The Southern Strategy: A Study of Southern Voter Change

The American South was a political stronghold for the Democrat party until 1972. The Democrat hold over the South began to slip in the 1950s and 60s, due to Democrats embracing liberalism and Republicans embracing conservatism. In 1972, President Richard Nixon implemented the ‘Southern Strategy,’ a political strategy that appealed to Southerners through social conservatism and economic freedom. This election broke the South’s loyalty to the Democrats and flipped the region’s vote. Throughout the following decades version of the ‘Southern Strategy’ have been used by Democrats and Republicans alike, showing that Southern voters gravitate toward socially conservative and economically populist candidates. This thesis seeks to answer the question of how the ‘Southern Strategy’ changed voting patterns in the South, and how these ideas were implemented. Primary sources from important elections are analyzed to identify how each candidate appealed to the South, and what policies would win Southern support.