Modern liberalism in the United States: Difference between revisions

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In the first half of the 20th century, both major American parties shared influential [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] and liberal wings. The conservative northern Republicans and [[Southern Democrats]] formed the [[conservative coalition]] which dominated the [[United States Congress|Congress]] from 1937 until the [[Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson administration]]. After World War Two, northern Democrats began to support civil rights and organized labor, while voters and politicians in the formerly "[[Solid South]]" opposed them from within the Democratic Party.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schickler |first=Eric |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/945697843 |title=Racial realignment : the transformation of American liberalism, 1932–1965 |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-4008-8097-3 |location=Princeton, New Jersey |oclc=945697843}}</ref> Following the passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], conservative Democrats began an exodus from the party, and supported Republican candidate Richard Nixon in 1968.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cummings |first=Judy Dodge |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1199334364 |title=Changing laws: politics of the civil rights era |date=2020 |publisher=Nomad Press |isbn=978-1-61930-924-1 |series=The civil rights era |location=White River Junction, VT |oclc=on1199334364}}</ref> By the 1970s the Democratic Party became predominately liberal and the Republican Party adopted conservatism at the party's main ideology.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gelman |first=Andrew |date=2013-11-08 |title=The Twentieth-Century Reversal: How Did the Republican States Switch to the Democrats and Vice Versa? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2330443x.2013.856147 |journal=Statistics and Public Policy |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1080/2330443x.2013.856147 |issn=2330-443X}}</ref> As a group, "liberals" are referred to as [[Left-wing politics in the United States|left]] or center-left and "conservatives" as [[Right-wing politics in the United States|right]] or center-right.<ref>See ''left [2 noun]' and ''right [2 noun]' in ''Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary'' (2000).</ref> Starting in the 21st century, there has also been a sharp division between liberals who tend to live in denser, more heterogeneous urban areas and conservatives who tend to live in less dense, more homogeneous [[rural communities]], with suburban areas largely split between the two.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/red-state-blue-city/513857/|title=Red State, Blue City|first=David A.|last=Graham|date=February 2, 2017|website=Theatlantic.com|access-date=October 4, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/05/22/what-unites-and-divides-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities/|title=Similarities and differences between urban, suburban and rural communities in America|date=May 22, 2018|website=Pewsocialtrends.org|access-date=October 4, 2018}}</ref> Since the 2000 election, [[Red states and blue states|blue and red]] have been the party colors of the Democrats and Republicans respectively, in contrast to the use of [[Blue#Politics|blue for conservatism]] and [[Red#In politics|red for leftism]] in the rest of the Western world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mokalla |first=Matteen |date=2016-09-15 |title=Why red means Republican and blue means Democrat |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/9/15/12926618/why-red-means-republican-and-blue-means-democrat |access-date=2022-11-28 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref>