The Rise of Southern Republicans

                “The Rise of Southern Republicans” pages 527-534 by brothers Earl and Merle Black is an excerpt which explains and analyzes the movement from a solid Democratic South to a more solid Republican South. The Black Brothers state that with this new republican stronghold in the south, the south is now a region that is politically competitive and not just reserved for the Democrats. The Blacks say that the beginning of this switch really began with the election of 1964 which had the liberal Lyndon B. Johnson vs. the ultra conservative Barry Goldwater. Prior to the election, as a senator from Arizona, Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was ultimately passed. Goldwater was one of the few senators to vote against this bill. By voting against this bill, Goldwater attracted many racist southern white voters. In the election more southerners voted Republican (Goldwater) than in any previous presidential election. This trend would continue in the elections to follow. Also twenty years later during Ronald Reagan’s election, more southerners called themselves Republicans than Democrats. These two instances are known as the Great White Switches. From here new southern politics had emerged where blacks and liberal whites made up the Democratic party and conservative whites anchored the Republican party. During his presidency, Ronald Reagan was very responsible for changing the ways in which the south votes. His strategy was to realign white conservatives as a reliable source of Republican support and neutralize white moderates as a consistent foundation of Democratic strength. By doing this Reagan was the most popular President among southern whites since Franklin D. Roosevelt. In closing, the rise of Southern Republicans can be attributed to mainly two things: the 1964 presidential race between Johnson and Goldwater and the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Source: "The Rise of Southern Republicans" Lanahan pgs. 527-534