Look, it's hard to evaluate "worse" in historical contexts. They were "different". Remember slavery only ended at the end of the civil war, and slavery shaped the attitude of most in the South (as well as an intense loathing for the North). Since Lincoln was a Republican, I'm sure you can see why the South was considered solid for the democrats. There was then, as there is today, a great deal of demagoguery in both parties. In the South politicians would pander to white Southerners fears of blacks- not unlike the way Horton was used when Mr. Bush ran- hopefully you remember that- it was shameless race baiting, but a nice example of how the more things change, the morr they stay the same. Just in case you have forgotten Horton:
"Bush's campaign manager, Lee Atwater, bragged that "by the time this election is over, Willie Horton will be a household name." Horton had never gone by the name Willie, but rather William. [1] Media consultant Roger Ailes was reported to remark "the only question is whether we depict Willie Horton with a knife in his hand or without it."
Now remember- Lee Atwater was born in Georgia, and was quite familiar with the special way white fears of blacks could be used to play an electorate, since he grew up in a state where such a political methodology would have been imbibed by osmosis.
Here's a quote about the south after Reconstruction:
"Memories of the war and Reconstruction held the segregated South together as a Democratic block—the "Solid South"—in national politics for another century. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s had its neoabolitionist roots in the failure of Reconstruction. Ghosts of the conflict still persist in America. A few debates surrounding the legacy of the war continue, especially regarding memorials and celebrations of Confederate heroes and battle flags. The question is a deep and troubling one: Americans with Confederate ancestors cherish the memory of their bravery and determination, yet their cause is also tied to the history of African American slavery."
The Southern block lasted until the 1948 split- with Strom Thurmond (famous racist) running in a third party and later becoming a republican- and he was such a charming republican racist, that white Southerners realized they didn't have to be democratic, to have a racist white candidate- and besides, the democrats were getting soft on racism by this time, AND Kennedy was not appealing to them (he was, after all, Catholic, and way too liberal, but mostly, Catholic):
A few choice words from Strom:
In the United States presidential election, 1948 he was a candidate for President of the United States on the third party ticket of the States Rights Democratic Party, better known as the Dixiecrat Party, which had split from the Democrats over the issue of segregation. Thurmond carried four states and received 39 electoral votes. His primary campaign platform was the perpetuation of segregation. One 1948 speech, met with cheers by supporters, included the following:
"I wanna tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that there's not enough troops in the army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the nigra race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches."
— (listen (help·info))
There are several fascinating books on politics in the South. You might enjoy reading one. I know it seems (to some people) that everything should be turned in to some sort of current weapon against one political party or the other, but this is our joint history, and all political parties have some rather unfortunate baggage on their hands.
You could say the same thing about republicans- Were republicans after reconstruction "worse" that the current crop? Some were, some weren't, they were different. I'm not interested in pulling history apart and trying to find the few pieces that fit some partisan ideology. The South had huge KKK membership as an outgrowth of their rage over the civil war. It's hard to ignore that. The South was a defeated nation, basically. To try to say they were "bad" because they channled that rage in to something like the KKK is a stretch for me. What they did was evil- but people tend to do evil like that, when they are oppressed economically, or emotionally. It's very similar to what happened in Germany under the Nazis- when the Germans were defeated, and economically oppressed. What grows out of that is hate. That's one reason I find partisan hate so disturbing. It bears the seeds for the same sort of society. Doesn't make people who hate "bad people"- but I do think it makes them carriers of a dangerous meme. |
