the state of american politics 50-55 years ago

[freepcrusher]

I wasn't alive then, but would you say that this is how things went:

Midwest - this is the area that has changed the least in my opinion:

Minnesota and Wisconsin - democratic due to Scandinavian ancestry

Illinois - mostly republican minus the union areas, black areas, and catholic areas of Chicago. DuPage County which was WASP country, many times went 65-70 percent republican. The republicans at the time though were more Chuck Percy types then they were Jim DeMints.

Indiana - outside of the Gary area (which is an extension of Chicago anyways), a fairly conservative state but with a tendency to elect democratic senators (a couple years later, they would have the most liberal pair of senators BB and VH)

Ohio - outside of the great lakes area, which had a large black and union population, a fairly republican state. There is a certain part which is Western Ohio and Eastern Indiana which has always been republican and conservative. Cincinnati has always been one of the more conservative cities in the Midwest and Butler county is even more conservative. The areas north and east of Indianapolis (Pence, Burton, Souder) is very similar. When the state lines were being drawn, this should have been a state.

Michigan - Detroit. Flint, Macomb County heavily democratic due to unions. Rest of the state was mostly republican, especially on the west coast, where a lot of conservative Dutchmen lived.

Iowa - A state that had at that point been pretty much republican since the founding of the party, with the exception of the new deal era (even then Iowa voted for Wilkie in 40 and Dewey in 44). Most of the republicans were Jim Leach type republicans except in the western parts, especially in the northwest parts where there was a dutch population. That area had more in common with Nebraska and the Dakotas and was a lot more conservative.

Missouri - A very competitive state at the time and still remains such. Kansas City and St Louis were the first cities to turn democratic, having voted for Stevenson in 1956. The rural areas were pretty much swing with some areas being more Midwestern and republican and others being southern and democratic. Interestingly enough, there is a wide swath of counties in SW Missouri that voted for Alf Landon in 1936, even if they were more southern than the rest of the state.

Kansas - was and always has been a republican state. Most republicans here were neither Rockefellers nor Goldwaters. They were rank and file republicans, similar to Bob Dole.

Nebraska - was and still is the most conservative Midwestern state, look no further than Senator Hruska. I believe that despite losing the state by 5 points (still his best Midwestern state) Goldwater won the majority of counties in Nebraska.

Dakotas - both were and still are traditionally republican. Still about 5 points less republican than Nebraska on average though due to Indian reservations. Both states would elect democratic senators though. South Dakota of course elected McGovern three times and North Dakota for the past 30 years had two democratic senators.

Northeast

Maine - solid rural new england republican state

Vermont and NH - ditto (although NH voted for FDR a few times)

Connecticut - wealthy white protestant people which translates into republican votes. Although it did vote for Kennedy in 1960

Rhode Island and Massachusetts - large catholic population. The first Northeastern states to vote democratic. I would guess though that the voting patterns would be similar to New Mexico where hispanics = catholics and whites = protestant.

New York - with the exception of ethnic areas in Manhattan and the boroughs, a very republican state. Still, the population in New York City causes the state to vote for Kennedy. Even in New York City, there were still some republican areas. The suburbs like Long Island and New Rochelle were very republican. All of upstate new york was republican and similar to Vermont. Buffalo was the only democratic leaning part of that state due to union presence

Pennsylvania. Basically three parts. Philadelphia proper was very democratic due to a large catholic and black population. The suburbs though were very white collar and republican. Central Pennsylvania was the most republican part of the state, but was a lot more conservative than rural New York or rural New England. Southwestern Pennsylvania was heavy union country and probably the most democratic part of the state. Looking at maps, one notes that Allegheny County and the donut counties always voted solidly democratic. Even Reagan lost all those counties.

Maryland - swing state for most part

Delaware - basically the same as Maryland

I will post Part 2 for the South and West tomorrow

[freepcrusher]

West

Colorado - this state was the first in the west to vote Republican having voted for Wilkie in 1940 and Dewey in 1944. This is probably due to the fact that the counties in the eastern part of the state, have more in common with Nebraska or Kansas. Although it voted for Truman in 1948, it had been a republican state up to this point. As common with most western states, the I would assume the republicans here were more conservative. Colorado however elected a democratic senator in 1956.

Wyoming - the second western state to break off the New Deal Coalition. While it voted for FDR in 1940, it voted for Dewey in 1944. Wyoming then as now is a strongly libertarian state.

Montana - having voted for FDR all four times, and Truman in 1948; this state had voted for Eisenhower both times and Nixon in 1960. Montana too was and is a very libertarian state, although not as strongly republican. Montana has a history of electing democratic senators. Mike Mansfield at this point is a high up democratic senator from Montana.

