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Solid South refers to the electoral support of the Southern United States
Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
 for the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party . It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world....
 candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of the Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era.

Democrats won by large margins in the South in every presidential election from 1876 to 1948 except for 1928, when candidate Al Smith
Al Smith

Alfred Emanuel Smith, Jr. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American politician who was elected List of Governors of New York four times, and was the History of the United States Democratic Party United States presidential election, 1928....
, a Catholic and a New Yorker, ran on the Democratic ticket; even in that election, the divided South provided Smith with nearly three-fourths of his electoral votes.






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Solid South refers to the electoral support of the Southern United States
Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
 for the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party . It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world....
 candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of the Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era.

Democrats won by large margins in the South in every presidential election from 1876 to 1948 except for 1928, when candidate Al Smith
Al Smith

Alfred Emanuel Smith, Jr. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American politician who was elected List of Governors of New York four times, and was the History of the United States Democratic Party United States presidential election, 1928....
, a Catholic and a New Yorker, ran on the Democratic ticket; even in that election, the divided South provided Smith with nearly three-fourths of his electoral votes. Beginning in about 1950, the national Democratic Party's support of the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement

The Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring approximately between 1960 to 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion....
 significantly reduced Southern support for the Democratic Party and allowed the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
 to make gains in the South by way of its "Southern strategy
Southern strategy

In Politics of the United States, the Southern strategy refers to a Republican Party method of winning Southern United States in the latter decades of the 20th century and first decade of the 21st century by exploiting racism among white voters....
". Today, the South is considered a stronghold of the Republican Party. Political scientists have often cited a southernization of politics following the fall of the Solid South.

The Democratic dominance originated in many white Southerners' animosity towards the Republican Party's stance in favor of political rights for Blacks during Reconstruction and Republican economic policies such as the high tariff
Tariff

A tariff is a tax imposed on goods when they are moved across a political boundary. They are usually associated with protectionism, the economic policy of restraining trade between nations....
 and the support for continuing the gold standard
Gold standard

The gold standard is a monetary system in which a region's common media of exchange are paper notes that are normally freely convertible into pre-set, fixed quantities of gold....
, both of which were seen as benefiting Northern industrial interests at the expense of the agrarian South in the 19th century. It was maintained by the Democratic Party's willingness to back Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws

The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure Racial segregation in the United States in all public facilities, with a "separate but equal" status for black Americans and members of other non-white racial groups....
 and racial segregation
Racial segregation

File:Segregated cinema entrance3.jpgRacial segregation is the separation of different Race s in daily life, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a drinking fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home....
.

Democratic factionalization over the Civil Rights Movement

The "Solid South" began to erode when Democratic President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States . As the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States, he succeeded Franklin D....
 began supporting the civil rights movement. His policies, combined with the adoption of a civil rights plank in the 1948 Democratic platform, prompted many Southerners to walk out of the Democratic National Convention
1948 Democratic National Convention

The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, from July 12 to July 14, and resulted in the nominations of incumbent Harry S....
 and form the Dixiecrat Party. This splinter party played a significant role in the 1948 election
United States presidential election, 1948

The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most historians as the greatest election upset in History of the United States....
; the Dixiecrat candidate, Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond

James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senate. He also ran for the President of the United States in United States presidential election, 1948 as the segregationist Dixiecrat candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 Electoral College ....
, carried Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
, Louisiana
Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
, Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
, and South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
. In the elections of 1952
United States presidential election, 1952

The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly....
 and 1956
United States presidential election, 1956

The United States presidential election of 1956 saw a popular Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully run for re-election. The 1956 election was a rematch of 1952, as Eisenhower's opponent in 1956 was Democrat Adlai Stevenson II, whom Eisenhower had defeated four years earlier....
, the popular Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David ?Ike? Eisenhower was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a General of the Army in the United States Army....
 carried several border southern states, with especially strong showings in the new suburbs. In 1956, Eisenhower also carried Louisiana, becoming the first Republican to win the state since Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was an Politics of the United States, Law of the United States, Military of the United States and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States ....
 in 1876
United States presidential election, 1876

The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and intense presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York defeated Ohio's Rutherford B....
, but the rest of the Deep South was still the bastion for Eisenhower's Democratic opponent, Adlai Stevenson
Adlai Stevenson

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II was an United States, noted for his intellectual demeanor, eloquent oratory, and promotion of liberal causes in the History of the United States Democrat Party....
.

