Yellow dog Democrat

Yellow dog Democrat (English, German: Yellow Dog Democrat ) is an obsolete term used in American politics and refers to a voter who allegedly selected Democratic candidates in all circumstances.

Importance

The term was used primarily in the first half of the 20th century to denote unwavering core voters of the Democratic Party in the South, which would therefore also choose a yellow dog in an office as long as he is the Democratic candidate - or rather a yellow dog as a candidate of the Republicans.

In German, there is a similar phrase, parties could also " set up a broomstick, which would still dialed " in certain strongholds.

Origin of the term

Possible reference point of the term is a passage of a campaign speech of then Congressman and future President Abraham Lincoln. In 1848 he supported Zachary Taylor, the presidential candidate of the Whigs, to Democrat Lewis Cass and said that someone had once claimed that he had discovered how he could make from an old to a new human and from the resulting residual material still a little yellow dog. The same thing the Democrats have done with the popularity of General Andrew Jackson. You could have those done with it twice as President and it is then enough of it left to bring several comparatively lesser personalities to the presidency.

Popular, the term has been in the presidential campaign 1928. In this, the Democrats represented the Governor of New York, Al Smith, as candidates on. Smith was declared opponent of the popular in the southern states of alcohol prohibition and also the first Catholic who competed for his at that time dominated by the Protestant party south to the highest public office. A majority he won anyway against the Republican candidate Herbert Hoover next to Massachusetts and Rhode Iceland only in the southern states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Arkansas, underlining the notion of Solid South.

Further development

With the departure of the conservative Southern voters in the 1960s by the Democrats towards the Republicans got the term disuse.

The name was founded in 1994 Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democratic congressman ( " Blue Dog Democrats " ) takes with respect to the linguistic expression Yellow dog Democrats.