During the Depression era when they were aligned with the Republican Party since the time of Abraham Lincoln, something made African Americans switch to the Democrats. It was totally about basic civil rights, this lesson highlights the fact that why Americans voted for Franklin Roosevelt, although, the Democratic Party denied their rights. Its effect that shakes them can be retrieved from the primary sources and voices from the period where students can discover how depression affected African American workers. With the help of this, students can learn about how Democrats and Republicans made efforts for civil rights. Roosevelt’s problem was that he had to maintain his position of leadership so he needed to keep the southern democrats.
Furthermore, Roosevelt took no action to the legal segregation at the time; he invited multiple African-American leaders to serve as advisors to the administration. He ensured their safety and the fact that they have access to relief during their worst times. At first African Americans were allowed by Roosevelt to engage as Americans that was the reason that he won their votes in election of 1936. Black voted for the Democratic Party because Roosevelt ensured their civil rights.
At that time, their vote was not considered important but a vote in support of Roosevelt himself and the policies of the New Deal. The movement of the African-American voters apart from the republican was a part of the nationwide shift that had arisen in the creation of the Roosevelt coalition. This national shift will prove to be a beneficial moment for the Democrats for several decades. Some of the questions were raised from the moment when African Americans changed their historical allegiance to the Republican Party in a tough era.
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Was there any emotional component for this vote? Was this vote for Roosevelt synonymous with economic recovery? When the Civil War was concluded in 1865, African Americans voted for the Republican Party.