In the 1960 election
United States presidential election, 1960

The United States presidential election of 1960 marked the end of Dwight D. Eisenhower's two terms as President. Eisenhower's Vice President of the United States, Richard Nixon, who had transformed his office into a national political base, was the Republican candidate....
, the Democratic nominee, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1961 until John F....
, continued his party's tradition of selecting a Southerner as the vice presidential candidate (in this case, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States ....
 of Texas). Kennedy, however, supported civil rights. In October 1960, when Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an United States pastor, activist and prominent leader in the African-American African-American Civil Rights Movement ....
 was arrested at a peaceful sit-in
Sit-in

A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more persons nonviolently occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change....
 in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the Capital and most populous city in Georgia , as well as the 33rd largest city in the United States of America with a population of 519,145....
, Kennedy placed a sympathetic phone call to King's wife, Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King was an United States author and Activism, and widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. Alongside her husband, Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s....
, and Robert Kennedy helped secure King's release. King expressed his appreciation for these calls. Although King himself made no endorsement, his father, who had previously endorsed Republican Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the only president to resign the office....
, switched his support to Kennedy.

Due to these and other events, the Democrats lost ground with white voters in the South. The 1960 election was the first in which a Republican presidential candidate received electoral votes in the South while losing nationally. Nixon carried Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
, Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
, and Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
. In addition, slates of unpledged elector
Unpledged Elector

In United States presidential elections, an unpledged elector is a member of the Electoral College who has not pledged to support any particular candidate for President....
s, representing Democratic segregationists, won the election in Mississippi and Alabama.

The parties' positions on civil rights continued to evolve in the run up to the 1964 election
United States presidential election, 1964

The United States presidential election of 1964 was the sixth-most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States behind the elections of United States presidential election, 1936, United States presidential election, 1984, United States presidential election, 1972, United States presidential election, 1864, and United Sta...
. The Democratic candidate, Johnson, who had become president after Kennedy's assassination, spared no effort to win passage of a strong Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act

Civil Rights Act may refer to:...
. After signing the landmark legislation, Johnson said to his aide, Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers

Bill Moyers is an United States journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965-67....
, "I think we just delivered the South to the Republican Party for a long time to come." In contrast, Johnson's Republican opponent, Senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater

Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senate from Arizona and the History of the United States Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the U.S....
 of Arizona
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
, voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed racial segregation in schools, public places, and employment....
, believing it gave too much power to the federal government (Goldwater did in fact support civil rights in general; for example the 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts as well as the 24th Amendment banning the poll tax
Poll tax

A poll tax, head tax, or capitation tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corv?e is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax ....
).

That November, Johnson won a landslide electoral victory, and the Republicans suffered significant losses in Congress. Goldwater, however, besides carrying his home state of Arizona, carried the deep South: the South had switched parties for the first time. Prior to 1956, the region had almost always provided the only victories for Democratic challengers to popular Republican incumbent presidents. Now, however, the South had provided a Republican challenger with electoral victories against a popular Democratic incumbent.

The "Southern Strategy" and the end of the Solid South

In the 1968 election, the Republican candidate, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the only president to resign the office....
, saw this trend and capitalized on it with his "Southern strategy
Southern strategy

In Politics of the United States, the Southern strategy refers to a Republican Party method of winning Southern United States in the latter decades of the 20th century and first decade of the 21st century by exploiting racism among white voters....
." The new method of campaigning was designed to appeal to white Southerners who were more conservative and more segregationist than the national Democratic Party. As a result of the strategy, the Democratic candidate, Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey

Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. was the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States, serving under President Lyndon B....
, was almost shut out in the South; he only carried Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
. The rest of the region was divided between Nixon and the American Independent Party
American Independent Party

The American Independent Party is a political party that was a vehicle for the 1968 presidential campaign of Governor of Alabama George C. Wallace, a leading advocate of mandatory racial segregation....
 candidate George C. Wallace, the governor of Alabama, who had gained fame for opposing integration. Nationwide, Nixon won a decisive Electoral College victory, although he received only a plurality of the popular vote.

