Southern Democrats

Examples of Southern Democrats in the following topics:

• The Second American Revolution

  • Southerners viewed the Confederate States of America's claim to independence as heir to the American Revolution.
  • Amendments to the Constitution, allowed by the Article V Convention of 1787, were envisioned as a means to periodically adapt the constitution to changing times and maintain a "living constitution. " Southern Democrats argued that secession was justified by the Constitution.
  • The lack of opposition from Southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to advance their vision of an industrial nation with great cities, efficient factories, productive farms, national banks, and high speed rail links.
  • The collapse of the Southern plantation economy aided the national shift toward industry and wage labor, as did the Morrill Tariff, which encouraged the growth of domestic manufacturing.
  • Explain why Southerners viewed the Confederate States of America's claim to independence as part of the tradition of the American Revolution

• The Lecompton Constitution

  • President Buchanan, however, formally endorsed the Lecompton Constitution before Congress, joining with the Southern Democrats who demanded that the document be adopted as the Kansas state constitution.
  • While the president received the support of the Southern Democrats, Northern Democrats and Republicans denounced the blatant violation of the will of the popular majority in Kansas.
  • This argument, which became known as the Freeport Doctrine, alienated many Southerners from the Northern Democrats permanently.
  • Furthermore, Douglas's appeal to the North convinced many Southerners that their interests and proslavery rights only could be protected by secession.
  • Douglas broke with the Democratic Party leadership over the Lecompton Constitution.

• Lincoln and Republican Victory in 1860

  • By 1860, the Democratic Party had officially split into Northern and Southern factions with tensions erupting in the aftermath of the Dred Scott decision.
  • Southern Democrats resented the Northern Democrats' continued support of popular sovereignty as the best method to determine a territory's free or slave status in spite of Dred Scott.
  • Northern Democrats nominated Stephen A.
  • Douglas of Illinois for president, but Southern Democrats responded by convening separately and nominating John C.
  • Like Lincoln in the North, Southern Democrat Breckinridge won no electoral votes outside of the South.

• Whigs and Democrats

  • Southern Whigs generally supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, while Northern Whigs remained strongly opposed to the expansion of slavery into the territories.
  • The more conservative Southern Democrats such as John C.
  • Many Northern, antislavery Democrats flocked to the Free-Soil coalition and joined Northern Whigs to form the Republican Party, whereas Southern, proslavery Democrats coalesced to form the Southern Democratic Party.
  • As a result, the Democrats became almost entirely a Southern party platform, alienating any existing Northern supporters who were largely antislavery.
  • Examine the points of contention within the Whig and Democratic Parties

• The End of Reconstruction

  • After the election of 1876, the Democrats were promised that federal troops would be removed from the remaining Southern states.
  • The Democrats had little leverage—they could not block Hayes' election, but they were mollified by the implicit, "back room" deal that federal troops would be removed on the condition that the Southern states pledged to protect the lives of African Americans.
  • Hayes's friends also let it be known that he would promote Federal aid for internal improvements, including help for a railroad in Texas, and name a Southerner to his cabinet.
  • Key from Tennessee, a Southern Democrat, to the position of Postmaster General.
  • The Democrats gained control of the Senate, and now had complete control of Congress having already taken over the House in 1875.

• The Compromise of 1877

  • In any case, whether by a semi-formal deal or simply reassurances already in line with Hayes's announced plans, talks with Southern Democrats satisfied the worries of many and, therefore, prevented a Congressional filibuster that had threatened to extend resolution of the election dispute beyond Inauguration Day 1877.
  • The purported compromise essentially stated that southern Democrats would acknowledge Hayes as president, but only on the understanding that Republicans would meet certain demands.
  • The appointment of at least one southern Democrat to Hayes's cabinet.
  • White Democrats controlled most of the Southern legislatures and armed militias controlled small towns and rural areas.
  • Blacks remained involved in Southern politics, particularly in Virginia, which was run by the biracial Readjuster Party.

• The Bourbons and the Redeemers

  • Redeemers were the southern wing of Bourbon Democrats—the conservative, pro-business wing of the Democratic Party during Reconstruction.
  • Redeemers were the southern wing of the Bourbon Democrats—the conservative, pro-business faction in the Democratic Party who sought to oust the Republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers, and scalawags.
  • In the 1870s, the Southern Democrats exercised power through paramilitary organizations such as the White League and Red Shirts, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi, respectively.
  • By the presidential election of 1876, only three Southern states—Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida—were "unredeemed," or not yet taken over by white Democrats.
  • In the 1870s, white Democratic Southerners saw themselves redeeming the South by regaining power.

• The Know-Nothings and Democrats

  • Furthermore, like the Whigs, the Know-Nothings could not find a way to keep their Northern and Southern factions together on a party platform.
  • The Democrats were made up of a coalition of farmers, urban immigrant laborers, and Irish Catholics.
  • While the Democrats survived, many northern Democrats flocked to the Free Soilers coalition and the newly-formed Republican Party, while Southern, proslavery Democrats formed the Southern Democratic Party.
  • In short, the Democrats became almost entirely a southern party platform, which alienated its northern supporters who resisted the Southern proslavery political agenda.
  • President Andrew Jackson was hailed as the founder of the Democratic Party.

• Conservative Resurgence

  • Many Southern whites were frustrated by the social changes after the Civil War and formed conservative political organizations.
  • By the mid 1870s, the Conservative Democrats had aligned with the national Democratic Party, which enthusiastically supported their cause, even as the national Republican Party was losing interest in Southern affairs.
  • Often, these parties called themselves the "Conservative Party" or the "Democratic and Conservative Party" in order to distinguish themselves from the national Democratic Party and to obtain support from former Whigs.
  • These parties sent delegates to the 1868 Democratic National Convention and abandoned their separate names by 1873 or 1874.
  • Democrats nominated blacks for political office and tried to steal other blacks from the Republican side.

• Carpetbaggers and Scalawags

  • In most cases, the carpetbaggers won out, and many scalawags moved into the conservative or Democratic opposition.
  • Southern states had no public school systems, and white Southerners either sent their children to private schools or employed private tutors.
  • Scalawags were denounced as corrupt by Democrats.
  • The Democrats alleged that the scalawags were financially and politically corrupt, and willing to support bad government because they profited personally.
  • During the 1870s, many scalawags left the Republican Party and joined the conservative-Democrat coalition.