MAGAs (otherwise known as “today’s Confederacy” or, more accurately, “hopefully the last gasp of the dying breath of abominable racism”) love to remind us that the Democratic Party was on the wrong side of racism in the past. Of course it was, we were, we know that. We also know that as a political party we tried and still try to change and stand for the basic principal of the Declaration of Independence that All People are Created Equal. And as the Democrats tried to abandon racism and bigotry, their disgruntled members were ripe for the Republican Party. The Republicans rushed in where angels fear to tread and claimed those disgruntled bigots who claimed they did not leave the Democratic Party, the Party left them.
Thus was the great Party Switch. That is explained by words not mine. I apologize that I do not know to whom I should give credit for the remainder of this post.
A lot of people try to oversimplify American history, so let’s break it down clearly.
There was NOT one single day where Democrats magically became Republicans and Republicans became Democrats overnight.
What happened was a political and ideological realignment that took place over decades — especially from the 1930s through the 1980s.
1860 — Abraham Lincoln (Republican) Elected President.
• Republican Party founded on stopping the expansion of slavery.
• Southern slaveholding states feared losing power.
1861–1865 — Civil War
• Confederate states seceded to preserve slavery.
• Most white Southerners supported segregation and identified as Democrats at that time.
1865 — President Andrew Johnson (Democrat)
• Reconstruction begins after Lincoln’s assassination.
• Southern states begin passing Black Codes to control newly freed Black people.
1865–1866
• Ku Klux Klan formed in Tennessee.
• White terror groups attack Black voters and elected officials.
1877 — President Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)
• Compromise of 1877 ends Reconstruction.
• Federal troops removed from the South.
• Jim Crow segregation expands.
1933–1945 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat)
• New Deal programs created during the Great Depression.
• Many Black voters begin shifting toward Democrats because of economic programs.
1948 — President Harry Truman (Democrat)
• Desegregated the U.S. military.
• Southern segregationists furious.
• “Dixiecrats” formed by segregationist Democrats. This
1954 — Brown v. Board of Education
• Supreme Court rules school segregation unconstitutional.
• Massive white Southern resistance begins.
Barry Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and then became the Republican nominee for president that same year.
And while he claimed his opposition was based on “states’ rights” and limited government, many segregationists and Southern white conservatives embraced his campaign because they saw it as opposition to federal Civil Rights enforcement.
That election is important because it marked a major political shift: Goldwater lost nationally in a landslide, but he won several Deep South states that had historically voted Democrat.
1964 — President Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed into law.
• Many white Southern conservatives begin leaving the Democratic Party.
1965 — Voting Rights Act Passed
• Protected Black voting rights in the South.
• Strong opposition from many segregationist politicians.
1968 — Richard Nixon (Republican)
• “Southern Strategy” begins gaining national attention.
• Republican campaigns target white Southern voters upset over civil rights changes.
1980 — Ronald Reagan (Republican)
• Launches general election campaign near Philadelphia, Mississippi, where civil rights workers were murdered in 1964.
• Talks about “states’ rights,” a phrase heavily tied to segregation politics in the South.
Over time, many white Southern conservatives moved into the Republican Party, while Black voters overwhelmingly aligned with Democrats because of civil rights and voting rights policies.
That’s why today:
• Former Confederate states largely vote Republican.
• Confederate symbols are mostly defended by conservatives.
• Civil rights and voting rights debates still follow many of the same regional patterns.
History is not about feelings.
It’s about timelines, policies, power, and patterns.
Study the presidents.
Study the laws.
Study the maps.
Study who fought for civil rights — and who fought against them.
I have been known to call people who try to diminish the Democratic Party claiming the Party is responsible for segregation “ignorant fools.” That is an uncharitable choice of words but I have failed to find a better way to say it.
I can only ask that you be kind to an old man who seeks “faith, hope, and charity,” but above all, charity.
See less
MAGAs (otherwise known as “today’s Confederacy” or, more accurately, “hopefully the last gasp of the dying breath of abominable racism”) love to remind us that the Democratic Party was on the wrong side of racism in the past. Of course it was, we were, we know that. We also know that as a political party we tried and still try to change and stand for the basic principal of the Declaration of Independence that All People are Created Equal. And as the Democrats tried to abandon racism and bigotry, their disgruntled members were ripe for the Republican Party. The Republicans rushed in where angels fear to tread and claimed those disgruntled bigots who claimed they did not leave the Democratic Party, the Party left them.
Thus was the great Party Switch. That is explained by words not mine. I apologize that I do not know to whom I should give credit for the remainder of this post.
A lot of people try to oversimplify American history, so let’s break it down clearly.
There was NOT one single day where Democrats magically became Republicans and Republicans became Democrats overnight.
What happened was a political and ideological realignment that took place over decades — especially from the 1930s through the 1980s.
1860 — Abraham Lincoln (Republican) Elected President.
• Republican Party founded on stopping the expansion of slavery.
• Southern slaveholding states feared losing power.
1861–1865 — Civil War
• Confederate states seceded to preserve slavery.
• Most white Southerners supported segregation and identified as Democrats at that time.
1865 — President Andrew Johnson (Democrat)
• Reconstruction begins after Lincoln’s assassination.
• Southern states begin passing Black Codes to control newly freed Black people.
1865–1866
• Ku Klux Klan formed in Tennessee.
• White terror groups attack Black voters and elected officials.
1877 — President Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)
• Compromise of 1877 ends Reconstruction.
• Federal troops removed from the South.
• Jim Crow segregation expands.
1933–1945 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat)
• New Deal programs created during the Great Depression.
• Many Black voters begin shifting toward Democrats because of economic programs.
1948 — President Harry Truman (Democrat)
• Desegregated the U.S. military.
• Southern segregationists furious.
• “Dixiecrats” formed by segregationist Democrats. This
1954 — Brown v. Board of Education
• Supreme Court rules school segregation unconstitutional.
• Massive white Southern resistance begins.
Barry Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and then became the Republican nominee for president that same year.
And while he claimed his opposition was based on “states’ rights” and limited government, many segregationists and Southern white conservatives embraced his campaign because they saw it as opposition to federal Civil Rights enforcement.
That election is important because it marked a major political shift: Goldwater lost nationally in a landslide, but he won several Deep South states that had historically voted Democrat.
1964 — President Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed into law.
• Many white Southern conservatives begin leaving the Democratic Party.
1965 — Voting Rights Act Passed
• Protected Black voting rights in the South.
• Strong opposition from many segregationist politicians.
1968 — Richard Nixon (Republican)
• “Southern Strategy” begins gaining national attention.
• Republican campaigns target white Southern voters upset over civil rights changes.
1980 — Ronald Reagan (Republican)
• Launches general election campaign near Philadelphia, Mississippi, where civil rights workers were murdered in 1964.
• Talks about “states’ rights,” a phrase heavily tied to segregation politics in the South.
Over time, many white Southern conservatives moved into the Republican Party, while Black voters overwhelmingly aligned with Democrats because of civil rights and voting rights policies.
That’s why today:
• Former Confederate states largely vote Republican.
• Confederate symbols are mostly defended by conservatives.
• Civil rights and voting rights debates still follow many of the same regional patterns.
History is not about feelings.
It’s about timelines, policies, power, and patterns.
Study the presidents.
Study the laws.
Study the maps.
Study who fought for civil rights — and who fought against them.
I have been known to call people who try to diminish the Democratic Party claiming the Party is responsible for segregation “ignorant fools.” That is an uncharitable choice of words but I have failed to find a better way to say it.
I can only ask that you be kind to an old man who seeks “faith, hope, and charity,” but above all, charity.
See less
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