From the WSJ Opinion Archives
Monday, December 24, 2007
I find myself forced to defend Republicans from the charge that they are the party of racism. I published a book that went into great detail about the Democratic Party's long and ugly history of racism, "Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past."
Below is a brief summary in the form of
quotations by prominent Democrats throughout history making extraordinarily
racist statements that were ugly even in their time. I was careful to ensure
that the people I quoted were genuine leaders of the Democratic Party and not
isolated kooks. The primary sources are
documented in my book.
__________________
Blacks "are
inferior to the whites in the endowments of both of body and mind."
--Thomas Jefferson, 1787
Co-founder of the Democratic Party (along with Andrew Jackson)
President, 1801-09
Co-founder of the Democratic Party (along with Andrew Jackson)
President, 1801-09
"I hold that the present
state of civilization, where two races of different origin, and distinguished
by color, and other physical differences, as well as intellectual, are brought
together, the relation now existing in the slaveholding states between the two,
is, instead of an evil, a good--a positive good."
--Sen. John C. Calhoun (D., S.C.), 1837
Vice President, 1825-32
His statue stands in the U.S. Capitol.
Vice President, 1825-32
His statue stands in the U.S. Capitol.
If blacks were given the
right to vote, that would "place every splay-footed, bandy-shanked,
hump-backed, thick-lipped, flat-nosed, woolly-headed, ebon-colored Negro in the
country upon an equality with the poor white man."
--Rep. Andrew Johnson, (D., Tenn.), 1844
President, 1865-69
President, 1865-69
"Resolved, That the
Democratic Party will resist all attempts at renewing, in Congress or out of
it, the agitation of the slavery question, under whatever shape or color the
attempt may be made."
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1852
Blacks are "a
subordinate and inferior class of beings who had been subjugated by the
dominant race."
--Chief Justice Roger Taney, Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1856
Appointed Attorney General by Andrew Jackson in 1831
Appointed Secretary of the Treasury by Andrew Jackson in 1833
Appointed to the Supreme Court by Andrew Jackson in 1836
Appointed Attorney General by Andrew Jackson in 1831
Appointed Secretary of the Treasury by Andrew Jackson in 1833
Appointed to the Supreme Court by Andrew Jackson in 1836
"Resolved, That
claiming fellowship with, and desiring the co-operation of all who regard the
preservation of the Union under the Constitution as the paramount issue--and
repudiating all sectional parties and platforms concerning domestic slavery,
which seek to embroil the States and incite to treason and armed resistance to
law in the Territories; and whose avowed purposes, if consummated, must end in
civil war and disunion, the American Democracy recognize and adopt the
principles contained in the organic laws establishing the Territories of Kansas
and Nebraska as embodying the only sound and safe solution of the 'slavery
question' upon which the great national idea of the people of this whole
country can repose in its determined conservatism of the
Union--NON-INTERFERENCE BY CONGRESS WITH SLAVERY IN STATE AND TERRITORY, OR IN
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" (emphasis in original).
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1856
"I hold that a
Negro is not and never ought to be a citizen of the United States. I hold that
this government was made on the white basis; made by the white men, for the
benefit of white men and their posterity forever, and should be administered by
white men and none others."
--Sen. Stephen A. Douglas (D., Ill.), 1858
Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, 1860
Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, 1860
"Resolved, That the
enactments of the State Legislatures to defeat the faithful execution of the
Fugitive Slave Law, are hostile in character, subversive of the Constitution,
and revolutionary in their effect."
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1860
"The Almighty has
fixed the distinction of the races; the Almighty has made the black man
inferior, and, sir, by no legislation, by no military power, can you wipe out
this distinction."
