Dixiecrats

The Dixiecrats were a branch of the Democratic Party in the 1940s and 1950s, primarily composed of Southern white conservatives. They opposed the Democratic Party’s increasing support for civil rights and racial integration. In 1948, they formed the States’ Rights Democratic Party to promote segregation and states’ authority over federal intervention. Their opposition reflected regional tensions over race and social change, and they ultimately influenced the political landscape by challenging the Democratic Party’s stance on civil rights, paving the way for the shift of many white Southern voters to the Republican Party in later decades.