Part of the African American Studies Commons, Political History Commons, and the United States History Commons

Many Americans have a vague idea of the fact that the Republican and Democratic Parties have shifted when it comes to race, specifically concerning the issue of African Americans ’ rights. Anybody who has heard the Republican Party referred to as the, “Party of Lincoln, ” then seen a Republican voter in the South displaying a Confederate flag might question the odd juxtaposition. Anyone who has seen Barack Obama, a Democrat and the first black President of the United States, give a speech at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, a dinner named for two slave masters considered to be patron saints of his party, is probably also aware that something has changed. But many Americans are unsure of when or how the shift took place. The truth is that the Republican Party was more supportive of the rights of African Americans until the 1960s, at which point the Democratic Party became the more supportive entity. For much of the nineteenth century leading up to the Civil War, there was a consensus between the Whig and Democratic parties that slavery should not be interfered with. In 1828, the Democratic Party was founded, and Andrew Jackso