Democrats can say whatever they want about the GOP today, but the fact remains that the Republican party was instituted to end slavery in a time when Democratic leaders refused to acknowledge black Americans as “persons” instead of “property,” forcibly removed Native Americans from their land, and even established the Ku Klux Klan to fight against constitutional rights gained by blacks after the Civil War.

On today’s show, Glenn Beck turns back time to take a look at the Democratic and Republican Parties and what they stood for over the past two centuries. “Is there any truth to the accusations today’s liberals throw at the GOP?” asked Glenn, introducing tonight’s topic: “The history of the Democratic Party that I’m pretty sure you didn’t learn in school.”

Here are a few highlights from Glenn’s timeline:

1792 – Thomas Jefferson and James Madison founded the Democratic-Republican Party (yes, both together), a party founded on the libertarian principle of limited government.

1829 – The first official Democratic Party president, Andrew Jackson, took office.

1830 – President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law. Under this act, Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi were rounded up and marched to camps farther west.

1830’s – The US Supreme court ruled in favor of Cherokee Indians in a suit against Georgia. The ruling said the Cherokee Nation could not be forcibly removed from their homes. Andrew Jackson overruled the decision and the Cherokee people were rounded up at gunpoint and forced out. One in four Cherokee people died during the inhumane journey which became known as the Trail of Tears.

1840’s – The Democratic Party adopted the doctrine of manifest destiny: the idea that white Americans were divinely entitled to dominate the North American continent.

1854 – A new anti-slave political party was formed to secure equal rights for black Americans. It was named the Republican Party because it’s founders wanted to return to the principles of freedom and equality set forth in the governing documents of the republic.

1856 – The first Republican presidential candidate ran on a platform that included only nine planks, six of which were for black equality and equal rights for African Americans.

That same year, the Democratic platform strongly defended slavery, stating that abolitionist efforts threatened to “diminish the happiness of the people.” The Democrats won the election.

It’s almost unthinkable, but the Democratic assailant was never even charged with the attempted murder of a United States Senator on the Senate floor.

1856 – Founding Republican Party member, Sen. Charles Sumner gave a speech in the US Senate against slavery. Angered by Sumner’s message, Democratic House Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina, crossed the rotunda of the Capitol and in front of the entire Senate, literally clubbed Sumner almost to death.

“It’s almost unthinkable, but the Democratic assailant was never even charged with the attempted murder of a United States Senator on the Senate floor,” remarked Glenn.

1857 – The Democrat-controlled Supreme Court approved the dreaded Dred Scott Decision, which declared that black American’s were “not persons but property” and therefore had no rights.

1860 – Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln ran on a platform that blasted the Dred Scott Decision, opposed the fugitive slave law and announced an intention to end slavery. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote, but won the presidency with 57 percent of the electoral college.

1861 – The confederate flag was created by the Democratic party.

1866 – A Republican-controlled Congress enacted the 13th Amendment to constitutionally ban slavery in the US.

1860’s – The Ku Klux Klan was started by Democrats to murder Republicans: black or white.

1871 – Republican State Senator, Dr. John Winsmith, was shot seven times by the Klan because he was fighting for the rights of blacks in his state. Dr. Winsmith survived the shooting and testified before Congress about the attack.

See part 2 of this series here.

Glenn’s perspective:

During the past 200 years, Democrats have simply shifted their actions from overt racism to covert racism. The tactics that they use to control minorities in America have just changed. They shifted from actual slavery on the cotton plantations, to making sure that blacks remain on the “plantation” of government assistance, ever dependent on their Democratic overseers.

Republicans meanwhile, as a general rule, have always fought for the rights of self-determination for minorities, any minority. They tend not to promise that the government will take care of them, instead the GOP, if true to its non-progressive roots, has a philosophy that allows people to have the opportunity to take care of themselves, to chart their own course, make their own destiny, to thrive rather than just survive.

Democrats today are positioned as the keepers of the flame of liberty, the ferocious fighters in defense of the underdog, but honestly, if you look at the facts, nothing could be further from the truth.

Watch the clip above to learn more.

Also enjoy watch Carol Swain, professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, shares her wisdom in the PragerU video below:

To watch the full episode visit Glenn’s channel on TheBlaze or watch full episodes of “Glenn” live weekdays 5–6 p.m. ET or anytime on-demand at TheBlaze TV.

Read more at TIMELINE: Surprising historical facts the Democratic Party wouldn’t want you to know.