Is that right?
đ Before the Shift (19thâearly 20th century)
⥠The Shift in Motion
â After the Shift (late 20th century â today)
đ Before the Shift (19thâearly 20th century)
- Democrats: Dominated the South, defended segregation, supported Jim Crow laws, and opposed civil rights for Black Americans.
- Republicans: Party of Lincoln and abolition, strong in the North, associated with Reconstruction and protecting Black voting rights (at least in the 19th century).
⥠The Shift in Motion
- New Deal Era (1930sâ1940s):
- Franklin D. Rooseveltâs Democratic New Deal coalition attracted working-class voters, immigrants, and some Black Americans (especially in the North) by offering economic relief and jobs.
- But Southern Democrats (âDixiecratsâ) still clung to segregation.
- Civil Rights Era (1940sâ1960s):
- Presidents like Harry Truman (desegregated the military in 1948) and John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965) tied the Democratic Party to civil rights.
- Many white Southern Democrats opposed this and began drifting away.
- Southern Strategy (1960sâ1980s):
- Republicans, starting with Richard Nixon, actively courted disaffected white Southern conservatives using statesâ rights rhetoric, law-and-order themes, and opposition to busing/desegregation.
- Over time, the South shifted from a Democratic stronghold to a Republican one.
â After the Shift (late 20th century â today)
- Democrats: Became the party of civil rights, racial minorities, urban voters, liberals, and progressives.
- Republicans: Became dominant in the South, aligned with white conservatives, evangelical Christians, and free-market policies.