Geographical Distribution of Political Parties

[Omega Point]

I was reading a book about the civil war, and it struck me that Lincoln was a republican and the secessionists (southerners) were democrats.

Today isn't it somewhat reversed? I know down south states are considered to be full of conservatives (republicans) and the north seems to have more democrats and liberals.

Am I wrong or something (I am NO history or politics expert!). If I'm not, how did the geograhpical distribution of political parties switch? Or have the definitions of the political parties changed, so that what was then a democrat would now be a conservative/republican?

 

[North King]

The second. Republicans used to be liberal, Democrats conservative. They switched about the FDR-LBJ timeperiod.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Why the switch?

 

[Kamilian]

they wanted variety. they felt like trying new things.
it's just as this one really blonde (hair color AND low IQ level, i mean) chick on Real World: San Diego said... "You have to change yourself to really know who you are"

 

[NeoDemocrat]

they wanted variety. they felt like trying new things.
it's just as this one really blonde (hair color AND low IQ level, i mean) chick on Real World: San Diego said... "You have to change yourself to really know who you are"

haha that was a great episode!

And yes, as Southerners supported Slavery they were considered to belong to the "old conservatice order" amongst other things. Also, the people down south tended to (as they do now) make up the Agrarian population of the US while the north were the city dwellers who saw no real need for slavery.