Dixiecrat

[ dik-see-krat ]

noun

1. a member of a faction of southern Democrats stressing states' rights and opposed to the civil rights programs of the Democratic Party, especially a southern Democrat who bolted the party in 1948 and voted for the candidates of the States' Rights Democratic Party.

Other Words From

• Dixie·cratic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dixiecrat¹

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50; Dixie + (Demo)crat ( def )

Example Sentences

With then–Gov. Thurmond as their leader, the group broke off and created the Dixiecrat Party for the upcoming election.

From Slate

Thurmond’s disdain for integration and the pursuit of civil rights, he claimed, came from his intense belief in states’ rights, which became the foundation upon which he built his 1948 “Dixiecrat” presidential campaign.

From Slate

In 1948, Dixiecrat candidate Strom Thurmond, South Carolina’s governor, won 39 Deep South electoral votes opposing civil rights.

From Washington Post

Kruse dismantles the belief that Richard Nixon’s 1968 campaign invented the Southern Strategy by tracing it back to the Dixiecrat split with the Democrats in 1948.

From Washington Post

Ross Barnett, a Dixiecrat, forced poor and starving Mississippians to pay for federal food stamps, which they couldn’t afford.

From Washington Post