After Nixon's landslide re-election in 1972, the election of Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize....
, a southern governor, gave Democrats a short-lived comeback in the South (winning every state in the Old Confederacy except for Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
, which was narrowly lost) in 1976, but in his unsuccessful re-election bid, the only Southern states he won were his native state of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
 and West Virginia. The year 1976 was the last year a Democratic presidential candidate won a majority of Southern electoral votes. The Republicans took all the region's electoral votes in 1984 and 1988.

In 1992 and 1996, when the Democratic ticket consisted of two Southerners, (Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the fifteenth Democrat elected to that office....
 and Al Gore
Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. is an United States environmentalism activist who served as the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President of the United States Bill Clinton....
), the Democrats and Republicans split the region. In both elections, Clinton won Arkansas
Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
, Louisiana
Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
, Kentucky
Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
, Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
, and West Virginia
West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
, while the Republican won Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
, Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
, North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
, South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
, and Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
. Bill Clinton won Georgia in 1992, but lost it in 1996 to Bob Dole
Bob Dole

Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an attorney and retired United States Senate from Kansas from 1969?1996, serving part of that time as United States Senate Majority Leader, where he set a record as the longest-serving Republican leader....
. At the same time, Clinton lost Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 in 1992 to George Bush, but won it in 1996.

In 2000, however, Gore received no electoral votes from the South, even from his home state of Tennessee, though the popular vote in Florida was extraordinarily close in awarding the state's electoral votes to George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
. This pattern continued in the 2004 election; the Democratic ticket of John Kerry
John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the Junior Senator United States Senate from Massachusetts and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.As the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party , he was defeated by 34 electoral votes in the United States presidential election, 2004 by the Republican Party incumbent President of the United States...
 and John Edwards
John Edwards

Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician who served one term as United States Senate from North Carolina. He was the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in United States presidential election, 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in Democratic Party presidential prima...
 received no electoral votes from the South, even though Edwards was from North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
. During the 2008 election, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the List of Presidents of the United States and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office....
 won back some support from southern states as he carried the states of: Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. President Obama also brought Georgia into the so-called "toss-up" catergory. He also lost Missouri, to his opponent Senator John McCain
John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior senator United States United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election....
, by a few thousand votes.

While the South was shifting from the Democrats to the Republicans, the Northeastern United States
Northeastern United States

The Northeast is a region of the United States. According to the definition used by the United States Census Bureau, the Northeast region consists of nine states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
 went the other way. Well into the 1900s, the Northeast was a bastion of the Republican Party. The Democratic Party made steady gains there, however, and in 2004 and 2008, all nine Northeastern states, from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
 to Maine
Maine

The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....
, voted for Kerry and Barack Obama respectively. In 2008, all Northeastern states voted for Obama by double digit margins (except for New Hampshire
New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States of America. The state was named after the southern English Counties of England of Hampshire....
 with a 9.7% margin).

The "Southern strategy" today

Today, the South has a mix of Republican and Democratic officeholders (Senators
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
, Representatives
United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
 and state governors). In presidential elections, however, the region is a Republican stronghold. Florida, home to many immigrants and retirees from elsewhere in the country, is considered to be "in play" between the major parties.

It also known that in the deep South there is a large section of counties that go from Arkansas to North Carolina, that tend to vote for Democratic candidates, however this could be in part of a large African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
 population (a large Democratic Party voting bloc) living there.

Further reading


See also

  • Border States
    Border states (Civil War)

    In the context of the American Civil War, the term border states refers to the five slave states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia, which bordered a Free state and were aligned with the Union ....
  • Conservative Coalition
    Conservative coalition

    The Conservative coalition, in the United States of America, was an unofficial United States Congress coalition in United States politics bringing together the conservative majority of the Republican Party and the conservative, mostly Southern United States, minority of the Democratic Party ....
  • Deep South
    Deep South

    The Deep South is a descriptive category of cultural and geographic subregions in the Southern United States. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the antebellum period....
  • New South
    New South

    New South or New South Creed is a phrase that has been used intermittently since the American Civil War to describe the Southern United States, in whole or in part....
  • Old South
    Old South

    Geographically, Old South is a subregion of the Southern United States, differentiated from the "Deep South" as being the Southern States represented in the original thirteen American colonies, as well as a way of describing the former lifestyle in the U.S....