Final answer:
Match: 1) The Democratic Party focused on personal politics and voter relationships. 2) The Dixiecrat Party opposed civil rights reforms in the mid 20th century. 3) The Republican Party emerged in the 1850s, opposing the spread of slavery and favoring industrial growth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks for a matching of descriptions to political parties in the United States before 1960, namely the Republican Party, Dixiecrat Party, and the Democratic Party.
- Democratic Party: This party emphasized personal politics, focusing on relationships with voters, and was dominant from 1828, advocating for the common people, until regional tensions over issues like slavery caused fragmentation. Dominant in the South post-Civil War, its federal opposition to civil rights reforms caused the splinter group, the Dixiecrats, to emerge.
- Dixiecrat Party: Also known as the States' Rights Democrats, these were Southern Democrats who seceded from the Democratic Party due to their opposition to civil rights initiatives introduced by Harry Truman and others in the mid 20th century.
- Republican Party: Founded in the 1850s as a response to the expansion of slavery, they became the dominant national party following the Civil War, particularly promoting industrial growth and opposing the spread of slavery, which was a major divisive issue at the time.
These descriptions give us a glimpse into the evolutionary nature of the American political party system and how major issues such as slavery, civil rights, and industrial growth influenced their policies and positions.