Conservative Coalition

The Conservative coalition was a coalition in the U.S. Congress that brought together the majority of the Northern Republicans and a conservative, mostly Southern minority of the Democrats. The coalition battled the liberals of the New Deal Coalition and largely controlled Congress from 1937 to 1963. It continued as a potent force until the 1990s when the southern Democrats were replaced by southern Republicans. It no longer exists.

In its heyday, its most important Republican leader until his death in 1963 was Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio; Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen was the key Republican in the 1960s. The chief Democrats were Senator Richard Russell, Jr. of Georgia and Congressmen Howard W. Smith of Virginia and Carl Vinson of Georgia.

Between 1939 and 1963, the coalition was able to exercise virtual veto power over domestic legislation, and no major liberal legislation was passed during this entire quarter century. Harry Truman won reelection in 1948 and carried a Democratic Congress, but the only portion of his Fair Deal program that passed was cosponsored by Taft. Under Lyndon Johnson in 1963-65 liberals broke the power of the coalition by passing the Civil Rights Act, which was assisted by a newly-elected liberal Congress in 1964. Congress passed the liberal Great Society programs over the opposition of the coalition. However the coalition regained strength in the 1966 election, in the face of massive rioting in the cities, and the tearing apart of the Democratic New Deal coalition over issues of black power, liberalism, student radicalism and Vietnam. After 1994 the Republicans took control of most of the conservative southern districts, so the Southern Democratic part of the coalition evaporated.

Bibliography

• Caro, Robert A. The Years of Lyndon Johnson: vol 3: Master of the Senate (2002); highly detailed narrative of late 1950s
• Dierenfield, Bruce J. Keeper of the Rules: Congressman Howard W. Smith of Virginia (1987)
• Fite, Gilbert. Richard B. Russell, Jr, Senator from Georgia (2002)
• Goldsmith, John A. Colleagues: Richard B. Russell and His Apprentice, Lyndon B. Johnson. (1993)
• Hulsey, Byron C. Everett Dirksen and His Presidents: How a Senate Giant Shaped American Politics. (2000).
• MacNeil, Neil. Forge of Democracy: The House of Representatives (1963) online edition
• Malsberger, John W. From Obstruction to Moderation: The Transformation of Senate Conservatism, 1938-1952 2000
• Moore, John Robert. "The Conservative Coalition in the United States Senate, 1942-45." Journal of Southern History 1967 33(3): 369-376. in JSTOR statistical analysis of roll calls + * Moore, John Robert. "The Conservative Coalition in the United States Senate, 1942-45." Journal of Southern History 1967 33(3): 369-376. ISSN 0022-4642 Fulltext: Jstor, uses roll calls
• Nye, Mary Alice. "Conservative Coalition Support in the House of Representatives, 1963-1988," Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 2 (May, 1993), pp. 255-270 in JSTOR +
• Patterson, James T. "A Conservative Coalition Forms in Congress, 1933-1939," The Journal of American History, Vol. 52, No. 4. (Mar., 1966), pp. 757-772. in JSTOR
• Patterson, James. Congressional Conservatism and the New Deal: The Growth of the Conservative Coalition in Congress, 1933-39 (1967) online at ACLS e-books
• Patterson, James T. Mr. Republican: A Biography of Robert A. Taft (1972)
• Remini, Robert V. The House: The History of the House of Representatives (2006)
• Schapsmeier Edward L., and Frederick H. Schapsmeier. Dirksen of Illinois. (1985) the standard biography
• Schickler, Eric. Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress (2001)
• Shelley II, Mack C. "Presidents and the Conservative Coalition in the U. S. Congress," Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Feb., 1983), pp. 79-96 in JSTOR
• Shelley II, Mack C. The Permanent Majority: The Conservative Coalition in the United States Congress (1983)
• Rohde, David W. Parties and Leaders in the Postreform House (1991)
• Young, Roland. Congressional Politics in the Second World War (1956)