Remaking the Democratic Party

A continuation of Hanes Walton Jr.’s work on Southern Democraticpresidents, Remaking the Democratic Party analyzes the congressionaland presidential elections of Lyndon Baines Johnson. This study buildsupon the general theory of the native-son phenomenon to demonstratethat a Southern native-son can win the presidency without the localismevident in the elections of Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

Although ridiculed by contemporaries for his apparent lack of controlover formal party politics and the national committee, Johnson excelledat leading the Democratic Party’s policy agenda. While a senator andas president, Johnson advocated for—and secured—liberal socialwelfare and civil rights legislation, forcing the party to break with itsSouthern tradition of elitism, conservatism, and white supremacy. In away, Johnson set the terms for the continuing partisan battle because,by countering the Democrats’ new ideology, the Republican Party alsounderwent a transformation.