Isn't it the case though that the Democrats got the minorities and the Republicans the New England elite throughout the entire 19th century?
In the Northeast, yes. The immigrants and urban poor voted Democratic, both because of boss control and because the Republicans supported nativist policies such as prohibition. The WASP elite voted Republican because they were hungry for higher tariffs, many of them being in high industry.
However, in the rest of the country this was reversed. In the old Confederacy, the Bourbon elite were staunchly Democratic and the poorest citizens- blacks and "white trash" Unionists- voted Republican. In the West, the prosperous merchants and business leaders were quite often Democrats, while their employees- identifying with Lincoln's ideal of the common man- voted Republican.
Wow, thats pretty interesting. I had no idea that poor whites in the south and west voted Republican while the wealthier ones voted Democrat.
Gustaf- also interesting... are you sure that's the case with every presidential election though? I'm wondering on 1904, 1920, 1924, 1928, and even 1932 with prohibition and FDR's balanced budget campaign promises.
Consider the 20s Republicans ties to big business and the corruption scandals. Also look at the demise of the Progressive Repbulicans.
