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[[File:Nixon-and-Martin-Luther-King.png|right|300px|thumb|Dr. Martin Luther King's meeting with Vice President Nixon marked national recognition of King as leader of the civil rights movement.<ref>https://amgreatness.com/2018/07/29/the-switch-that-never-happened-how-the-south-really-went-gop/</ref>]]

[[File:Nixon-and-Martin-Luther-King.png|right|300px|thumb|Dr. Martin Luther King's meeting with Vice President Nixon marked national recognition of King as leader of the civil rights movement.<ref>https://amgreatness.com/2018/07/29/the-switch-that-never-happened-how-the-south-really-went-gop/</ref>]]

Vice President [[Richard Nixon]] invited Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] to Washington, D.C., for a meeting on 13 June 1957. This meeting, described by [[Bayard Rustin]] as a “summit conference,” marked national recognition of King’s role in the civil rights movement (Rustin, 13 June 1957). Seeking support for a voter registration initiative in the South, King appealed to Nixon to urge Republicans in Congress to pass the 1957 Civil Rights Act and to visit [[the South]] to express support for civil rights. Optimistic about Nixon’s commitment to improving race relations in the United States, King told Nixon, “How deeply grateful all people of goodwill are to you for your assiduous labor and dauntless courage in seeking to make the civil rights bill a reality.”  

Vice President [[Richard Nixon]] invited Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] to Washington, D.C., for a meeting on 13 June 1957. This meeting, described by [[Bayard Rustin]] as a “summit conference,” marked national recognition of King's role in the civil rights movement (Rustin, 13 June 1957). Seeking support for a voter registration initiative in the South, King appealed to Nixon to urge Republicans in Congress to pass the 1957 Civil Rights Act and to visit [[the South]] to express support for civil rights. Optimistic about Nixon's commitment to improving race relations in the United States, King told Nixon, “How deeply grateful all people of goodwill are to you for your assiduous labor and dauntless courage in seeking to make the civil rights bill a reality.”  

Republican Attorney General Herbert Brownell originally proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The bill passed 285-126 in the House with Republicans providing the majority of votes 167–19 and Democrats 118–107.<ref>HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957. PASSED. YEA SUPPORTS PRESIDENT'S POSITION. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42</ref> It then passed 72-18 in the Senate, with Republicans again supplying the majority of votes, 43–0 and Democrats voting 29–18. [[John Kennedy]] voted against it.<ref>HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957. PASSED. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s75</ref> It was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875.  

Republican Attorney General Herbert Brownell originally proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The bill passed 285-126 in the House with Republicans providing the majority of votes 167–19 and Democrats 118–107.<ref>HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957. PASSED. YEA SUPPORTS PRESIDENT'S POSITION. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42</ref> It then passed 72-18 in the Senate, with Republicans again supplying the majority of votes, 43–0 and Democrats voting 29–18. [[John Kennedy]] voted against it.<ref>HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957. PASSED. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/s75</ref> It was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875.  

In the century after Reconstruction ended in 1877, the white South identified with the [[Democrat Party]]. The Democrats' lock on power was so strong, the region was called the "Solid South." The Republicans controlled certain parts of the Appalachian and Ozark mountains (where slavery was never strong during the Civil War due to the lack of large plots of fertile soil), but they sometimes did compete for statewide office in the border states. Before 1964, the southern Democrats saw their party as the defender of the southern way of life, which included a respect for states' rights and an appreciation for traditional southern values. They repeatedly warned against the aggressive designs of Northern liberals and Republicans, as well as the civil rights activists they denounced as "outside agitators." Thus there was a serious barrier to becoming a Republican.

In the century after Reconstruction ended in 1877, the white South identified with the [[Democrat Party]]. The Democrats' lock on power was so strong, the region was called the "Solid South." The Republicans controlled certain parts of the Appalachian and Ozark mountains (where slavery was never strong during the Civil War due to the lack of large plots of fertile soil), but they sometimes did compete for statewide office in the border states. Before 1964, the southern Democrats saw their party as the defender of the southern way of life, which included a respect for states' rights and an appreciation for traditional southern values. They repeatedly warned against the aggressive designs of Northern liberals and Republicans, as well as the civil rights activists they denounced as "outside agitators." Thus there was a serious barrier to becoming a Republican.

