Rueter (1995) provides a detailed look into the world of politics during the civil rights era. Rueter asserts that prior to the civil rights era, the Republican Party was not as effective in gaining rights for minorities compared to proposals made by the Democratic Party in the 1960's. He states that it was clear to minorities that the Democratic Party was more supportive of civil rights versus Republicans due to their lack of voting support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Because of this, Republicans were seen as being "against" minorities due to their lack of cooperation with the Democratic Party to end segregation and with President Johnson to allow equal voting rights (240-1). .
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 barred unequal application of voter registration requirements, outlawed discrimination in public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce, encouraged the desegregation of public schools and authorized the U. S. Attorney General to file suits to force desegregation, authorized the withdrawal of federal funds from programs which practiced discrimination, and outlawed discrimination in employment in any business (Loevy 1997, 211-3). According to Klarman (2004) the civil rights movement caused southerners to cling to the Republican Party and gave the Democratic Party more momentum to further support minority interests. .
The Republican Party's inability to quickly support the civil rights movement caused them to gain support of prejudice and anti-civil rights supporters though Republicans were actually pro-minority and supported civil rights. In sum, the Republican Party did not publicize themselves enough as being supportive of civil rights, nor were they as aggressive as the Democratic Party which contributed to the party's racial stigma (354-9). After the civil rights era, President Nixon was known as introducing a "Southern strategy" to win the 1968 presidential election.
