Yellow dog Democrat
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Yellow Dog Democrats is a political term that was applied to voters in the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
who voted solely for candidates who represented the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. The term originated in the late 19th century. These voters would allegedly "vote for a yellow
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
before they would vote for any
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
". Page 34 "We're pretty much yellow-dog Democrats here," said an Arkansan last week, explaining the state would vote Democratic even if the party nominates a "yellow dog.". The Republican party of Nebraska, when its nomination to a state office was equivalent to an election, boasted that it could run "a yellow dog" for Governor and beat the best and ablest Democrat named for that office. The term is now more generally applied to refer to any Democrat who will vote a straight party ticket under any circumstances. The
South Carolina Democratic Party The South Carolina Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. History The Democratic Party thrived during the Second Party System between 183 ...
and
Mississippi Democratic Party The Mississippi Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Mississippi. The party headquarters is located in Jackson, Mississippi. The party has members and County Executive Committees in all 82 counties of the st ...
, among other state parties, continue to use the phrase to refer to committed members of the Democratic Party in the "Yellow Dog Club". The phrase "yellow dog" may be a reference to a breed of dog known as the
Carolina Dog The Carolina dog, also known as a yellow dog, yaller dog, American Dingo, or Dixie Dingo, is a breed of medium-sized dog occasionally found feral in Southeastern United States, especially in isolated stretches of longleaf pines and cypress s ...
indigenous to the Americas, specifically the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, and not descended from Eurasian breeds.


History and usage

The phrase "Yellow Dog Democrat" is thought to have achieved popularity during the 1928 presidential race between Democratic candidate Al Smith and Republican candidate
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
, when Senator
J. Thomas Heflin James Thomas Heflin (April 9, 1869 – April 22, 1951), nicknamed "Cotton Tom", was an American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, United States representative and United States Senate, United States senator fro ...
(D-Alabama) crossed party lines and formally supported Hoover. Many Southern voters disliked several items on Smith's platform, as well as his Roman Catholic faith, but still voted for him. The term was also used by
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
in an 1848 speech on the presidential campaign of
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
, whose Democratic opponent was General Lewis Cass. Lincoln derided Cass as one of several recent Democratic presidential candidates in the mold of
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
by saying:
A fellow once advertised that he had made a discovery by which he could make a new man out of an old one, and have enough of the stuff left to make a little yellow dog. Just such a discovery has Gen. Jackson's popularity been to you emocrats You not only twice made President of him out of it, but you have had enough of the stuff left to make Presidents of several comparatively small men since; and it is your chief reliance now to make still another.
In the run-up to the
1892 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1892. {{TOC right Asia Japan * 1892 Japanese general election Europe Denmark * 1892 Danish Folketing election Portugal * 1892 Portuguese legislative election United Kingdom * 1892 Chelmsford by-elect ...
, African-American journalist C. H. J. Taylor of Kansas City, Kansas, in his paper '' The American Citizen'', used the term to refer to Republicans in the West who, he wrote, "would vote for a yellow dog out there if he was named Republican." In 1893, the ''Kansas City Journal'', a Republican paper, criticized "This thing of voting for 'yaller dogs', and expecting them to turn black-and-tan after the election," with reference to Missouri voters always voting for Democrats, then being surprised at their allegedly invariable corruption. In the 1900 Kentucky gubernatorial contest involving Kentucky Governor
William Goebel William Justus Goebel (January 4, 1856 – February 3, 1900) was an American Democratic politician who served as the 34th governor of Kentucky for four days in 1900, having been sworn in on his deathbed a day after being shot by an assassin. ...
, Theodore Hallam was criticized at a Democratic Party meeting for first supporting Goebel, then campaigning against him. The critic pointed out that Hallam earlier had said "if the Democrats of Kentucky, in convention assembled, nominated a yaller dog for governor you would vote for him" and asked "why do you now repudiate the nominee of that convention, the Honorable William Goebel?" Hallam responded:
"I admit," he stated blandly, "that I said then what I now repeat, namely, that when the Democratic Party of Kentucky, in convention assembled, sees fit in its wisdom to nominate a yaller dog for the governorship of this great state, I will support him—but lower than that ye shall not drag me!" Irvin S. Cobb, ''Exit Laughing'', Bobbs-Merrill, 1941.
There are indications that the term was in widespread and easily understandable use by 1923. In a letter written in Huntland,
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, by W. L. Moore of Kansas City,
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, on May 9, 1923, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Moore writes:
I am a Democrat from inheritance, from prejudice and principle, if the principle suits me. But I have passed the yaller dog degree.


See also

*
Blue Dog Coalition The Blue Dog Coalition (commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats) is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising centrist members from the Democratic Party. The caucus was founded as a group of conservative De ...
, a caucus of United States Congressional Representatives of the Democratic Party who identify as moderates or
fiscal conservatives Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., '' ...
*
Boll weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growin ...
, a
segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...
Southern Democrat (used in the mid- and late-20th century) *
Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cau ...
* Conservative Democrat * Factions in the Democratic Party *
Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...
* Straight-ticket voting


References


External links

* http://www.yellowdogdemocrat.com/history.htm * http://www.merrycoz.org/voices/bartlett/AMER10.HTM {{DEFAULTSORT:Yellow Dog Democrat Dogs in popular culture Factions in the Democratic Party (United States) Metaphors referring to dogs Political history of the United States Political terminology of the United States Politics of the Southern United States