Southern Democrats
E1019
Southern Democrats were a conservative faction within the U.S. Democratic Party, primarily from the South, known for defending segregation and states’ rights and often resisting liberal civil rights and social welfare initiatives.
Aliases (13)
- Southern Democrat ×2
- Bourbon Democrats ×1
- Conservative Democrats ×1
- Democratic Party (Solid South) ×1
- Democratic Party in the Southern United States ×1
- Dixiecrats ×1
- Solid South ×1
- Solid South political alignment ×1
- Southern Democratic Party ×1
- Southern Democratic bloc ×1
- Southern United States politics ×1
- Southern white Democrats ×1
- dominated Southern politics from late 19th century to mid-20th century ×1
Statements (62)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
conservative Democrats
→
political faction → |
| alliedWith |
local segregationist organizations in the South
→
|
| country |
United States
→
|
| declineCause |
national Democratic Party support for civil rights
→
realignment of white Southern voters toward the Republican Party → |
| electoralBase |
Southern planters and landowners
→
rural Southern constituencies → segregationist local political machines → white voters in the American South → |
| electoralPattern |
dominated Southern politics from late 19th century to mid-20th century
→
formed the core of the Solid South voting bloc → |
| historicalPeriod |
early 20th century
→
late 19th century → mid-20th century → |
| ideology |
conservatism
→
segregationism → states’ rights → white supremacy → |
| influentialEra |
Civil Rights era
→
Jim Crow era → New Deal era → Reconstruction era → |
| notableMember |
George Wallace
→
Harry F. Byrd Sr. → Herman Talmadge → James Eastland → John C. Stennis → Lyndon B. Johnson → Orval Faubus → Richard Russell Jr. → Russell B. Long → Sam Ervin → Strom Thurmond → |
| opposedPolicy |
Civil Rights Act of 1957
→
Civil Rights Act of 1964 → Voting Rights Act of 1965 → |
| partOf |
Democratic Party
→
|
| positionOn |
defended racial segregation
→
favored Jim Crow laws → favored limited federal government intervention → often opposed liberal social welfare programs → often supported anti-union policies in the South → often supported low taxes for landowners → opposed to federal civil rights legislation → resisted school desegregation → supported agricultural interests → |
| region |
American South
→
|
| relatedMovement |
Dixiecrats
→
Solid South → |
| relationshipToNewDeal |
opposed New Deal civil rights initiatives
→
supported many economic New Deal programs → |
| relationshipToPresidents |
increasingly conflicted with Democratic presidents over civil rights after World War II
→
were a key base for Franklin D. Roosevelt → |
| roleInCongress |
controlled key committee chairmanships in U.S. Congress for decades
→
often blocked liberal legislation at the committee level → |
| successor |
Southern Republicans
→
|
| supportedPolicy |
disenfranchisement of African Americans
→
literacy tests for voting → poll taxes → |
| tactic |
Senate filibusters against civil rights bills
→
use of states’ rights rhetoric to block federal intervention → |