Nixon's Southern Strategy

Nixon's Southern Strategy was a political approach used by President Richard Nixon to gain support from Southern white voters. During the 1960s and 1970s, many white voters in the South were opposed to the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation. Nixon aimed to appeal to these voters without openly endorsing segregation by emphasizing law and order, states' rights, and tough-on-crime policies. This strategy shifted the Republican Party's focus to conservative social and cultural issues, helping the party gain influence in the South, which had traditionally been Democratic, and significantly reshaping American political affiliations.