Deep South Democrats
Paradoxical Politics in the Age of Civil Rights
James O Heath author David Goldfield editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Louisiana State University Press
Published:28th Oct '26
Currently unavailable, our supplier has not provided us a restock date
James O. Heath's Deep South Democrats is the story of three men who redefined the southern political landscape through unique voting records in health, housing, labor, and education. Olin Johnston of South Carolina and John Sparkman and Lister Hill of Alabama contributed to the massive impact of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal in the southern states, though the reforms didn't affect just their constituents: the New Deal's characteristics of federal intervention and economic empowerment influenced their own political outlook for decades. While the senators' consistent defense of segregation stood in stark contrast to the purported "reluctance" of their racism in their election campaigns, the benefits of their economic liberalism benefited Black communities in their states. This, in turn, ensured a remarkable measure of support among Black southerners who were registered to vote and gave the three of them an unbeatable edge over opponents who were economically and racially conservative.
In focusing on the paradoxical politics of three Deep South Democrats, Heath avoids the pitfalls of overcategorization while entertaining two possibilities. The first is that Johnston, Sparkman, and Hill privately supported the advancement of Black rights but were restrained from doing so publicly by the political realities in their states, which forced them to maintain a strict adherence to racial segregation, albeit while pursuing reforms in social policy that benefited Black and white residents alike. The second is that the three of them held racist beliefs but avoided the racist hyperbole of their contemporaries because they possessed a sense of duty to their communities. Heath's analysis considers the influence of region, rather than state, alongside tradition and family history, to explain how the reluctant racism of these three men proved unusually influential in the age of civil rights.
"James O. Heath has done it again. Author of the important To Face Down Dixie, Heath uses an incisive portrait of three pivotal Deep South senators to challenge the categories of racism and liberalism." - Robert Mickey, author of Paths Out of Dixie: The Democratization of Authoritarian Enclaves in America's Deep South, 1944–1972
"Heath has written a significant book that redefines our understanding of twentieth-century southern politics by offering much-needed clarity regarding the group some have labeled 'reluctant racists.' His engaging analysis of the paradoxical behavior of those regional statesmen who simultaneously supported liberal social programs that elevated African Americans yet bemoaned any step toward racial equality opens exciting new interpretational vistas for future scholars." - Keith M. Finley, author of From Slavery to Segregation: Reckoning with White Supremacy in the American South
"Were 'liberal' Deep South politicians reluctant racists and/or southern progressives pragmatically working toward economic change? Why and how did they win Black votes and perpetuate Democratic hegemony for so long? In this penetrating study, Heath provides plenty of evidence that permits readers to reach a multitude of answers." - Laura Kalman, author of FDR's Gambit: The Court Packing Fight and the Rise of Legal Liberalism
"The central contradiction of white southern liberalism in the Jim Crow era, which for much of the twentieth century was a dominant strain of American liberalism, was how easily reform politics existed alongside racist demagoguery. Heath explores that puzzle anew by examining three little-considered stalwarts of the Southern Caucus: Lister Hill, Olin Johnston, and John Sparkman. Heath makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of southern politics." - Joseph Crespino, author of Atticus Finch: The Biography
"Alabama and South Carolina, the Deep South states infamous for racial demagogues George Wallace and Strom Thurmond, also produced three of the region's most economically liberal New Deal Democrats. This deeply researched book highlights the trio's consistent support for federal social welfare programs and labor protections while astutely unraveling the apparent paradox of their 'reluctant racism' in defending segregation and opposing civil rights legislation." - Matthew D. Lassiter, author of The Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt South
ISBN: 9780807186558
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 22mm
Weight: unknown
344 pages