In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Black Belt whites sought to avoid two-party competition since it would unravel the world they had built: Two-party competition would have been fatal to the status of black-belt whites. It would have meant in the nineties [the Populist era] an appeal to the Negro vote and it would have meant (and did for a time) Negro rule in some black-belt counties. From another standpoint, two-party competition would have meant the destruction of southern solidarity in national politics—in presidential elections and in the halls of Congress. (Key 1949, 8–9) For Black Belt whites, “Unity on the national scene was essential in order that the largest possible bloc could be mobilized to resist any national move toward interference with southern authority to deal with the race question as was desired locally” (Key 1949, 8–9). The solid Democratic South depended upon race trumping all other issues that threatened white racial unity: “The maintenance of southern Democratic solidarity has depended fundamentally on a willingness to subordinate to the race question all great social and economic issues that tend to divide people into opposing parties. Contrariwise, solidarity is threatened as these other questions come to outweigh in the public mind the race issue” (Key 1949, 315–16; cf. 15). Two-party competition would also raise issues other than race and lead to the courting of the black vote: “Concern with genuine issues would bring an end to the consensus by which the Negro is kept out of politics. One crowd or another would be tempted to seek his vote” (Key 1949, 130). Competition would encourage partisan entrepreneurs to seek ways to win with the black vote. A potent factor in the gradual initiation of the Negro into public affairs is the expectation of local officials and candidates that they may gain Negro votes. . . . The chances are that in the long run the most effective force for the promotion of Negro participation in politics is the actions of white men who think that they need and can win Negro votes. When whites split among themselves and seek Negro support, the way may be opened for the Negro to vote. (Key 1949, 651) National political ambitions, Key thought, could serve to erode the solid Democratic South and promote two-party development in the region. Presidential contestation for southern electoral votes would lead inevitably to state-level two-party competition: “If the South were contested territory in presidential elections, it could not long remain without active party competition for the control of state government” (Key 1949, 315). 122 ■ Harold W. Stanley Complicating the South’s emergence into two-party competition was the ideological misalignment of the southern and national parties. Key discussed the more progressive Republican Party in the hills of Tennessee and Virginia, contrasted with the more conservative tilt of the dominant Democratic elements in the states (Key 1949, 34, 80). The Republican Party, such as it was in the South, tended to be to the left of the Democratic Party, leaving both southern branches out of line with their national counterparts. Conclusion Challenges for the South range across racial, economic, and political matters with an appreciation of the interconnectedness of the challenges essential. Has the South of the twenty-first century developed a system or practice of political organization and leadership adequate to cope with its problems? However one answers that, two-party competition, Key’s prescription for many of the South’s ills, has emerged in the region in recent years. Although political parties and how scholars view them have undergone substantial change since the middle of the last century, we might do well to emulate Key and seek to determine not simply whether Republicans have surged or Democrats might resurge, and the like, but the larger significance of such southern political developments. Notes 1. The questions asked were these: “Which works have you found yourself referring to most frequently over the years? Which ones hold the most theoretical significance or offer the most useful constructs? Which ones have broadened your understanding of politics in general or your field specifically?” 2. The syllabi were collected for a roundtable at the 2006 Citadel Symposium of Southern Politics and are collected online at http://faculty.smu.edu/ hstanley/SPsyllabi.htm. 3. A JSTOR search reveals 494 results for “V. O. Key,” 170 of which (over onethird ) refer to “Southern Politics.” 4. See also Governing, March 2008 (http://www.governing.com); Pew Center on the States...

Share