Politics of the Southern United States

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Politics of the Southern United States (or Southern politics) refers to the political landscape of the Southern United States. Due to the region's unique cultural and historic heritage, the American South has been prominently involved in numerous political issues faced by the United States as a whole, including States' rights, slavery, the American Civil War, and the American Civil Rights Movement. Due to the South's conservative political leanings and political power, the South has seen the start of several political movements (such as George C. Wallace's American Independent Party) and the region plays a crucial role in Presidential politics (with the majority of the recent Presidents of the United States having come from the region).

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[edit] Early political history

Early in the 19th century, the South's economy became focused nearly exclusively on agriculture, which was largely supported by slavery. Due to the region's agricultural success, the South became integral to the political history of the United States, with many of the United States' early military and political leaders (including nine of its first twelve presidents) coming from the Southern United States.

However, by the middle of the 19th century sectional differences surrounding the issues of slavery, taxation, tariffs, and states' rights led to a strong secession movement. The political drive to secede from the United States hit its peak after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. The Southern states that seceded formed the Confederate States of America with Richmond as its capital.

During the four year Civil War which followed, the South found itself as the primary battleground, with almost all of the main battles taking place on Southern soil. The Confederates were eventually defeated by the Union.

After the Civil War, the South found itself devastated, both in terms of its population, infrastructure, and economy. The South also found itself under Reconstruction, with Union military troops in direct political control of the South. Many white Southerners who had actively supported the Confederacy found themselves without many of the basic rights of citizenship (such as the ability to vote) while, with the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (which outlawed slavery), the 14th Amendment (which granted full U.S. citizenship to African Americans) and the 15th amendment (which extended the right to vote to black males), African Americans in the South began to enjoy more rights than they had ever had in the region.

By the 1890s, though, a political backlash against these rights developed in the South. Organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, a clandestine organization sworn to perpetuate white supremacy, used lynchings, cross burnings and other forms of violence and intimidation to keep African Americans from exercising their political rights, while the Jim Crow laws were created to legally do the same thing. It would not be until the late 1960s that these changes would be undone by the American Civil Rights Movement.

[edit] The Solid South

Main article: Solid South

Because of the South's experiences during the American Civil War and Reconstruction, from the late 19th century until the 1960s, Southerners often identified with the then-conservative Democratic Party. This was caused by the act of so-called Redemption, which resulted from the disputed Presidential election of 1876. The election was finally resolved by the Compromise of 1877, in which Southern Democrats agreed to support Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as President in exchange for numerous favours to the South, one of which was the removal of Union troops from Southern states. With the removal of these forces, Reconstruction came to an end. Because of this (and a backlash against Reconstruction), the Democratic Party was able to be the undisputed political power in the South until the 1970s. This lock on power was called the Solid South.

[edit] The Conservative Movement

In the last thirty-five years, though, this has changed because of the emergence of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and its support for the civil rights movement, as well as the conservative realignment of the Republican Party under the Richard Nixon (see the Southern strategy) and Ronald Reagan presidencies in the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the Republican Party has benefited from Southern support, in large measure due to the evangelical Christian vote.

Although the South as a whole defies stereotyping, it is nonetheless known for its conservatism. Additionally, support for such conservative causes as opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion is often found in the South today. Even while still in Democratic control, there was major resistance to feminism, desegregation, the abolition of slavery and interracial marriage.

[edit] Presidential politics

The South has long been a center of political power in the United States, especially with regards to Presidential elections. During the history of the United States, the South has supplied between sixteen and eighteen of the country's forty-three presidents. This difference in counts depends on whether people consider George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush as Southern. While both were not born in the South, they lived most of their lives in Texas and received their political starts there. A similar argument could be given for Abraham Lincoln, who was born in Kentucky but started his political career in Illinois.

Presidents from the South include:

As evidenced by this list, most of the recent Presidents of the United States—Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush—have either come from the region or, like George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, spent most of their lives there. This fact is a result of the renewed political power of the South, the fact that the South is the most populous region in the country, and the unique nature of the Electoral College, both of which make it difficult for a Presidential contender to win the White House without carrying part of the South.

[edit] Modern political movements

In addition to Presidents, the South in the last half century has produced numerous political movements.

[edit] Dixiecrat movement

Main article: Dixiecrat

In 1948, a group of Democratic congressmen, led by Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, split from the Democrats in reaction to an anti-segregation speech given by Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, founding the States Rights Democratic or Dixiecrat Party. During that year's Presidential election, the party unsuccessfully ran Thurmond as its candidate.

[edit] George Wallace and the Southern strategy

Main article: Southern strategy

In 1968, Democratic Alabama Governor George C. Wallace ran for President on the American Independent Party ticket. Wallace ran a "law and order" campaign similar to that of Republican candidate, Richard Nixon. While Nixon won, Wallace won a number of Southern states. This inspired Nixon and other Republican leaders to create the Southern Strategy of winning Presidential elections. This strategy focused on securing the electoral votes of the U.S. Southern states by having candidates promote culturally conservative values, such as family issues, religion, and patriotism, which appealed strongly to Southern voters.

[edit] Return to power of Congressional Republicans

In 1994, another Southern politician, Newt Gingrich, ushered in a political revolution with his Contract with America. Gingrich, then the Minority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, created the document to detail what the Republican Party would do if they won the that year's United States Congressional election. The contract mainly dealt with issues of governmental reform (such as requiring all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply to Congress). Almost all Republican candidates in the election signed the contract and for the first time in 40 years the Republicans took control of the U.S. Congress. Gingrich became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving in that position from 1995 to 1999.

A number of current Congressional leaders are also from the South, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.

[edit] See also

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