Yellow dog Democrat
Encyclopedia
Yellow Dog Democrats was a political term applied to voters in the Southern United States
who voted solely for Democratic candidates, with the term commencing in the late 19th century. Due to Republican president Abraham Lincoln
's leading the Union against the Confederacy
, these voters would allegedly "vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for any Republican". The term is now more generally applied to refer to any Democrat who will vote a straight Party ticket under any circumstances.
and Republican candidate Herbert Hoover
, when Senator J. Thomas Heflin (D-Alabama) crossed party lines to support Hoover.
The first known usage to date of “yaller dog” in relation to Democrats occurred in the 1900 Kentucky gubernatorial contest involving Kentucky Governor William Goebel
, who killed a man, exploited the split Democratic Party in Kentucky, and was assassinated in 1900—he was shot in the chest the day before being sworn into office, and died two days after taking the oath of office.
Theodore Hallam was criticised at a Democratic meeting for first supporting Goebel, then campaigning against him. The critic pointed out that Hallam earlier had said "if the Democrats of Kentucky, in convention assembled, nominated a yaller dog for governor you would vote for him" and asked "why do you now repudiate the nominee of that convention, the Honorable William Goebel?" Hallam responded:
There are indications that the term was in widespread and easily understandable use by 1923. In a letter written in Huntland, Tennessee by Mr. W. L. Moore of Kansas City, Missouri, on May 9, 1923, on the occasion of his 90th birthday and now a web-based genealogical document, Moore writes:
The term gained national prominence during the 1928 presidential campaign when many Southern voters disliked several items on Democratic candidate Al Smith
's platform, as well as his Catholicism, but voted for him regardless.
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
who voted solely for Democratic candidates, with the term commencing in the late 19th century. Due to Republican president Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's leading the Union against the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, these voters would allegedly "vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for any Republican". The term is now more generally applied to refer to any Democrat who will vote a straight Party ticket under any circumstances.
History and usage
The phrase "Yellow Dog Democrat" is thought to have achieved popularity during the 1928 Presidential race between the Democratic Al SmithAl Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
and Republican candidate Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, when Senator J. Thomas Heflin (D-Alabama) crossed party lines to support Hoover.
The first known usage to date of “yaller dog” in relation to Democrats occurred in the 1900 Kentucky gubernatorial contest involving Kentucky Governor William Goebel
William Goebel
William Justus Goebel was an American politician who served as the 34th Governor of Kentucky for a few days in 1900 after having been mortally wounded by an assassin the day before he was sworn in...
, who killed a man, exploited the split Democratic Party in Kentucky, and was assassinated in 1900—he was shot in the chest the day before being sworn into office, and died two days after taking the oath of office.
Theodore Hallam was criticised at a Democratic meeting for first supporting Goebel, then campaigning against him. The critic pointed out that Hallam earlier had said "if the Democrats of Kentucky, in convention assembled, nominated a yaller dog for governor you would vote for him" and asked "why do you now repudiate the nominee of that convention, the Honorable William Goebel?" Hallam responded:
"I admit," he stated blandly, "that I said then what I now repeat, namely, that when the Democratic party of Kentucky, in convention assembled, sees fit in its wisdom to nominate a yaller dog for the governorship of this great state, I will support him — but lower than that ye shall not drag me!"
There are indications that the term was in widespread and easily understandable use by 1923. In a letter written in Huntland, Tennessee by Mr. W. L. Moore of Kansas City, Missouri, on May 9, 1923, on the occasion of his 90th birthday and now a web-based genealogical document, Moore writes:
"I am a Democrat from inheritance, from prejudice and principle, if the principle suits me. But I have passed the yaller dog degree."
The term gained national prominence during the 1928 presidential campaign when many Southern voters disliked several items on Democratic candidate Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
's platform, as well as his Catholicism, but voted for him regardless.
See also
- Boll weevil (politics)Boll weevil (politics)Boll weevils was an American political term used in the mid- and late-20th century to describe conservative Southern Democrats.During and after the administration of Franklin D...
- Blue Dog Democrats, United States Congressional Representatives from the Democratic Party who identify themselves as moderates
- DixiecratDixiecratThe States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States in 1948...
- Swing voteSwing voteSwing vote is a term used to describe a vote that may go to any of a number of candidates in an election, or, in a two-party system, may go to either of the two dominant political parties...
- Solid SouthSolid SouthSolid South is the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
External links
- http://www.yellowdogdemocrat.com/history.htm
- http://www.merrycoz.org/voices/bartlett/AMER10.HTM
- http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/exitX16.htm
- http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~marisa/hrmoore.letter.html
- http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly55.htm