what issue in the 1960s caused a majority of southern voters to switch from supporting the democratic party to supporting the republican party
The issue in the 1960s that caused a majority of southern voters to switch from supporting the Democratic Party to supporting the Republican Party was the Civil Rights Movement.
Democratic Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson strongly supported civil rights legislation, which aimed to end racial segregation and provide equal rights to African Americans. The Democratic Party also played a significant role in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These measures faced strong opposition from southern Democrats, who were primarily segregationists and sought to maintain the racial hierarchy and Jim Crow laws in place.
As a result, many white southern voters who opposed civil rights legislation began to defect from the Democratic Party and shift their support to the Republican Party. Republican politicians, notably Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964, actively opposed the civil rights agenda and sought to appeal to white voters in the South who felt their interests were threatened by the push for equality.
This gradual shift of white southern voters to the Republican Party continued over the next decades and significantly transformed the political landscape in the region. By embracing a conservative platform and opposing civil rights and other progressive policies, the Republican Party saw a surge in support among white southern voters, leading to the eventual realignment of political loyalties in the South.