Idaho - Easily the most conservative state in the west at that point. While Goldwater won Arizona and lost Idaho (each by a point), he wouldn't have won Arizona had he not been from there. While Idaho had elected republican senators far sooner than the rest of the west in William Borah, Idaho had recently elected a left-wing senator in Frank Church. Church would be a strong voice in Washington for the next 20 years.

Utah - Having given solid margins to FDR all four times and Truman winning 53 percent in 1948; the state had been shifting to the republicans as many mormons became birchers. The state democratic party was still functioning at this point though. Many mormons had traditionally been democrats (remember the Udalls were mormons). I believe Utah elected a democratic senator in 1958, and Kennedy managed to get 45 percent in the state in 1960.

Arizona - At this point, the state had a split personality. You had the old populist western democrats like Carl Hayden. Carl Hayden was slightly conservative for a democratic if i recall correctly. Then you have the republicans who were popular in the disgusting, tract-housing developments in the so called "Valley of the Sun." Many of the people in these areas were from Kansas, Nebraska, Indiana, the Dakotas etc. Barry Goldwater was representative of this type of republicanism. John Rhodes was from Kansas and was elected the same year as Goldwater. Rhodes was still not as conservative as Goldwater was though.

Nevada - at this point a very sparcely populated state. Like most areas in the rural west, you had a mix of old populist western democrats and libertarian republicans. The state did narrowly go for Kennedy in 1960. One thing I noticed was that Clark County (Las Vegas) was a dem stronghold having voted even for Stevenson in 1956.

California - Looking at the map in 1956, I noticed the state was the opposite of how it is today. Many of the coastal areas were republican and the inland areas democratic. Even Alameda and San Francisco counties voted for Eisenhower in 1956. There were two types of republicans in this state. You had the bay area republicans, many of which were from the northeast. They were mainly Rockefeller republicans. While I'm not sure if he was from the Bay Area, Thomas Kuchel fits this mold. On the other hand you had the republicans in the sprawling area in Orange and San Diego Counties. Both areas were similar to the Phoenix Area having unprecedented growth and miles and miles of lookalike crapola subdivisions. Many people moving in were conservatives from the midwest who were hysterically anti-communist. Orange and San Diego both voted for BG in 1964. The inland areas that voted for Stevenson in 1956, were basically inhabited by rural conservative democrats from West Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Oregon - the eastern part of the state was basically libertarian republicans as that part of the state had more in common with Idaho. The rest of the state was liberal republicans in the mold of Hatfield. Oregon was the third western state to peel off the new deal coalition voting for Dewey in 1948. Like Northern California, many people had New England ancestry. Multnomah County, like Alameda and San Francisco, voted for Eisenhower in 1956, but was all democrat after that.

Washington - same thing as Oregon, only substitute Seattle for Portland. Kings County voted republican far later than 1956. I believe Reagan won it in 1984, probably due to the suburbs in the county.

[freepcrusher]

South

Alabama - hard line segregationist democrats. Felt the democratic party was becoming too liberal on racial issues and voted for Thurmond in 1948, Byrd in 1960, and Wallace in 1968.

Arkansas - still a segregationist state, but progressive enough to vote for Truman in 1948 and Kennedy in 1960. Arkansas also voted for LBJ in 1964. Downballot, remains one of the most democratic states to this day. Dale Bumpers was fairly liberal for a southern democrat and they elected him as senator four times.

Florida - looking at a map from 1956, I see the map is the reverse of how it is today. The Northern, inland areas, and the panhandle all voted democratic. The urban and coastal areas all voted republican. Areas like Palm Beach and Broward counties had a lot of wealthy retirees from the northern states while the panhandle was basically part of Alabama and had that hard-line segregationist bent to it. I believe most if not all of the panhandle counties voted for George Wallace in 1968.

Georgia - the strongest democratic state in the country up until that point. From 1932-1960, no democrat failed to get below 60 percent. Downballot, the state was even more democratic.

Kentucky - a true swing state. The areas in the Ohio River Valley were more republican naturally being closer to Indiana and Ohio. So was the area in the southeast corner which like Eastern Tennessee has been the lone southern area to always vote Republican. Northeastern Kentucky was heavy coal mine country and heavily democratic. Even Mondale won in those areas. The rest of the state was southern and democratic by nature

Louisiana - staunch Segregationist democrats. It did vote for Eisenhower in 1956 and Kennedy in 1960 as opposed to Byrd. I would say it was and is the third most racist state behind Alabama and Mississippi.

