Jay Cost gave an impressive talk on (you guessed it) “Race, Realignment, and the Election of 1948,” and posted it on Real Clear Politics. Like everything Cost does on RCP, this piece is quite good, and I encourage you to read it. I think he nails the significance of 1948 for the modern Democratic Party quite well.
I do, however, have one quibble. After quoting the following Truman statement in his 1948 State of the Union Address —
The United States has always had a deep concern for human rights. Religious freedom, free speech, and freedom of thought are cherished realities in our land. Any denial of human rights is a denial of the basic beliefs of democracy and of our regard for the worth of each individual.
Today, however, some of our citizens are still denied equal opportunity for education, for jobs and economic advancement, and for the expression of their views at the polls. Most serious of all, some are denied equal protection under the laws. Whether discrimination is based on race, or creed, or color, or land of origin, it is utterly contrary to American ideals of democracy.
— Cost states:
Taken today, this is pretty conventional. But in 1948, it was an extraordinary statement to make — particularly by a Democratic President looking to be reelected in just ten months.
Well, yes and no. It was indeed a dramatic statement for a Democratic candidate to make in 1948, since the Democrats had long been dependent on the loyalty of the solid (white) South. But today? The statement may now sound commonplace, but actual belief in it definitely is not.
If we define discrimination as treating some individuals better and others worse because of their race (and how else can it be defined?), then racial discrimination is still pervasive, the now “conventional” nature of Truman’s statement notwithstanding. I am referring, of course, to the policies and practices now described as “affirmative action” but that in practice depend upon preferential treatment based on race.
And the irony, or something, is that this new form of racial discrimination is supported most enthusiastically by the very political party that was in part created by, and now loudly applauds, Truman’s move away from the old forms of racial discrimination.
