New Deal Liberalism and Racial Liberalism in the Mass Public, 1937-1952

Abstract

Few transformations have been as important in American political history as the incorporation of African Americans into the Democratic Party coalition over the course of the 1930s-60s and the embrace of racial conservatism on the part of many Republicans. This paper, which is part of a broader book project, focuses on changes in mass opinion among Democratic and Republican partisans from the late 1930s through the 1960s. It traces, over time, the relationship between New Deal economic liberalism and racial liberalism, and between economic policy conservatism and racial conservatism. A key initial finding is that by the late 1930s, economically-liberal northern white Democratic voters were especially pro-civil rights, while economically-conservative northern Republican voters were particularly hostile. This suggests that there was a connection between attitudes towards the economic programs of the New Deal and racial liberalism early on. One of the goals of the book will be to understand where that connection came from, along with its implications for subsequent developments.

Keywords: Civil Rights, issue evolution, party realignment