Southern Strategy

The Southern Strategy was a political strategy used by the Republican Party in the mid-20th century to gain support in the Southern states, which had traditionally voted Democratic. As the Democratic Party began to support civil rights and social change, many white Southerners shifted their allegiance to the Republicans. The strategy involved appealing to racial tensions and conservative values to attract Southern voters, ultimately realigning political loyalties and reshaping the American two-party system. It was a significant factor in the political transformation of the South from reliably Democratic to predominantly Republican.