- Written By: Jason C. Chavis
- Edited By: Bronwyn Harris
- Last Modified Date: 14 March 2012
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2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation
The Southern Strategy is the policy of the Republican Party in the United States to gain political support in the Southern section of the country. Politically, the concept generally uses themes traditionally supported by residents of the Southern states to win election in those locations. Since segregation continued well into the late 20th century in the region, the Republican Party officially attempted to utilize this wedge issue as a way of garnering support for their political faction in these states. In addition to the issue of segregation between white residents and African Americans, the party also utilized Southern values of religion, gun control and a distrust of counterculture to win votes.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Republican Party generally opposed desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement. This stance caused a major shift in the voting practices of the African American community to the support of the Democratic Party, the faction which helped legislate laws such as the Voting Rights Act. Party officials, specifically President Richard Nixon's political strategist Kevin Phillips, understood that in order for the Republicans to win the Southern states, they needed to focus their attention on the Caucasian population.
The implementation of the Southern Strategy by the Republican Party represented a major shift in political power in the region. Since the Civil War, the Democratic Party was the primary force in the South due to its support of the region during Reconstruction. In addition, the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was seen as the primary instigator of the war by most Southern residents. Between the 1950s and the early 1980s, the South shifted to major support for the Republicans. At the same time, much of the North and the West became a major supporter of Democrats.
Despite the Republican shift, by the end of the 20th century, it was generally understood that the South had lost its importance as a major prize in presidential and national elections. Without a majority of electoral votes or heavy populations, the power distribution of the constituency moved to the Northeast, California, and Texas. According to the results of the elections since 1984, every president elected would have taken office regardless of the South's votes.
During the 1990s and early 21st century, the concept of the Southern Strategy focused less on the region known as the “Bible Belt” and more on a general principle. Using wedge issues such as family values, abortion and threats to gun ownership, both parties attempt to segment their ideology to different sides. Voters during this time period followed suit, making the factors involving leadership and legislation secondary to candidates positions on the wedge issues. The Republicans use the conservative principles of the Southern Strategy on a nationwide level to help generate support in new regions of the country.
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anon234258
Post 7 |
It's very interesting that those who disagreed with this article listed fact after fact after fact. Those who agreed with it simply discuss their own opinions. However, the facts can't be changed, even if there are obviously those who want to ignore them. All of the governors who opposed desegregation were die-hard Democrats. Look it up. |
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anon177355
Post 5 |
Well I'd say its partially accurate. In the 50s and sixties the most of the GOP supported desegregation. After the Civil Rights movement, Dixiecrats either left the Democratic Party or dropped their segregationist positions. |
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anon135347
Post 4 |
This article is not accurate. First, the Republicans did not oppose the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s. Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican president, appointed Earl Warren to the supreme court. Earl Warren decided Brown v. Board of Education that overruled segregation in the schools. Eisenhower then enforced segregation. Without these great civil rights leaders, there would have never been a civil rights act of 1964. The civil rights act of 1964 was overwhelmingly supported by republicans and not supported by democrats, other than Lyndon Johnson who signed the Bill after the republicans passed it in the house and senate. The US Senator who deserves the credit for passing the Civil rights act was Everett Dirksen of Illinois, who fought tirelessly to gain the votes to pass the act. Ultimately, Republicans voted in favor of the civil rights act in much higher percentages than did democrats. Affirmative action was made real under the Nixon administration, and Arthur Fletcher, who is called the father of affirmative action, was a Republican. |
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anon128233
Post 3 |
No, it's spot-on accurate. There is a concentration of cultural resentment, mostly among lower middle class whites, that gets exploited by the corporate interests behind the Republican Party. A person with these resentments tends to passionately passionately oppose: civil rights legislation, abortion, separation of church and state and gun control. Corporate interests don't care about these conservative social positions. They only care about deregulation and tax breaks. But they bankroll candidates who support these conservative social positions, and who also support deregulation and tax breaks for large corporations. It's a way of duping lower middle class whites into voting against their own economic interests. In sum, corporate interests instruct political candidates to pander to cultural resentments largely concentrated within the lower middle class white psyche, as a way of getting that voting bloc to support policies that undermine their economic security. |
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anon122233
Post 2 |
Horrible article that corrupts the truth. Republicans didn't oppose desegregation and civil rights, in fact, not only did a Republican introduce the Voting Rights Act, they voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act legislation at a much higher percentage than Democrats did and were the minority party. The so called "Southern Strategy" was an attempt by the Republican party to woo incumbent constitutionalist Democrats who didn't subscribe to Southern Dixiecrat mantra over to their side. Those Democrats who still believed in Jim Crow, legal segregation, and discrimination, such as Al Gore Sr. and Robert Byrd, still remained Democrats. |
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anon120164
Post 1 |
Great article. I found it very useful. --edie |
