Southern Realignment: The Impossible Coalition w/ Eric K. Ward (Part One)
Summary
This episode examines the political realignment of the 1960s, tracing how the Democratic Party’s embrace of civil rights alienated white Southern voters who had been loyal Democrats since Reconstruction. Host Jody Avergan discusses the shift with historians Nicole Hemmer and Kelly Carter Jackson, along with Eric Ward, who contextualizes the era’s racial dynamics. They analyze the collapse of the New Deal coalition, the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Lyndon B. Johnson’s prediction that the South would be delivered to the Republican Party. The conversation highlights how federal …
Topics discussed
Introduction: Southern Realignment and Guest Introductions
Eric Ward on Democracy, Music, and the Human Cost
Black Republicans: From Reconstruction to Jim Crow
Pragmatic Voting: Black Political Strategy in the 20th Century
The End of Black Political Power in the South
Sponsor Break: Odoo
The Pattern of Backlash After Black Advancement
White Southern Democrats and the New Deal
Black Support for FDR Despite Exclusions
White Anxiety, The KKK, and Non-Party Organizations
The Fracturing of the New Deal Coalition in 1948
The Conservative Coalition and Resistance to Federal Power
Eisenhower, Brown v. Board, and Federal Intervention
The Great Migration and Shifting Political Power
North vs. South: The Real Political Divide
Sponsor Breaks: Kettering Foundation and Lightbox
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and White Backlash
LBJ's Prediction: Delivering the South to Republicans
Goldwater's 1964 Run and the 'Great Society'
Conclusion and Show Credits
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