Final answer:
The Democratic Party transformed from a party of limited government, state's rights, and racism to a party of strong government, national authority, and support for civil rights. This transformation can be traced back to the 1930s and 1940s when the party formed a coalition with diverse, low socio-economic status voters in northern and midwestern cities. However, the southern Democrats remained more conservative on racial matters. It was not until the civil rights movement in the 1960s that the Democratic Party started to embrace civil rights reform at the national level.
Step-by-step explanation:
The transformation of the Democratic Party from a party of limited government, state's rights, and racism to a party of strong government, national authority, and support for civil rights can be traced back to the 1930s and 1940s. During the Great Depression, the Democratic Party formed a coalition with low socio-economic status voters in northern and midwestern cities, which included diverse religious and ethnic groups. However, the southern United States remained largely dominated by Democratic politicians who were more conservative on racial matters. It was not until the 1960s, with the rise of the civil rights movement and the increasing prominence of social issues in national politics, that the Democratic Party started to embrace civil rights reform at the national level.
The rifts between northern and southern Democrats deepened as efforts to promote racial integration and social welfare at a national level threatened the southern Democrats' views on state sovereignty and social norms. Many southern Democrats began to shift their allegiance to the Republican Party, which shared their opposition to the growing encroachment of the national government on state and local matters. This shift was further solidified with the rise of the evangelical movement, which led many evangelical Christian voters away from the Democratic Party and towards the Republican Party in the 1980 presidential election.
The Democratic Party's transformation was also influenced by external factors, such as the changing political landscape after the Civil War and the role of the Republican Party as the party that freed the enslaved. The Republican Party initially dominated the South after the Civil War, but the Democrats regained control of the region after the removal of the Union army in 1877. The Democrats in the North and Midwest drew their support from labor unions and immigrants who viewed African Americans as competitors for jobs and government resources, not unlike their southern counterparts. It was not until the Great Depression that the Democratic Party started to actively include African Americans and other minorities in its coalition, although progress was initially limited to the state level.