The Dynamics of Southern Politics: Causes and Consequences

by Seth C McKee

Overview

"I cannot praise the author enough for rising to the challenge of providing students with an accessible trip through time to show the emergence of the one-party South and how the South evolved over time." 
—Keith Lee, Georgia College

Taking a hard look at the changing demographics in the American South, The Dynamics of Southern Politics discusses how this region remains exceptional while also addressing how that exceptionalism is eroding. Author Seth McKee tells a historically rich story going back to the end of the Civil War, tracks electoral changes to the present, and explores some of the most significant components contributing to partisan change. Supported by a host of detailed tables and figures, this book pairs a strong historical foundation with an in-depth analysis of the contemporary region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483324814
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	07/17/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Seth C. McKee is associate professor of political science at Texas Tech University. McKee is the current Editor in Chief of Political Research Quarterly and a member of the editorial boards of American Politics Research and Political Behavior. His primary area of research focuses on American electoral politics and especially party system change in the American South. He has published numerous articles on such topics as political participation, public opinion, voter preferences, redistricting, party switching, minority representation, strategic voting behavior, and state legislator voting behavior. McKee is the author of Republican Ascendancy in Southern U.S. House Elections (Westview Press 2010) and the editor of Jigsaw Puzzle Politics in the Sunshine State (University Press of Florida 2015).

Table of Contents

Tables, Figures, and Boxes
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1. The Long Arc of Southern Political History
Overview of the Book
Explanations of Southern Political Change
Chapter 2. Before a “Solid South”
1868 to 1900: The Relentless Work of Democratic “Redemption”
Northern Republicanism in the South
The End of Reconstruction
An Unstable Interlude
Populist Threat and Its Removal
Summary of a Most Politically Volatile Period
Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 3. Democratic Past
Origins of the Solid South
The Timing and Tools of Disfranchisement
The (White) Primary System
The 1930s: Democracy Heads North
The 1948 Election: A Permanent Fissure in the Solid South
Summary of Southern Democratic Dominance
Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 4. Competitive Transition
The Not-So Placid 1950s
The Tumultuous and Triumphant 1960s
The Deceptively Quiet 1970s
Reagan and the 1980s Turning Point
Summary Evidence of the Competitive Transition
Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 5. Republican Present
Unintended Consequences?
Republican Control from Top to Bottom
Federal Contests
Statewide Contests
State Legislative Elections
The Peak of Republican Hegemony?
Chapter 6. Generational Change and GOP Growth
The Importance of Party Identification
Party Identification of Black Southerners
Party Identification of White Southerners
Life-Cycle, Period, and Generation Effects
Tracking Generational Change and Party Identification
Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 7. Issues: Race, Economics, and Religion
Issues, Ideology, and Political Sophistication
Sorting and Polarization Within the Southern Electorate
The Big Three: Race, Economics, and Religion
Race
Economics
Religion
Summary
Chapter 8. Sectional and Locational Differences
Southern Urbanization
Deep Versus Peripheral South: An Enduring Divide
Location and a Changing South, 1950–2000
Location in the New Millennium
Voter Preferences by Subregion and Location
Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 9. The Changing Southern Electorate
A Note on the Data
Racial and Ethnic Composition of the General Electorate
White Voters
Black Voters
Latino Voters
Race and Gender
The Democratic and Republican Coalitions, Then and Now
The Primary Electorate
Welcome Back Carpetbaggers! Southern In-Migrants
Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 10. Republican Responses to Demographic Change
Demographic Change in the Southern Electorate
Electoral Volatility in the New Millennium
The 2010 Republican “Tsunami”
Congressional Redistricting
Jim Crow in Miniature? Restrictive Voting Laws
The Importance of Shelby County v. Holder
Summary
Chapter 11. The South in Comparative Perspective
Election Patterns in the South and Non-South
Party Identification in the South and Non-South
Voter Preferences in Recent Elections
Enduring Southern Exceptionalism
Chapter 12. The Future of Southern Politics
The Old Southern Politics
A Longitudinal Look at Party Competition
The Re-Segregation of Southern Politics
Demographic Change and Democratic Promise
Final Thoughts
References
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

A historically rich treatment of southern politics that successfully introduces students to the way social science is practiced today.

Chris Cooper

A thorough and empirically-based (not exhausting!) discussion of the role of race in southern politics from the Civil War to the present.

Branwell Du Bose Kapeluck

Thoughtful, meticulously researched, accessible to an undergraduate population.

Vaughn May

I cannot praise the author enough for rising to the challenge of providing students with an accessible trip through time to show the emergence of the one-party South and how the South evolved over time.

Keith Lee

A thorough and empirically-based (not exhausting!) discussion of the role of race in southern politics from the Civil War to the present.

Branwell DuBose Kapeluck