Synopses & Reviews
andldquo;Tim Boyd has significantly reassessed the nature of southern politics in postandndash;World War II America in this magnificent work. This is a first-rate history of Georgia politics in the modern era.andrdquo;andmdash;Gregory Schneider, author ofand#160;
The Conservative Centuryand#160;The precipitous fall of the Democratic Party in southern politics during the latter half of the twentieth century has sparked a rich scholarly debate. Many theories have been put forward to explain the sea change that swept Democrats out of office and replaced them with a new Republican order.
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In this timely volume, Tim Boyd challenges one of the most prominent explanations for this shift: the andldquo;white backlashandrdquo; theory. Taking the political experience in Georgia as a case study, he makes a compelling argument that New South politics formed out of the factional differences within the state Democratic Party and not simply as a result of white reactions to the civil rights movement.
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Boyd deftly shows how Georgia Democrats forged a successful (if morally problematic) response to the civil rights movement, allowing them to remain in power until internal divisions eventually weakened the party. The result is a study that recognizes the myriad forces southern leaders faced as the Jim Crow South gave way to new political realities and greatly enhances our understanding of southern politics today.and#160;
Review
andldquo;Shatters the myth of a linear and monolithic GOP takeover in the wake of the civil rights movement.andrdquo;andmdash;
Journal of American HistoryReview
andldquo;The story Boyd tells is far different from the familiar tale of knee-jerk white southern reaction to advances in civil rights.andrdquo;andmdash;
Journal of Southern HistoryReview
andldquo;Will delight historians and political scientists trying to make sense of the evolution of twentieth-century southern politics.andrdquo;andmdash;
Florida Historical QuarterlyReview
andldquo;Boyd has significantly reassessed the nature of southern politics in postandndash;World War II America in this magnificent work. This is a first-rate history of Georgia politics in the modern era.andrdquo;andmdash;Gregory Schneider, author ofand#160;
The Conservative Century: From Reaction to RevolutionAbout the Author
Tim Boyd is a history teacher at Montgomery Bell Academy and author of The 1966 Election in Georgia and the Ambiguity of the White Backlash.