Southern Strategy

E23713

electoral strategy political strategy

The Southern Strategy was a Republican Party electoral approach that sought to gain political support in the American South by appealing to white voters’ racial resentments and opposition to civil rights reforms.

Aliases (1)

Southern strategy ×2

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	electoral strategy → political strategy →
aimedAtVoterGroup	segregationist white voters → white voters in the American South →
appliedInRegion	American South → Southern United States →
associatedWithAdvisor	Harry Dent → Kevin Phillips → Lee Atwater →
associatedWithPoliticalParty	Republican Party (United States) →
associatedWithPolitician	Barry Goldwater → Richard Nixon → Ronald Reagan →
communicationStyle	dog-whistle politics → racially coded messaging →
consequence	decline of the Democratic Party in the Deep South → long-term partisan realignment in the South → rise of Republican dominance in Southern presidential elections →
country	United States →
criticizedFor	exploiting racial divisions → institutionalizing racial resentment in party politics → undermining civil rights progress →
documentedIn	political science literature on U.S. party realignment →
hasLegacy	modern Republican electoral strategies in the South → ongoing debates about race and partisanship in the United States →
historicalContext	Civil Rights Movement → Voting Rights Act of 1965 → desegregation of schools →
motivatedBy	opposition to civil rights reforms → opposition to racial integration → racial resentment →
politicalGoal	build a Republican electoral majority → realign party coalitions in the South → shift white Southern voters from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party →
relatedTo	conservative movement in the United States → party realignment in the United States → racial politics in the United States →
significantPeriod	1970s → late 1960s →
startTime	1960s →
tactic	appeals to states’ rights → coded racial language → emphasis on law and order → opposition to busing for school desegregation → opposition to federal intervention in local affairs →
usedInElection	1968 United States presidential election → 1972 United States presidential election → 1980 United States presidential election →

Referenced by (4)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Nixon administration ("Southern strategy") →	hasPolicy
Southern Republicans →	linkedEvent
Sixth Party System in United States politics →	linkedTo
Nixon 1972 presidential campaign ("Southern strategy") →	strategy