Southern realignment. The Democratic Party dominated politics in the South for a century after the Civil War. Starting in the 1970s, that began to change. In time, the advantage flipped, and now the Republican Party dominates southern politics. The party system has changed - or realigned. The causes and consequences are discussed in course readings.  Briefly, however, two consequences were the following.

1. The Republican Party became more successful in national elections. By 2018, it had controlled the House for 20 of the previous 24 years. By contrast, Democrats enjoyed almost unbroken control of the House from 1930 to 1994. 
2. The Republican Party became more socially conservative and more hostile to the federal government, while the Democratic Party lost its conservative wing and became more uniformly liberal. This shift began the modern polarization of the parties. 

The following graphic (from The Economist) shows how party fortunes changed in the South.    

To appreciate the shift in presidential elections, look at some Electoral College results. The following show the shift quite clearly: 

• When Democrats won the South:  1956, 1960
• Now Republican candidates win the South: 2000, 2012