colorado renamed their State Dinner after

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. * Missouri changed the name of their State Dinner to honor Missourian

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

. * Georgia has changed the name of their State Dinner. * Iowa in August, 2015 voted to change the name of their Jefferson–Jackson Dinner. It is now known as the Liberty and Justice Celebration. * Nebraska Democrats host an annual Morrison Exon Dinner, named after former governors

Frank B. Morrison Frank Brenner Morrison (May 20, 1905 – April 19, 2004) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of Nebraska from 1961 to 1967, representing the Democratic Party. Early life and education Morrison was born in ...

and

J. James Exon John James Exon (August 9, 1921June 10, 2005) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Nebraska from 1971 to 1979, and as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska from 1979 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Ex ...

. * As of 2016,

Indiana Democrats Indiana ( ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash Riv ...

have removed Jefferson and Jackson's names from the dinner, renaming the dinner the Hoosier Hospitality Dinner. * The

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Minnesota ( ) is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, and No ...

renamed theirs to the Humphrey-Mondale Dinner in 2012, after former Vice-Presidents

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

and

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...

. * Virginia Democrats renamed their dinner to the Blue Commonwealth Gala in 2018. * The

North Carolina Democratic Party The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) is the North Carolina affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. It is headquartered in the historic Goodwin House, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh. The party contr ...

renamed their statewide dinner from Jefferson-Jackson to the Unity Dinner in 2017. Another party dinner for western North Carolina Democrats, the Vance-Aycock Dinner (named after former governors

Zebulon Vance Zebulon Baird Vance (May 13, 1830 – April 14, 1894) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 37th and 43rd governor of North Carolina, a U.S. Senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil ...

and

Charles Aycock Charles Brantley Aycock (November 1, 1859 – April 4, 1912) was the List of Governors of North Carolina, 50th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905. After starting his career as a lawyer and teacher, he became active in ...

since 1960) was renamed the Western Gala in 2011, due to the fact that Vance was a Confederate veteran and Aycock led the

Wilmington insurrection of 1898 Wilmington may refer to: Places Australia *Wilmington, South Australia, a town and locality **District Council of Wilmington, a former local government area **Wilmington railway line, a former railway line United Kingdom *Wilmington, Devon *Wi ...

. * The

Texas Democratic Party The Texas Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Texas and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party's headquarters are in Austin, Texas. President Lyndon B. Johnson was a Texas Democ ...

renamed theirs to the Johnson-Jordan Dinner in 2014, honoring president

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and congresswoman

Barbara Jordan Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first ...

.Parties swap names on fundraising dinners to reflect modern alignment
/ref> * The

Louisiana Democratic Party The Louisiana Democratic Party (, ) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Louisiana. Dominated by the conservative planter elite through much of the 19th century, the party was historically prominent in politics since before t ...

renamed their statewide dinner from Jefferson-Jackson to the True Blue Gale in 2017. * The

Democratic Party of Arkansas The Democratic Party of Arkansas is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Arkansas. The current party chair is Grant Tennille. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton was born in Arkansas, and served as state governor from 1979 to 198 ...

renamed their statewide dinner from Jefferson-Jackson to the Clinton Day Dinner, honoring President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. Arkansas Democrats’ dinner renamed to honor Bill Clinton https://apnews.com/general-news-e947d0f8efd64f2580766c270b57d90f The Republican party has similarly moved away from " Lincoln Dinners" due to American

political realignment A political realignment is a set of sharp changes in party-related ideology, issues, leaders, regional bases, demographic bases, and/or the structure of powers within a government. In the fields of political science and political history, this is ...

since the 1960s, especially in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

where culturally conservative White Southerners now tend to be Republicans, while Black voters now tend to be Democrats.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson-Jackson Day Democratic Party (United States) events Thomas Jefferson Andrew Jackson Annual events in the United States Naming controversies Dinner

Change of name

See also

References