Changes

==Presidential politics==

==Presidential politics==

The South favoredf the [[Democratic-Republican Party]]  or Jeffersonian Republicans during the [[First Party System]], from the 1790s to 1820s.  However durting the [[Second Party System]], 1830-1854, the region was closely balance between Demmocrats and the [[Whig Party]], with the Demoicrats gaining after 1848.

The South favoredf the [[Democratic-Republican Party]]  or Jeffersonian Republicans during the [[First Party System]], from the 1790s to 1820s.  However during the [[Second Party System]], 1830-1854, the region was closely balanced between Democrats and the [[Whig Party]], with the Democrats gaining after 1848.

Political parties were in disarray in the late 1850s and were suspended duting the Civil War. Durring [[Reconstruiction]], 1863-1877, the [[Republican Party]] was a coalition of Freedmen (freed slaves), [[Carpetbaggers]] (new arrivals from the North), and [[Scalawags]] (white southerners), all supported by the U.S. Army. Violent confrontations led to the collapse of the Republican state governments in the 1870s; the last three fell in 1877.  They were replaced by the [[Redeemers]], conservative white Democrats allied to the [[Bourbon Democrats]] of the North.

Political parties were in disarray in the late 1850s and were suspended during the Civil War. During [[Reconstruction]], 1863-1877, the dominant [[Republican Party]] was a coalition of Freedmen (freed slaves), [[Carpetbaggers]] (new arrivals from the North), and [[Scalawags]] (white southerners), all supported by the U.S. Army. Violent confrontations led to the collapse of the Republican state governments in the 1870s; the last three fell in 1877.  They were replaced by the [[Redeemers]], conservative white Democrats allied to the [[Bourbon Democrats]] of the North.

The Democrats repressed a Populist movement in the 1890s, and dominatged every state with very few exceptions down to 1964.  The "Solid South" as political pundits called it, nearly always supported Democratic candidates. Since 1964, the South has been highly competitive.  

The Democrats repressed a Populist movement in the 1890s, and dominated every state with rare  exceptions down to 1964.  The "Solid South" as political pundits called it, nearly always supported Democratic prfesidential candidates, except in 1928, 1952 and 1956.

===1964 to 1992===

===1964 to 1992===

The Solid South began to break down in the 1964 election, when five southern states voted for Republican [[Barry Goldwater]]. The largest and President Johnson's homestate, Texas, remained Democratic. In 1968, [[Richard Nixon]] carried Florida, and the Carolinas, while an Independent [[George Wallace]] carried the rest, with the exception of Texas, which remained Democratic. Former Democratic Gov. George Wallace commenting on his 1968 Presidential bid declared, that by using a base of electoral votes in the Solid South <ref>[http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/elections/maps/1968ec.gif 1968 Electoral Distribution]</ref> and adding a few Northern and Midwestern industrial belt states, a candidate could accumulate enough electoral votes to win.  Wallace did not win in 1968, But eight years later in the 1976 election, Democratic contender [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>[http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/elections/maps/1976ec.gif 1976 Electoral Distribution].</ref> succesfully employed Wallace's Southern strategy. Beginning in 1972, candidates Richard Nixon (1972), Jimmy Carter (1976), [[Ronald Reagan]] (1984), [[George H.W. Bush]] (1988) carried every southern state.The exception to this was Reagan's election in 1980 when he carried every southern state save incumbent President Jimmy Carter's home state of Georgia.

Since 1964, the South has been highly competitive. The Solid South began to break down in the 1964 election, when five southern states voted for Republican [[Barry Goldwater]]. The largest and President Johnson's homestate, Texas, remained Democratic. In 1965 blacks were given the vote for the first time since the 1890s, and they becvame Democrats.  In 1968, [[Richard Nixon]] and Independent [[George Wallace]] split the region, with the exception of Texas, which remained Democratic.  

 

In the 1976 election, Democratic contender [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>[http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/elections/maps/1976ec.gif 1976 Electoral Distribution].</ref> swept the region combining the black vote with a majority of evangelical whites. Beginning in 1972, candidates Richard Nixon (1972), Jimmy Carter (1976), [[Ronald Reagan]] (1984), [[George H.W. Bush]] (1988) carried every southern state.<ref>In 1980 Carter carried his home state of Georgia.</ref>

===1992 to 2004===

===1992 to 2004===