Question

select all the correct answers.

what three factors caused the political realignment during the 1960s?

• many white conservatives left the republican party to join the dixiecrats.
• the majority of white liberals and black individuals joined the democratic party.
• the end of the dixiecrats forced white southerners to choose the republican party.
• black southerners left the democrat party to join the republicans.
• a change in the goals of republican and democrat parties created a shift in voters.

Explanation:

Analyze the historical context of 1960s realignment

The 1960s was a period of major political realignment in the United States, largely driven by the Civil Rights Movement and shifting party platforms. Historically, the Democratic Party had a strong hold on the South (the "Solid South"), while Black voters historically favored the Republican Party (the party of Lincoln). During the 1960s, national Democratic leaders championed civil rights legislation, which alienated conservative Southern Democrats (often associated with the Dixiecrats) and attracted Black voters and northern White liberals to the Democratic Party.

Evaluate the first option

• Option 1: "Many White conservatives left the Republican party to join the Dixiecrats."
• This statement is historically inaccurate. White Southern conservatives actually left the Democratic Party because of its support for civil rights. The Dixiecrats (States' Rights Democratic Party) were a short-lived breakaway faction in 1948, not a major destination for departing Republicans in the 1960s. Instead, conservative Southern Democrats gradually shifted toward the Republican Party.

Evaluate the second option

• Option 2: "The majority of White liberals and Black individuals joined the Democratic Party."
• This statement is historically accurate. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson solidified the support of Black voters and northern White liberals for the Democratic Party, leading to a major demographic consolidation.

Evaluate the third and fourth options

• Option 3: "The end of the Dixiecrats forced White Southerners to choose the Republican party."
• This statement is historically accurate. As the segregationist Dixiecrat movement faded and the national Democratic Party fully embraced civil rights, conservative White Southerners who rejected the national Democratic platform increasingly aligned with and voted for the Republican Party, which was beginning to appeal to them through strategies like the "Southern Strategy."
• Option 4: "Black Southerners left the Democrat party to join the Republicans."
• This statement is historically inaccurate. The opposite occurred: Black Southerners overwhelmingly left the Republican Party (or registered for the first time as Democrats) to support the Democratic Party due to its alignment with the civil rights agenda.

Evaluate the fifth option

• Option 5: "A change in the goals of Republican and Democrat parties created a shift in voters."
• This statement is historically accurate. The ideological platforms of both parties shifted significantly during this era. The Democrats became the party of federal civil rights intervention and social welfare programs, while the Republicans positioned themselves as proponents of states' rights, law and order, and limited federal intervention, which directly triggered a massive shift in voter alignment.

Answer:

• Many White conservatives left the Republican party to join the Dixiecrats.
• The majority of White liberals and Black individuals joined the Democratic Party. (Correct answer)
• The end of the Dixiecrats forced White Southerners to choose the Republican party. (Correct answer)
• Black Southerners left the Democrat party to join the Republicans.
• A change in the goals of Republican and Democrat parties created a shift in voters. (Correct answer)