Mississippi - hardcore segregationist democrats. Voted for Stevenson both times and Byrd in 1960

North Carolina - the western part of the state was similar to Eastern Tennessee and voted republican. But the election returns never show it to be heavily republican due to Asheville, which is heavily democratic. Unlike the Eastern Tennessee districts which hasn't elected a democratic since the 1800s, NC 11 has a democratic congressman although he is very moderate. Another interesting trend in North Carolina is that the urban areas tended to be more republican than the rest of the state. In 1952, 1960, 1964, and 1976 a democrat won North Carolina while losing Mecklenburg County (Charlotte). The Coastal Areas, especially in the Northeast, were black and heavily democratic as they are today. The rest of the state was traditional white Dixiecrat dems. North Carolina was and probably still is the most progressive southern state, even if they elected that c---sucker Helms five times.

Oklahoma - a mix between the South, Midwest/Plains, and the West. Looking at election maps in the 50s and early 60s, one can see that Oklahoma is divided between the southern and eastern parts which are more similar to Arkansas or Oklahoma and democratic, and the northern and western parts which are more like Kansas or Colorado and Republican. The state was heavily protestant, especially baptist and anti-catholic. The state gave an unusually high percentage to Hoover in 1928, Nixon in 1960, and Bush in 2004 because the democratic candidates were catholic.

South Carolina -staunch ignoramus segregationist democrats like Strom Thurmond is what comprised the electorate of this state.

Tennessee - similar to Kentucky. Tennessee was the confederate state with the least allegiance to the confederacy and therefore had a functioning Republican Party. The eastern part of the state (TN 1 and TN 2) have not elected democrats since 1881 and 1867 respectively. However, the rest of the state was strongly democratic and had more in common with the deep south. The state did vote for Nixon in 1960 however.

Texas - in the early 1960s, Republicans had more support from Republicans in rural areas than urban areas. Nixon won Harris County by a close 51-48 margin and crushed Kennedy in Dallas County with 62.16%. Tyler, Lubbock, Odessa, Midland, Amarillo, and Longview were also republican strongholds. Even LBJ lost Ector, Midland, and Smith counties in 1964. Midland was probably the strongest republican county and was the first areas in the legislature to go Republican when in 1968, it elected Tom Craddick. The border counties remain unchanged as democratic strongholds due to the large catholic population. West Texas (north of I-20, west of Metroplex) was incredibly democratic at that time and many of the counties out there were voting for Democrats even as late as the 1990s. The only exception was the far north counties in the Panhandle.

Virginia - one of three southern states carried by Nixon in 1960. The state was more republican due to the fact that it was the most Yankee of all the southern states and more wealthy.

West Virginia - heavily democratic due to coal mining industry and unions. Basically an extension of Pittsburgh. Has not elected a republican senator since 1942.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Good analysis. I think the realignment ideologically happened because of regional shifts.
.
The Sun Belt became more Republican because of the fast growth of white middle-class suburbs, and the voters there were conservative too.

The South in general became more Republican due to the Democrats' stance on civil rights.  The South was always conservative.

The Midwest was always mixed, with conservative Republicans in the small towns/small cities and Democrats in the bigger cities. Democratic strength was especially strong in the Rust Belt, which has declined in population.

New England was the most liberal or "progressive" part of the country historically, but it was ancestrally Republican. With the decline of Yankee Republicanism and the growth of ethnic Catholics and other immigrant groups, plus the Democrats becoming more liberal culturally, New England is now a liberal Democratic stronghold. The same is  true of New York and the mid-Atlantic, to a lesser extent.

The West Coast, outside of Southern CA, was historically a bastion of culturally liberal Republicanism like New England. Now that the Democrats are culturally liberal, the West Coast is overwhelmingly Democratic.

Appalachia was a Democratic stronghold in some areas and Republican in others going back to the Civil War. But both Republican and Democratic voters in Appalachia tended to be socially conservative. Now that the Democratic Party is more liberal culturally than the Republicans, Appalachia is more Republican than ever.

The interior West, the most recent part of the continental US, is similar to the Sun Belt-ancestrally Democratic, now heavily Republican due to changes in stances on cultural issues between the parties and high-growth of suburbs.


Overall, there are six main political regions in America IMO:

Northeast
South/Sun Belt
Appalachia
Interior West
Midwest/Rust Belt
West Coast

The Northeast and West Coast have enough population to match the other regions, besides the Midwest, which has many swing states, not surprisingly, given its divide between the two parties.

The Democrats' strength in the Northeast and West Coast is due to liberalism on cultural issues, while the Republicans strength in the South/Sun Belt, Appalachia, and Interior West is due to conservatism on cultural issues.

Since economic issues often take a backseat to cultural issues (until recently) in modern politics, the Democrats and Republicans seem more polarized than they really are. On economic issues, they aren't that different in substance, especially compared to the past.

[GOP732]

you forgot jerseyyyyy