Eastern Illinois University The Keep Masters Theses Student Theses & Publications 1986 The Republican Party and Civil Rights, 1877-1976 Gordon E. Sparks Eastern Illinois University This research is a product of the graduate program in History at Eastern Illinois University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Sparks, Gordon E., "The Republican Party and Civil Rights, 1877-1976" (1986). Masters Theses. 2676. https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/2676 This is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THESIS REPRODUCTION CERTIFICATE TO: Graduate Degree Candidates who have written formal theses. SUBJECT: Permission to reproduce theses. 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Sparks THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL, EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CHARLESTON, ILLINOIS 1986 YEAR I HEREBY RECOMMEND THIS THESIS BE ACCEPTED AS FULFILLING THIS PART OF Tr'"r n Ar.1 IAT r:: nr::rar::r:: r-1Tr::n ADA\ tr:: V AUVIStl< .'/ .,, My persona l thanks go out to the imp ortant people who made th is study possible. To my parents, Robert and Juanita, whose drive and influence I could have no t done without. To Dr . Raymond Koch , who for ced me to que st ion my political va l ues in a healthy way . Spec ial regards must go to Dr . Jimmie Frank lin. Without his help I could no t have gotten started on the right track. Finally, to my fr iends and teachers in the Eastern Illinois History Department, their comradesh ip and gui dance were inva l uab le to me. Ju ly 7, 1986 Gordon E. Sparks "We do no t ple dge ourselves to go fur ther with the Republ i cans than the Republ i cans wi ll go wit h us ." A black abolitionist "If I'm gonna get unemp loy ed , I'd rather the Democrats be in. " A bla ck voter TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT . i Chapter Page I. THE REPUBL ICAN PARTY AND BLACKS IN POST-RECONSTRUCT ION AMER ICA ......................... 1 II. FROM PROGRESS IVISM THROUGH WORLD WAR I ............. 20 III. THE 192 0's THROUGH THE NEW DEAL . ....... ........... 40 IV. REPUBL ICANS , BLACKS AND POSTWAR AMER ICA ........•.... 56 V • CONCLUS ION. • • . • • • • . • • . • . • . • • • . • . • . • • . • . 82 FOOTNOTES . • • • . • . • • • • • • . • • . • . • . • • . • . • • • . • . • . • • . • • . • • • 86 8 I BL I OGRAPHY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • 94 - i - ABSTRACT Ther e have been many works wr itt en on both the Repub- lic an and the Democratic parties. Many works have also described the prob lem of civil rights and the histor ical diff iculties blacks have had in an attemp t to fit in po litical ly. These wor ks , however , have left out one m a jor aspec t of th is process . Re l a tionships of bla cks to the po litical partie s themsev les must be stud ied to understand one aspec t of their conti nuous strugg le for civi l rig hts in Amer ica. It is time that an ove rview be done on how the po lit ical partie s have dea lt with the civil rights p r ob lem throughout their histor ies. The Repub lic an par ty had its roots bur ied in its support for civi l rights; however , the percentage of black vo ters for Repub lican cand idates is extreme ly low. It is the purpose of this thesis tu try to show why blacks sh ifted from the Repub lic ans to the Democrats. The history of the Repub lic an par ty and black civi l rig hts is a very broad topic. Th is top ic is a ver y comp lex one . Li ttle spec ific re- search is available on the relatio nship between black Amer icans and the Repub lic an party. Individual blac k atti tudes and party po licy can be discussed , however , through the use of nume rou s works and arti c les , many of wh ich a r e s econd a r y . This wil l att emp t to show the -ii - importance of Repub lic an par ty pol icy and its connec tion wi th civ il righ ts. The background of these pol icies must be br iefly noted before any modern Republican atti tudes on civi l rig hts can be fu lly explained . A short summary of the pre-Reconstruc­ tion per iod of Republican civil rig hts ac tion is necessary to demon strate the par ty's first set of goals. Th ese ear ly roots have had an important impac t on the civi l rig hts strugg le wh ich has taken place since 1954 . The ma jor emphas is of this study descr ibes civi l rights ac tions under Republ ican pres i dents . Legislation occurr ing under these pres i dents cont inues to influence black civil rig hts today . Bla ck reaction against limit ing legislat ion is also a fac tor in understand ing the atti tude of blacks towar d the federal govern ment . Republ ican presidents have found themse lves in difficult positio ns bec ause of the need to ma intain national unity wh ile at the same time jugg ling civil rights, economics, and support from their own perceived const ituenc ies. Republ ican atti tudes on civi l rig hts have had a great impact on the black communit y, but the nature of Republ ican po licy on civi l rig hts makes it unl ikely that blacks wi ll swing toward the party in the near future. The purpose of this thesis is to survey the histor ical and pol itical reasons wh ich have changed the focus of Repub lic an po licy through the years . CHAPTER I THE REPUBL ICAN PARTY AND BLACKS IN POST-RECONST RUCT ION AMERICA The quest ion over slavery became an impor tant consid- erat ion in the forg ing of a new nat iona l po lit ical p ar ty in the ear ly 185 0's. The Repub lican party developed in 1854 by br ingin g together those who opposed the extension of slavery in to the terr itor ies. The party integrated northern ideas about the ev i ls of slavery. Many north erners bel ieved that slavery "connoted no t so muc h a mor al ev il as a distinct way . 1 of lif e wh ich end angered their own." When certain Repub licans defended the rights of blacks, they often found themse lves the subjec t of ridicule. The Democrats labeled the Republ i cans as the "Nigger Par ty." Such open attacks on the party led some Republican spok esmen to insist "that they , and not the Democ rats, were the real 'wh ite man 's party' and they often vehement ly denied any intent ion of giving legal or soc ial equality to free 2 Negroes ." Th is view, however , was no t held by all Repub lic ans . Two examp les of Republ ican support for civil rig hts can be found in the work of Senators Salmon P. Chase (R .-Oh io) and Char les Sumner , <R.-Massachusetts) . Chase and Sumner expressed strong views over the extension of slavery into the territor ies. They though t that the birth of a new po l itical party presented hope that stronger oppo si t ion to slavery could be raised. Both - 2- bel ieved that a consp iracy of pro-s l avery advocates exi sted in the Senate . Indeed , souther ners had gai ned control of the Democrat ic party dur ing the 1840 's and th is segment of the Con gress had assured victory for the Kansas-Nebraska Ac t in 1854 . Th is ac t, hated by these so- cal led "Rad ical " Repub lican senators because of their civi l rig hts ide als, stated that the set tle rs mus t dec ide on the issue of slavery in these two new terr itor ies. The act referred to this as "popular sovereignty ." Although the bill passed , Sumner announced that it had opened the door toward the el iminat ion of slavery . "It put freedom and slavery face 3 to face," he said, "and bids them grap ple. " Ac ting in a concerted effort with the Know-No thing party, wh ich had been formed in rea ction to U.S. immi­ gration po lic ies in the ear ly 185 0's, the Repub licans had made significant na t iona l gains by 1856. Salmon Chase became Governor of Oh io, and began to campa ign for the Presi dent ial no mination.