However, since 1964, the Democrat lock on the South has been broken. The long-term cause was that the region was becoming more like the rest of the nation and could not long stand apart in terms of racial segregation. Modernization that brought factories, businesses, and cities, and millions of migrants from the North; far more people graduated from high school and college. Meanwhile, the cotton and tobacco basis of the traditional South faded away, as former farmers moved to town or commuted to factory jobs. While liberal academics allege that the shift of the South to the Republican Party began in the 1960's, the evidence that it really began in the 1920s and the 1950s is undeniable.<ref>Trande, Sean (April 30, 2013). [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/04/30/southern_whites_shift_to_the_gop_predates_the_60s_118172.html Southern Whites' Shift to the GOP Predates the '60s]. ''Real Clear Politics''. Retrieved September 9, 2016.</ref>

However, since 1964, the Democrat lock on the South has been broken. The long-term cause was that the region was becoming more like the rest of the nation and could not long stand apart in terms of racial segregation. Modernization that brought factories, businesses, and cities, and millions of migrants from the North; far more people graduated from high school and college. Meanwhile, the cotton and tobacco basis of the traditional South faded away, as former farmers moved to town or commuted to factory jobs. While liberal academics allege that the shift of the South to the Republican Party began in the 1960s, the evidence that it really began in the 1920s and the 1950s is undeniable.<ref>Trande, Sean (April 30, 2013). [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/04/30/southern_whites_shift_to_the_gop_predates_the_60s_118172.html Southern Whites' Shift to the GOP Predates the '60s]. ''Real Clear Politics''. Retrieved September 9, 2016.</ref>

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[[File:Partycivilrights.jpeg|right|200px|thumb|]]

The immediate cause of the political transition involved civil rights. The [[civil rights movement]] caused enormous controversy among southern Democrats with many attacking it as a violation of states' rights. When segregation was outlawed by a Republican appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice and by the [[bi-partisan]] Civil Rights acts of 1964 and 1965, a die-hard element resisted integration, led by Democrat governors [[Orval Faubus]] of Arkansas, [[Lester Maddox]] of Georgia, and, especially [[George Wallace]] of Alabama. These governors appealed to a less-educated, blue-collar electorate that on economic grounds was dependent on the Democrat Party, but opposed segregation. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act, most Southerners accepted the integration of most institutions, except public schools. With the old barrier to becoming a Republican removed, traditional Southerners joined the new middle class and the Northern transplants in moving toward the Republican party. Integration thus liberated Southern politics, just as [[Martin Luther King]] had promised. Meanwhile, the newly enfranchized black voters were bought off with Johnson's [[War on Poverty]] and supported Democrat candidates at the 85-90% level.

The immediate cause of the political transition involved civil rights. The [[civil rights movement]] caused enormous controversy among southern Democrats with many attacking it as a violation of states' rights. When segregation was outlawed by a Republican appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice and by the [[bi-partisan]] Civil Rights acts of 1964 and 1965, a die-hard element resisted integration, led by Democrat governors [[Orval Faubus]] of Arkansas, [[Lester Maddox]] of Georgia, and, especially [[George Wallace]] of Alabama. These governors appealed to a less-educated, blue-collar electorate that on economic grounds was dependent on the Democrat Party, but opposed segregation. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act, most Southerners accepted the integration of most institutions, except public schools. With the old barrier to becoming a Republican removed, traditional Southerners joined the new middle class and the Northern transplants in moving toward the Republican party. Integration thus liberated Southern politics, just as [[Martin Luther King]] had promised. Meanwhile, the newly enfranchized black voters were bought off with Johnson's [[War on Poverty]] and supported Democrat candidates at the 85-90% level.