Few transformations in American politics have been as important as the
integration of African Americans into the Democratic Party and the
Republican embrace of racial policy conservatism. The story of this
partisan realignment on race is often told as one in which political
elites—such as Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater—set in motion a
dramatic and sudden reshuffling of party positioning on racial issues
during the 1960s. Racial Realignment instead argues that top party
leaders were actually among the last to move, and that their choices
were dictated by changes that had already occurred beneath them.
Drawing upon rich data sources and original historical research, Eric
Schickler shows that the two parties' transformation on civil rights
took place gradually over decades. Schickler reveals that Democratic
partisanship, economic liberalism, and support for civil rights had
crystallized in public opinion, state parties, and Congress by the
mid-1940s. This trend was propelled forward by the incorporation of
African Americans and the pro-civil-rights Congress of Industrial
Organizations into the Democratic coalition. Meanwhile, Republican
partisanship became aligned with economic and racial conservatism.
Scrambling to maintain existing power bases, national party elites
refused to acknowledge these changes for as long as they could, but
the civil rights movement finally forced them to choose where their
respective parties would stand. Presenting original ideas about
political change, Racial Realignment sheds new light on twentieth and
twenty-first century racial politics.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781400880973
Publisert
2016
Utgiver
Vendor
Princeton University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter