America’s Political Realignment after the Great Depression

The late 1920s was an era that saw great party realignment in the United States of America. Most Black voters switched from their traditional Republican Party to their newly sworn allegiance to the Democratic Party, which was a new avenue for the Black community to voice their grievances on civil rights. It had become characteristic of the Republicans to alienate most black voters in this fight for civil rights during this era. The situation escalated when the Northern Democrats opened opportunities for African Americans to voice their concerns, which in essence led to them switching their political support 1 

Chronology of the Party Re-Alignment in the United States OfAmerica 

The 1932 Presidential Election between the Democratic candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and the incumbent Republican President Herbert Hoover, was approached skeptically by the black voters who favored President Hoover based on party loyalty and not on the basis of their rights. They could not approve of FDR because of his party affiliation and his selection of a running mate, John Nance Garner from Texas 1 . The black voters had developed their loyalty to Republican Party because it had earlier on extended an olive branch to the African American community when it supported De Priest in 1915 to become the first African-American alderman who was an equivalent of a city councilman 2 . This was the era which saw most African American politicians attached to their party bosses. The situation changed for the better in the 1960s when blacks began assembling their political power bases and niched out their political independence by not relying on their party bosses, but by asserting independence in their political careers. They were brave enough to link their community and familial connections with civic engagement that was widespread, a scenario that brought about clashes with the mainstream political powers 1 . 

Most of the African American leaders of this era were discontent with the impact of depression which took a toll on African Americans compared to their White counterparts. African Americans had lost their jobs in the agricultural sector in the mid-1920s when the cotton market declined. A majority of the blacks had also lost their industrial jobs during economic contraction’s first stage, before the stock market collapsed in 1929. The number of unemployed Blacks stood at 38% compared to their White counterparts which stood at 17% 1 . 

The first Black Americans to revolutionize their communities in the south were William Dawson and Arthur Mitchell, because of their ambition and impatience toward the leadership of the Republican Party. Michell was the first one to unseat De Priest when he firmly stood his ground to support FDR despite the majority of the black vote supporting Hoover and thus became the first African American to join Congress as an elected Democrat. His platform to success was entrenched on the urban black support that advocated for economic relief as provided by the New Deal programs. The trend went on when William Dawson could not unseat Mitchell in the General Election of 1938 cementing the Democratic Party control. As a result of this, Dawson had to change parties to join Democrats in order to succeed Mitchell who was bound to retire in 1942. This move encouraged the zeal of Democratic Party bosses such as Kelly to have more African Americans recruited by applying their political machinery 1 . Democratic Party won the favor of African Americans because it advocated for their down-trodden civil rights especially after the Great Depression. History has it that’s since 1936, only a paltry 28% of African Americans had voted for republican Candidates. It astonishing to note the only population of African American Republicans voted to Congress since 1929 and 2017 comprised only 7% 1 . 

FDR was instrumental in the fight for the black civil rights and this earned him overwhelming support from the Black American Community. In his first term office administration, he squarely focused on the mitigation of the economic travails of the Depression. All other concerns were secondary and as such he had to be in good terms with the Congress, which had vast powers over the funding despite the South’s strong influence in the same Congress. As many pundits would put it, the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was indeed the African Ombudsman since she tirelessly fought for rights of the Negro together with key Roosevelt appointee and Secretary of the Interior Department, Harold Ickes who banned any form of segregation in his department 3 . 

Impact of the Great Depression on African Americans 

The Great Depression that lasted between 1929 and 1939 was the worst ever catastrophe to the economy of the US and many other nations. According to (Klein, 2019), the worst hit of all were the African Americans. They were the first to experience job cuts and high rates of unemployment in the 1930s. African Americans were confined to poorly paid professions that by the time the Great Depression hit, they could hardly afford their basic needs. This culminated into the rise of African American activism that was the breeding ground for Civil Rights Movement which took center-stage in the 1950s and 1960s. Klein (2019) further states that, President Roosevelt’s New Deal became popular prompting the African Americans to switch their allegiance to Democratic Party support from their former Republican base. 

Most African American’s jobs were filled up by the Whites who did not have employment. Based on the statistics from the Library of Congress, unemployment rates had hit a 50% mark by 1932. The situation was worse in the South where for example Atlanta recorded 70% unemployment rates by 1934. As a result of all these, the African Americans were forced to form grassroots organizations that came together for political and economic progress. Notable on the scene was Mary McLeod Bethune of the National Council of Negro Women who fought for anti-lynching legislation, eligibility of agriculture and domestic workers for social security and the elimination of poll tax. 

Events between 1941 and 1945 That Set the Foundation for Civil Rights Movements 

One of the major players of this regime was Phillip Randolph who was instrumental in the civil rights machination when he formed the Fair Employment Practice committee of 1941and later on the Anti-segregation of the US armed forces. By 1963, he spearheaded the march on Washing for freedom and jobs. He went on record as being the first Vice President of AFL-CIO from 1957–1968 from the African American Community. He is also the founding father of the A. Phillip Randolph Institute together with Bayard Rustin, in 1965 4 . 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 which barred any form of discrimination in education, jobs, public facilities and housing.it went on record as having strengthened the voting rights of the African Americans in the South but was not strong enough to liberate the blacks. In 1965, an event dubbed “Bloody Sunday” was broadcasted on live television when troopers brutally violated the rights of the blacks by beating and hurling teargas canisters to the black who were marching peacefully in protest to unfair treatment by the authorities. After this event, President Johnson declared that all Americans had all privileges that appertained to citizenship, without consideration of race and as a result, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed into law on August 6, 1965. The bill transformed the political landscape where most African Americans registered as voters and in the process led to the election of the first ever African American President later on in the 21 st century. Another event that took place in this era was the appointment of Robert C. Weaver to a cabinet position by President Johnson to head the Housing and Urban Development Department in 1967 5 . 

How America Became an Economic Superpower 

It all began when the output of US overtook the output of the entire British Empire in 1916. America took advantage of the First World War and the Second World War when it converted most of its industries into military production from civil production and also took advantage of supplying food and fiber that was used to respectively feed and clothe the combatants of Europe. The collapse of the Germany and Soviet Union power houses saw to it that the US was the undisputed existing superpower 6 . 

The reason why Southerners took a strong grip on the Republican Party is that most of them support the white support the conservative position regarding taxation, national security and moral values as propagated by the Jim Crow era. Most of the whites from the south have a strong conviction to the ideals of racial discrimination, which was promoted by the Harry Truman’s White supremacist propaganda machine and ever since, it has been hard to bend their inclination 7 . The South had the agenda of economic growth and discouragement of migrations from other regions whereas the Democrats advocated for free speech, redistribution, abortion among other pertinent issues. . 

Bibliography 

Bates, Karen. Why Did Black Voters Flee The Republican Party In The 1960s? (2014). Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/07/14/331298996/why-did-black-voters-flee-the-republican-party-in-the-1960s 

Ellis, Sam., Harris, Johnny and Beauchamp, Zack . How America became a superpower, explained in 8 minutes . (2016). Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2016/11/28/13708364/america-superpower-expansion-colony 

Frum, David. The Real Story of How America Became an Economic Superpower . (2014). Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/12/the-real-story-of-how-america-became-an-economic-superpower/384034/ 

history.house.gov. Party Realignment and the New Deal.(2019). Retrieved from: https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Keeping-the-Faith/Party-Realignment--New-Deal/ 

khanacademy.org. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (2019). retrieved from: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/civil-rights-movement/a/the-civil-rights-act-of-1964-and-the-voting-rights-act-of-1965

loc.gov. The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom . (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/segregation-era.html 

1 history.house.gov. Party Realignment And The New Deal.(2019). Retrieved from: https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Keeping-the-Faith/Party-Realignment--New-Deal/ 

2 Karen, B. Why Did Black Voters Flee The Republican Party In The 1960s? (2014)retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/07/14/331298996/why-did-black-voters-flee-the-republican-party-in-the-1960s 

3 history.house.gov, (2019). Party Realignment And The New Deal. Retrieved from: https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Keeping-the-Faith/Party-Realignment--New-Deal/ 

4 loc.gov. The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom . (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/segregation-era.html 

5 khanacademy.org, (2019). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Retrieved from: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/civil-rights-movement/a/the-civil-rights-act-of-1964-and-the-voting-rights-act-of-1965

6 Frum, David. The Real Story of How America Became an Economic Superpower . (2014). Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/12/the-real-story-of-how-america-became-an-economic-superpower/384034/ 

7 Sam. E., Harris, Jonny., and Beauchamp, Zack., ( How America became a superpower, explained in 8 minutes . (2016). https://www.vox.com/2016/11/28/13708364/america-superpower-expansion-colony