White Citizens Parties were autonomous local parties (often county-based) 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 ...

, that served as the public face and often directly as what would today be considered Political Action Committees for

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

organizations like the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

. These groups flourished after

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

when the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

withdrew its troops from the South and 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 ...

regained control from Republicans. The Citizens Parties were pivotal in establishing and maintaining Jim Crow legislation at the local level. They offered coordinated support of Democrats through the one-party South until it began opposing

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

in the later 20th century. Over time, many of the parties were subsumed into the Democratic Party. While the term White Citizens Party is common, these groups were never a cohesive third party.

Local parties

Harrison County, Texas Harrison County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 68,839. The county seat is Marshall. The county was created in 1839 and organized in 1842. It is named for Jon ...

, which had been represented by African Americans in the state house, the Citizen's Party of Harrison County came to power as Democrats increasingly regained control after the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

ended and restored

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

. Jonathan D. Rudd was a leader in organizing the party.

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

had a Citizens Conservative Party. It sought the support of the German immigrant community to the Democratic Party cause.

End of Citizens Parties and segregation

The

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

overcame the system that supported the White Citizens Parties, and they have largely disappeared. Some survive under the name Citizens Party (no link with the Citizens Party of

Barry Commoner Barry Commoner (May 28, 1917 – September 30, 2012) was an American cellular biologist, college professor, and politician. He was a leading ecologist and among the founders of the modern environmental movement. He was the director of the ...

) or

Council of Conservative Citizens The Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC or CCC) is an American white supremacist organization. Founded in 1985, it advocates white nationalism, and supports some paleoconservative causes. In the organization's statement of principles, it st ...

, and occasionally field serious local candidates with positions to the right of their Republican and Democratic colleagues. By the late 20th century, conservative southern whites largely shifted into the Republican Party.

References

{{Reflist Neo-Confederate organizations Defunct political parties in the United States White nationalist parties

Local parties

End of Citizens Parties and segregation

See also

References