Which is one major area of difference between democrats and republicans

Although not technically part of their platform, Democrats are stereotyped as liberals and Republicans as conservatives. 
Common Liberal beliefs:Womens rights (pro-choice)Environmental issues like global warming are importantSame sex marriage 
Taxes to fix the economyCommon Conservative beliefs:Pro-life (no abortion)Cut taxes to fix the economyNo special rights to interest groups
Republicans: 
less federal government involvement. Republicans are strong supporters of the tenth amendment which gives rights to the states as opposed to Congresscapitalism- free economic market not run or regulated by the governmentfreedom is the most important aspect of Americarepublicans want to uphold America as a republic, hence the name 

Democrats: 
more federal government involvement. Democrats do not generally like the tenth amendment and want the federal government to have more powersocialism- not a free economic market. Democrats, like in other things, want the government to regulate the marketequality is usually the most important thing to DemocratsDemocrats want to change America into a democracy, hence the name