Democrats vs republicans

[ColdPhoenix]

Was hoping someone could explain a bit of US history.

The confederate and union states from the civil war map roughly to how the republican and democratic states map now (confederate maps to republican as of today).

The union was lead by Lincoln, a republican, and in the elections just prior to the war the confederate states map to the democratic states of those days.

Basically my question is, why reversal? I know it was a long time ago but basically all the hardcore republican states then are now strongly democrat and vice versa.

Obviously the democrats changed a lot (from being pro-slavery to having a black leader), but maybe the republicans basically stayed similar from a humanitarian viewpoint? And the general trend of increasing humanitarianism in society has meant that the south advanced to the level of the republicans while the north advanced to the level of the super-caring new-style democrats?

Or is that all a load of bull?

[rah]

When the dems welcomed blacks and other minorities, the south decided it was time to vote REPUG.

[Lorizael]

Also FDR the commie was a Democrat.

[Kuciwalker]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_Republican_Party#Realignment:_The_South_becomes_Republican

[MrFun]

Originally, the new Republican party of 1850s was founded on the principle that slavery was morally wrong and sought to prevent its expansion into western territories. However, more radical Republicans believed in complete abolition of slavery and that blacks were entitled to at least BASIC human rights.

After Reconstruction during the 1880s, the Republican party became more more coopted by industrialists and tycoons, who helped drive the party away from its founding principles, to focus much more strongly on economic interests (often the interests of wealthy). Under this kind of excess patronage and corrupt intimacy between Republican politicians and industrialists, the party betrayed the cause of equal civil rights and allowed the "redeemed" Southern states to perpetuate a reign of terror in a period that came to be known as "nadir of race relations" when lynching of blacks became quasi-legal.

In 1850s onward, when compared to Republican party, the Democratic party was unquestionably much more thoroughly a white supremacist party; it was the political party that came to be dominated by interests of plantation class and of slave owners in South, with an alliance with those white Northerners who were also Democrats. During and after Reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist organization for the Democratic party, carrying out widespread violence on blacks and their white supporters/allies in South.

Yet things began to slowly change in 1930s when significant number of blacks in Northern cities voted for Franklin D. Roosevelt. An explanation for this, is that FDR seemed to offer the promise of dealing with the hardships of Great Depression that people of ALL races were suffering from, and blacks (although in some ways, mistakened), thought such recovery programs would become equally available to them. Later, during Truman's presidency, he ordered, as commander-in-chief, desegregation of the U.S. military forces and then still later, under presidency of Kennedy, and especially Johnson, blacks saw there was greater support for their civil rights struggle within the Democratic party as white Southerners turned their backs to Democratic party in disgust and instead, turned to Republican party. In fact, in early 1970s, Richard Nixon, Republican presidential candidate, promised white Southern politicians that he would do whatever he could to stall or even undo enforcement of desegregation policy in return for white Southern support.

[Dinner]

When the dems welcomed blacks and other minorities, the south decided it was time to vote REPUG.

Yep. Those evil, evil Democrats decided to end segregation so the South flipped Republican and never looked back.

[rah]

basically.
MrFun used a few more words but said the same thing as I did.

[MOBIUS]

In other words, anyone who is a republican is a panda ****er.

[rah]

If they're in the south and are only republicans because they hate blacks, then yes they are panda ****er.
Fortunately not all repugs fall into that catagory.

[Imran Siddiqui]

the new Republican party of 1850s was founded on the principle that slavery was morally wrong and sought to prevent its expansion into western territories.

Liar

The Republicans were not founded solely to be an anti-slavery party. They were Northern Whigs and were anti-slavery, but the main portion of their platform was pro-big business and pro-government. Which is why the "co-opted" by industrialists is silly... because that was their platform all along.

[GhengisFarb™]

Just a comment in agreement with previous posts.

[rah]

YA THINK.

We're all saying the same thing here.

[GhengisFarb™]

Sorry, shouldn't have posted.

[rah]

Nothing wrong with that. I liked it enough to post a YA THINK.

[MrFun]

Liar

The Republicans were not founded solely to be an anti-slavery party. They were Northern Whigs and were anti-slavery, but the main portion of their platform was pro-big business and pro-government. Which is why the "co-opted" by industrialists is silly... because that was their platform all along.

Then explain to me why the Republican party formed in reaction to the intensifying crisis over slavery if slavery was not an important issue for that party's founding. Explain to me why Abraham Lincoln insisted that other Republicans should avoid allying with Stephen A. Douglas over his position of "don't care whether slavery was voted up or down in territories" because Lincoln wanted Republicans to be faithful to complete exclusion of slavery in western territories.

I'll give you a brownie!