--Rep. Fernando Wood (D., N.Y.), 1865
Mayor of New York City, 1855-58, 1860-62
Mayor of New York City, 1855-58, 1860-62
"My fellow
citizens, I have said that the contest before us was one for the restoration of
our government; it is also one for the restoration of our race. It is to
prevent the people of our race from being exiled from their homes--exiled from
the government which they formed and created for themselves and for their
children, and to prevent them from being driven out of the country or trodden
under foot by an inferior and barbarous race."
--Francis P. Blair Jr., accepting the Democratic nomination for
Vice President, 1868
Democratic Senator from Missouri, 1869-72His statue stands in the U.S. Capitol.
Democratic Senator from Missouri, 1869-72His statue stands in the U.S. Capitol.
"Instead of
restoring the Union, it [the Republican Party] has, so far as in its power,
dissolved it, and subjected ten states, in time of profound peace, to military
despotism and Negro supremacy."
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1868
"While the tendency
of the white race is upward, the tendency of the colored race is
downward."
--Sen. Thomas Hendricks (D., Ind.), 1869
Democratic nominee for Vice President, 1876
Vice President, 1885
Democratic nominee for Vice President, 1876
Vice President, 1885
"We, the delegates
of the Democratic party of the United States . . . demand such
modification of the treaty with the Chinese Empire, or such legislation within
constitutional limitations, as shall prevent further importation or immigration
of the Mongolian race."
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1876
"No more Chinese
immigration, except for travel, education, and foreign commerce, and that even
carefully guarded."
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1880
"American
civilization demands that against the immigration or importation of Mongolians
to these shores our gates be closed."
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1884
"We favor the
continuance and strict enforcement of the Chinese exclusion law, and its
application to the same classes of all Asiatic races."
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1900
"The repeal of the
fifteenth amendment, one of the greatest blunders and therefore one of the
greatest crimes in political history, is a consummation to be devoutly wished
for."
--Rep. John Sharpe Williams (D., Miss.), 1903
House Minority Leader, 1903-08
House Minority Leader, 1903-08
"Republicanism
means Negro equality, while the Democratic Party means that the white man is
supreme. That is why we Southerners are all Democrats."
--Sen. Ben Tillman (D., S.C.), 1906
Chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs, 1913-19
Chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs, 1913-19
"We are opposed to
the admission of Asiatic immigrants who can not be amalgamated with our
population, or whose presence among us would raise a race issue and involve us
in diplomatic controversies with Oriental powers."
--Platform of the Democratic Party, 1908
"I am opposed to
the practice of having colored policemen in the District [of Columbia]. It is a
source of danger by constantly engendering racial friction, and is offensive to
thousands of Southern white people who make their homes here."
--Sen. Hoke Smith (D., Ga.), 1912
Appointed Secretary of the Interior by Grover Cleveland in 1893
Appointed Secretary of the Interior by Grover Cleveland in 1893
"The South is
serious with regard to its attitude to the Negro in politics. The South
understands this subject, and its policy is unalterable and uncompromising. We
desire no concessions. We seek no sops. We grasp no shadows on this subject. We
take no risks. We abhor a Northern policy of catering to the Negro in politics
just as we abhor a Northern policy of social equality."
--Josephus Daniels, editor, Raleigh News & Observer, 1912
Appointed Secretary of the Navy by Woodrow Wilson in 1913
Appointed Ambassador to Mexico by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933
USS Josephus Daniels named for him by the Johnson Administration in 1965
Appointed Secretary of the Navy by Woodrow Wilson in 1913
Appointed Ambassador to Mexico by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933
USS Josephus Daniels named for him by the Johnson Administration in 1965
"The Negro as a
race, in all the ages of the world, has never shown sustained power of
self-development. He is not endowed with the creative faculty. . . .
He has never created for himself any civilization. . . . He has never
had any civilization except that which has been inculcated by a superior race.
And it is a lamentable fact that his civilization lasts only so long as he is
in the hands of the white man who inculcates it. When left to himself he has
universally gone back to the barbarism of the jungle."
