>So, sometime between the 1860s and 1936, the (Democratic) party of small government became the party of big government, and the (Republican) party of big gover

>So, sometime between the 1860s and 1936, the (Democratic) party of small government became the party of big government, and the (Republican) party of big government became rhetorically committed to curbing federal power. How did this switch happen? >Eric Rauchway, professor of American history at the University of California, Davis, pins the transition to the turn of the 20th century, when a highly influential Democrat named William Jennings Bryan blurred party lines by emphasizing the government's role in ensuring social justice through expansions of federal power — traditionally, a Republican stance. The article[1] goes on the state both parties started changing stances to try and win the new Western states. [1]https://www.livescience.com/34241-democratic-republican-parties-switch-platforms.html https://www.livescience.com/34241-democratic-republican-part...