This article is about the American political party established in 1948. For the post-Reconstruction southern Democratic Party, see Solid South.
States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats)
Leader
Strom Thurmond
Founded
1948 (1948)
Dissolved
1948 (1948)
Split from
Democratic Party
Merged into
Democratic Party
Ideology
White supremacy
Racial segregation
Colors
Red, white, blue (official)
Party flag (de facto)[1][2][3]
Politics of United States
Political parties
Elections
The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition to the regular Democratic Party. After President Harry S. Truman, the leader of the Democratic Party, ordered integration of the military in 1948 and other actions to address civil rights of African Americans, including the first presidential proposal for comprehensive civil and voting rights, many Southern white politicians who objected to this course organized themselves as a breakaway faction. They wished to protect the ability of states to maintain racial segregation.[4] Its members were referred to as "Dixiecrats", a portmanteau of "Dixie", referring to the Southern United States, and "Democrat".
In the 1930s, a political realignment occurred largely due to the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. While many Democrats in the South supported substantive economic intervention, civil rights for African Americans were not specifically incorporated within the New Deal agenda, due in part to Southern control over many key positions of power within the U.S. Congress.[5] Supporters assumed control of the state Democratic parties in part or in full in several Southern states. They opposed racial integration and wanted to retain Jim Crow laws and other aspects of de jure and de facto racial discrimination. On non-racial issues, they held heterogeneous beliefs. Despite the Dixiecrats' success in several states, Truman was narrowly re-elected. After the 1948 election, its leaders generally returned to the Democratic Party, at least for a time, although the Dixiecrats weakened Democratic identity among white Southerners. The Dixiecrats standard bearer, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, eventually switched to Republican.[6]
^Costa-Roberts, Daniel (June 21, 2015), "8 things you didn't know about the Confederate flag", PBS NewsHour website, archived from the original on September 7, 2022, retrieved September 7, 2022, In 1948, the newly-formed segregationist Dixiecrat party adopted the flag as a symbol of resistance to the federal government.
^Taylor, Jessica (June 22, 2015), "The Complicated Political History Of The Confederate Flag", NPR website, archived from the original on January 25, 2022, retrieved September 7, 2022, After the war ended, the symbol became a source of Southern pride and heritage, as well as a remembrance of Confederate soldiers who died in battle. But as racism and segregation gripped the nation in the century following, it became a divisive and violent emblem of the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacist groups. It was also the symbol of the States' Rights Democratic Party, or "Dixiecrats," that formed in 1948 to oppose civil-rights platforms of the Democratic Party.
^Frederickson 2001, pp. 173–174The adoption of the flag as the unofficial party symbol sparked considerable debate. Ralph McGill spoke out against southerners who “prostitute the Confederate Flag and the song ‘Dixie’ to their own uses.”
^Lemmon, Sarah McCulloh (December 1951). "The Ideology of the 'Dixiecrat' Movement". Social Forces. 30 (2): 162–71. doi:10.2307/2571628. JSTOR 2571628.
^Lung-Amam, Willow (January 18, 2021). "The Next New Deal Must Be for Black Americans, Too". Bloomberg News. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
^Bibby, John F.; Maisel, L. Sandy (April 9, 1998). Two Parties--or More?: The American Party System. Avalon Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8133-9993-5. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States...
delegates, who launched a third-party "Dixiecrat" ticket led by South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond. The Dixiecrats hoped to win enough electoral votes...
The 1952 United States presidential election was the 42nd quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1952. Republican Dwight...
politics, but with his allegiance with the Dixiecrats, he became the symbol of die-hard segregation. The Dixiecrats had no chance of winning the election since...
State Policy Network Tax Foundation Historical factions Bourbon Democrats Dixiecrats Loyalists Old Right Redeemers Southern Agrarians Scholarly study The Conservative...
ISBN 0742553442. Davis, Michelle H. (2021). Dixiegops: The Untold Story of the Dixiecrat-Republican Coalition. p. 106. ISBN 9798546782238. "Our Campaigns – AK...
Southern defectors created a new party called the States' Rights Party (Dixiecrats), with its own nominees for the 1948 presidential election: Democratic...
15 April 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022. Frederickson, Kari (2000). The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932–1968. Chapel Hill: University...
State Policy Network Tax Foundation Historical factions Bourbon Democrats Dixiecrats Loyalists Old Right Redeemers Southern Agrarians Scholarly study The Conservative...
State Policy Network Tax Foundation Historical factions Bourbon Democrats Dixiecrats Loyalists Old Right Redeemers Southern Agrarians Scholarly study The Conservative...
remainder of his legislative career. He also ran for president in 1948 as the Dixiecrat candidate, receiving over a million votes and winning four states. A staunch...
called the States’ Rights Democratic Party and more popularly known as the Dixiecrats, was leading Truman in early polls even in the major metropolitan counties...
major parties". Wallace's strategy was essentially the same as that of Dixiecrat candidate Strom Thurmond in 1948 in that the campaign was run without...
nominated their own States Rights Democratic Party, better known as the Dixiecrats, nominees with South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond leading the ticket...
plank in its platform. The offshoot States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats) nominated Strom Thurmond for president at its convention in Birmingham's...
the 1948 United States presidential election when it was used by the Dixiecrats, a political party that opposed civil rights for African Americans. Further...
State Policy Network Tax Foundation Historical factions Bourbon Democrats Dixiecrats Loyalists Old Right Redeemers Southern Agrarians Scholarly study The Conservative...
protest to the civil rights movement. This was a continuation of the former Dixiecrat party from 1948. The states of Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, and Virginia...
State Policy Network Tax Foundation Historical factions Bourbon Democrats Dixiecrats Loyalists Old Right Redeemers Southern Agrarians Scholarly study The Conservative...
shutting down the city & winning the vast majority of their demands. Dixiecrats passed Jim Crow laws, establishing racial segregation in public facilities...
electors on the ballot the Dixiecrats had to form a separate state organisation in Somerville, although three of the Dixiecrat electors were simultaneously...
Democrats to nominate Strom Thurmond on a third-party "Dixiecrat" ticket in 1948. These Dixiecrats returned to the party by 1950, but Southern Democrats...
Democratic machinery into the States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats). As the Dixiecrat presidential candidate, Thurmond won 71 percent of the state's...
National Convention and form the Dixiecrat Party. This splinter party played a significant role in the 1948 election; the Dixiecrat candidate, Strom Thurmond...
controversy due to his praising of Senator Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist Dixiecrat presidential bid. From 1968 to 1972, Lott was an administrative assistant...
State Policy Network Tax Foundation Historical factions Bourbon Democrats Dixiecrats Loyalists Old Right Redeemers Southern Agrarians Scholarly study The Conservative...
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