SOUTHERN POLITICS, FIRST EXAM, 2026

Answer any TWO of the following four questions, and answer each part, and in complete sentences, and give specific examples. This is an in-class essay exam. Budget your time, as each answer counts equally.

1) (South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond) How did Thurmond before 1964 show an ability to appeal to average voters and also show a progressive nature, and give specific examples? Why did he switch to the Republican Party in 1964, and give specifics that reflect the range of issues that concerned him? When and how did Thurmond (or the state Republican Party) in both time periods show racist views, and be specific? How did Thurmond beginning in 1972 attract voters of all races, and explain thoroughly with specific examples?

2) (The Old South’s segregationist system) What were the 12 ways that white Mississippians maintained their white-ruled segregationist system, according to the lecturer? Be specific, and explain how these factors operated and why they were effective in maintaining this segregationist system? In your answer, give some sense of the historical period of these events (late 1800s, early 1900s, mid-1900s, 1960s, etc.).

3) (Presidential Elections Thru 1972) Why did Democrats win every southern state from 1932 through 1944, and explain fully? How did racial and other issues hurt the Democrats in Dixie in the three presidential races in 1948, 1964, and 1968, and give examples of specific candidates and issues in each election? Where in the South did Republicans make gains in the 1952, 1956, and 1960 presidential elections, and what candidate factors and issues helped them? Why did Republican Nixon sweep the South in his 1972 re-election, and explain fully?

4) (Presidential Elections from 1976 to 2004) How was Democrat Jimmy Carter able to win all except one southern state in 1976, and explain fully? Why were Republicans able to win nearly all southern states in the Reagan-Bush years of 1980, 1984, and 1988, and give specific examples from each election? How was Bill Clinton able to win four southern states in the two presidential elections of the 1990s, and explain with specific examples? How was Bush (the son) able to sweep the South in 2000 and 2004, and explain fully?