When did the southerners begin to vote for the Republicans, and what caused that change? Was it with Abraham Lincoln or Lyndon B. Johnson? Did...

Southerners began to vote for Republicans in the 1950s and 1960s. For many years, southerners voted for the Democratic Party because they associated the end of slavery with Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party. President Lincoln didn’t win one southern state in the election of 1860. Southerners also associated the Republican Party with Reconstruction. It was the Radical Republican Reconstruction Plan that was used to rebuild the South. Southerners weren’t pleased with the changes brought...

Southerners began to vote for Republicans in the 1950s and 1960s. For many years, southerners voted for the Democratic Party because they associated the end of slavery with Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party. President Lincoln didn’t win one southern state in the election of 1860. Southerners also associated the Republican Party with Reconstruction. It was the Radical Republican Reconstruction Plan that was used to rebuild the South. Southerners weren’t pleased with the changes brought about by Reconstruction. These two factors strongly influenced southern voting patterns after the Civil War until the 1950s or 1960s.

Southerners continued to vote for the Democratic Party until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and the 1960s. Southerners believed the Democratic Party supported the laws that ended segregation and voting restrictions. Additionally, in the election of 1968, President Nixon developed the Southern Strategy. This plan was designed to gain votes from white southerners. In this strategy, President Nixon said he would appoint conservative judges, oppose court-ordered busing, and choose a Vice President the southerners would like. He chose Governor Spiro Agnew from Maryland. This strategy was at least moderately effective, as President Nixon won some southern states.