At some point in the 20th century the Republican and Democratic parties flipped, in terms of which geographical and ideological blocks they represented. Most people point to the Civil Rights Act, with D's were in favor of and R's were against, as well as Nixon's Southern Strategy, as an explicit turning point, but it was already gradually underway in decades before and after. The inertia and old boys networks lasted well into the 90s and early 00s before the realignment fully played out.
But in the modern day you see revisionist history insisting that no such realignment ever occurred, and that the R's are the same "Party of Lincoln" they always were. Enter news stories such as this one. If you aren't sure that a realignment took place, ask which movement in the present day regularly celebrates and defends and invokes that iconography of the confederate south, and tries to defend and preserve historical artifacts that celebrate the confederate south while removing those that criticize it.
If the history of the 20th century wasn't already clear, I think even just the last 5-10 years, and especially this year, 2025, give all kinds of new evidence demonstrating that the realignment really happened.
guywithahat · 2h ago
This is a common piece of misinformation. While the parties have changed over time, republicans have transitionally always been representative of natural rights and on the right, while democrats were more focused on egalitarianism and other more left-wing topics. Freeing slaves was a republican policy because it was focused on natural rights, the civil rights act takes natural rights while producing a more egalitarian society (i.e. to ensure everyone is allowed in your water fountain I must require it through law, and close your store if you refuse). Certainly the parties have shifted over 200 years, but I don't think you're fully caught up on your history.
That said, this article is about removing references to slavery in national parks, so I'm not sure where your point is going.
yupitsme123 · 2h ago
During the days of slavery, the Dems were the party pushing to maintain the status quo and the existing power structure. The Republicans were those fighting to change it.
Coming out of the civil rights movement, it was the democrats who wanted to change the status quo and the Republicans who wanted to defend it.
In the present period of endless culture war and polticization of everything, it seems that the democrats are the ones on the side of the status quo and existing power structures. They want to shove everyone into identity groups, put those groups into hierarchies, they want to shame certain groups and grant new privileges to others.
A lot of people are exhausted by the culture war, tired of having every aspect of our lives coopted to remind us to feel bad about ourselves and to hate each other. I don't think Trump is really offering a new path here yet, but he's recognizing what people say all the time in private and which the democrats refuse to accept.
But in the modern day you see revisionist history insisting that no such realignment ever occurred, and that the R's are the same "Party of Lincoln" they always were. Enter news stories such as this one. If you aren't sure that a realignment took place, ask which movement in the present day regularly celebrates and defends and invokes that iconography of the confederate south, and tries to defend and preserve historical artifacts that celebrate the confederate south while removing those that criticize it.
If the history of the 20th century wasn't already clear, I think even just the last 5-10 years, and especially this year, 2025, give all kinds of new evidence demonstrating that the realignment really happened.
That said, this article is about removing references to slavery in national parks, so I'm not sure where your point is going.
Coming out of the civil rights movement, it was the democrats who wanted to change the status quo and the Republicans who wanted to defend it.
In the present period of endless culture war and polticization of everything, it seems that the democrats are the ones on the side of the status quo and existing power structures. They want to shove everyone into identity groups, put those groups into hierarchies, they want to shame certain groups and grant new privileges to others.
A lot of people are exhausted by the culture war, tired of having every aspect of our lives coopted to remind us to feel bad about ourselves and to hate each other. I don't think Trump is really offering a new path here yet, but he's recognizing what people say all the time in private and which the democrats refuse to accept.