Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Jaaacksonnn t1_iw7brvl wrote

Reply to comment by elmonoenano in Simple/Short/Silly History Questions Saturday! by AutoModerator

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. It made me think of something, of why the dems and republicans essentially swapped voter bases over time (or why this general dynamic in any given scenario would take place). In the beginning, Republicans had the black vote and the northern vote predominantly. Dems had a lock on the south. It's only natural to eventually want to expand your constituency and absorb those voters who traditionally haven't supported you. Thus, Dems finding ways to appeal more to blacks and northern whites, and Republicans finding ways to appeal more to southern whites. All while probably trying to retain their original voter base. And there you have a general framework of why, over time, 2 political parties can essentially swap places on the policies they support and the constituencies that support them.

1

_Totorotrip_ t1_iw7rzr4 wrote

So, in a sense both parties disappointed their original bases and we're moving into the opposite base with shiny new promises.

1

elmonoenano t1_iw8uj9s wrote

Southern Dems did a lot of stuff to restrict the vote, not just to Black voters. They opposed the 19th Amendment pretty universally, even though Dems in western states were some of its strongest supporters. They also had really restrictive voter laws. The Virginia constitution of 1902 probably restricted the vote to about 20% of Virginia's population.

B/c of the senate and house districting, sometimes it makes sense not to grow your voting base in the US, but to concentrate on restricting votes that you can't control. You can modern equivalents of it now in some states.

1