Why did the South switch from being Democratic to Republican during the Civil Rights Era?

Posted by admin on July 10th, 2010 and filed under democratic | 15 Comments »

Did it have anything to do with Democratic presidents proposing civil rights legislation for blacks and the Republican opposition to integration and other civil rights measures?

If not, then what did cause the switch?

Just wondering. Thanks!

Exactly! President Johnson himself told then Chief Justice Earl Warren this: "we democrats have lost the South forever", after signing the 1964 civil rights law. Something conservative republicans don’t have a damn guts to admit. They are cowards.

15 Responses

  1. TAT Says:

    The south did not leave the Dem party until the 80’s. Nice try.
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  2. Chupate esa! Says:

    Because they will not put down the confederate flag even after centuries…
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  3. Dang that Kool-Aid's sour Says:

    It wasn’t during the 60’s.
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  4. Captain Cod Says:

    Traditionally: Urban = democrat, rural = republican.

    Oh, and historically democrat was pro slavery.
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  5. good guy Says:

    you answered your own question; it was the racism that led to this political shift to the right.
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  6. Stereotypemebecauseyouknow Says:

    It was when LBJ added all the Federal Programs to combat poverty and ended up creating the Welfare State. Many Republicans supported Civil Rights. Look it up instead of Repeating Liberal Rhetoric. Many people believe those welfare programs destroyed the black family, and created the violence we see today. Whenever the government tries to fix anything they make it worse. Prove otherwise.
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  7. George S Says:

    It’s an old story starting at the beginning of the country. It’s the argument between federalism and confederation that was the battle over our new constitution (today’s) and what also caused our Civil War.

    The Democrats were originally truly liberal (see below) but were taken by socialist academics and union organizers beginning in the early 20th century. Those forever pushed for federal domination of states, like the capitalist Federalist Party did in the beginning.

    The anti-Federalists who demanded our Bill of Rights to block the Federalist domination, were principles of the Democratic-Republican Party, now known as just Democratic. Their advocacy of states rights remained in the south even after secession over punitive Republican-backed tariffs specifically against southern Democratic states’ European commerce (no, although slavery was an important issue, it didn’t cause the secession).

    Our Civil War was a war between northern Republicans and southern Democrats over economic issues (slavery was also an economic issue because slaves were valuable capital investments), as most such wars are. The south was shipping cotton and tobacco directly to Europe and filled the returning ships with manufactured goods from there. It all passed northern Republican manufacturers and bankers noses without them getting a penny of it (the Federalist Party had died out and their commercial and financial interests constituency helped form the Republican Party in the latter 1840’s). The north had been flooded with impoverished Irish and their economy was in a shambles from the flood.

    When I was young all the southern states were called the "solid south" because they were all staunchly Democratic. As socialism in that party increased — and federal authority increased with it — the "Dixiecrats" abandoned that party and took refuge in the now "lesser evil" Republican Party.

    True liberalism advocates: individual freedom, weak government, and free markets. Conservatism advocates: moral responsibility, strong government, and protected markets. Socialism advocates: social responsibility, omnipotent government, and controlled markets. These definitions are intentionally confused today by the propagandists I note in my sources.
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    decades studying philosophies, cultures, and social institutions began because of the confusion resulting from my military experience under the shadow of neo-Marxist propaganda disseminated from universities

  8. Bruno Says:

    Exactly! President Johnson himself told then Chief Justice Earl Warren this: "we democrats have lost the South forever", after signing the 1964 civil rights law. Something conservative republicans don’t have a damn guts to admit. They are cowards.
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    Read history. An article in the 2004 "American Heritage". And "The Making of the President 1964" by Theodore White. Guess the four idiots who gave me demerits never read anything, Pity the fools.

  9. Allucard Says:

    Wilson (democratic president) was a blatant white supremacist. He segregated the federal government for the first time since reconstruction, appointed white people to traditionally black positions, supported the movie Birth of a Nation(one of the most racist movies of all times). The people who supported civil rights are historically of the republican party (Grant, lincoln, etc).question flawed.
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  10. Aegis of Freedom Says:

    They didn’t. They switch for Reagan.

    1976 Carter election:
    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=19

    1980 Reagan Election:
    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=18
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    Facts.

  11. Mike T Says:

    I would submit that you need to go back and take a history lesson about Civil Rights legislation and how it became law.

    Democratic Party: 153-91 (63%-37%)
    Republican Party: 136-35 (80%-20%)
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    Public record

  12. comengetitnow Says:

    Allucard — you have been watching too many GOP propaganda television shows posing as Christian broadcasts.
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  13. Resistance Says:

    Just look at any electoral map for the past decades. The cities vote blue, and the county votes red. It is just the way it is. It isn’t just the south. Look at New York. NYC blue as it gets. Get out in the county, and it is red. The same goes for every state. This "the south is nothing but racist" is a very old played out stereotype, and you are a disgusting bigot for trying to play it up as any thing else. Now go listen to that hack Paul Krugman some more and choke your self masturbating to him.
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  14. Ryan Says:

    The simplest explanation is that this was the time when the parties finished switching polarities. Since the late 1800’s and the influx of Irish and Italian immigrants, the Republicans had become increasingly conservative and the Democrats became increasingly liberal. This is in stark contrast to the antebellum period when Democrats were conservatives and Republicans were staunch liberals.
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  15. kill_yr_television Says:

    When President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he predicted "The Democratic Party has just lost the south for 50 years." By 1980 the GOP was firmly rebranded as the "If you had a problem with Hippies then you will love us" party of opposition to equal rights for minorities and women. I get the feeling that a lot of these people see the typical liberal as some bearded freak in a tie dye shirt and love beads, except greyer and fatter. Never was, and isn’t today.
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