--Sen. James Vardaman (D., Miss.), 1914
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 1913-19
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 1913-19
"This is a white
man's country, and will always remain a white man's country."
--Rep. James F. Byrnes (D., S.C.), 1919
Appointed to the Supreme Court by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941
Appointed Secretary of State by Harry S. Truman in 1945
Appointed to the Supreme Court by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941
Appointed Secretary of State by Harry S. Truman in 1945
"Slavery among the
whites was an improvement over independence in Africa. The very progress that
the blacks have made, when--and only when--brought into contact with the
whites, ought to be a sufficient argument in support of white supremacy--it
ought to be sufficient to convince even the blacks themselves."
--William Jennings Bryan, 1923
Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, 1896, 1900 and 1908
Appointed Secretary of State by Woodrow Wilson in 1913
His statue stands in the U.S. Capitol.
Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, 1896, 1900 and 1908
Appointed Secretary of State by Woodrow Wilson in 1913
His statue stands in the U.S. Capitol.
"Anyone who has
traveled to the Far East knows that the mingling of Asiatic blood with European
or American blood produces, in nine cases out of ten, the most unfortunate
results. . . . The argument works both ways. I know a great many
cultivated, highly educated and delightful Japanese. They have all told me that
they would feel the same repugnance and objection to have thousands of
Americans settle in Japan and intermarry with the Japanese as I would feel in
having large numbers of Japanese coming over here and intermarry with the
American population. In this question, then, of Japanese exclusion from the
United States it is necessary only to advance the true reason--the
undesirability of mixing the blood of the two peoples. . . . The
Japanese people and the American people are both opposed to intermarriage of
the two races--there can be no quarrel there."
--Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1925
President, 1933-45
President, 1933-45
"This passport
which you have given me is a symbol to me of the passport which you have given
me before. I do not feel that it would be out of place to state to you here on
this occasion that I know that without the support of the members of this
organization I would not have been called, even by my enemies, the 'Junior
Senator from Alabama.' "
--Hugo Black, accepting a life membership in the Ku Klux Klan upon
his election to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat from Alabama, 1926
Appointed to the Supreme Court by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937
Appointed to the Supreme Court by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937
"Mr. President, the
crime of lynching . . . is not of sufficient importance to justify
this legislation."
--Sen. Claude Pepper (D., Fla.), 1938
Spoken while engaged in a six-hour speech against the antilynching bill
Spoken while engaged in a six-hour speech against the antilynching bill
"I am a former
Kleagle [recruiter] of the Ku Klux Klan in Raleigh County. . . . The
Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here
in West Virginia. It is necessary that the order be promoted immediately and in
every state in the union."
--Robert C. Byrd, 1946
Democratic Senator from West Virginia, 1959-present
Senate Majority Leader, 1977-80 and 1987-88
Senate President Pro Tempore, 1989-95, 2001-03, 2007-present
His portrait stands in the U.S. Capitol.
Democratic Senator from West Virginia, 1959-present
Senate Majority Leader, 1977-80 and 1987-88
Senate President Pro Tempore, 1989-95, 2001-03, 2007-present
His portrait stands in the U.S. Capitol.
President Truman's civil
rights program "is a farce and a sham--an effort to set up a police state
in the guise of liberty. I am opposed to that program. I have voted against the
so-called poll tax repeal bill. . .. I have voted against the
so-called anti-lynching bill."
--Rep. Lyndon B. Johnson (D., Texas), 1948
U.S. Senator, 1949-61
Senate Majority Leader, 1955-61
President, 1963-69
U.S. Senator, 1949-61
Senate Majority Leader, 1955-61
President, 1963-69
"There is no
warrant for the curious notion that Christianity favors the involuntary
commingling of the races in social institutions. Although He knew both Jews and
Samaritans and the relations existing between them, Christ did not advocate
that courts or legislative bodies should compel them to mix socially against
their will."
--Sen. Sam Ervin (D., N.C.), 1955
Chairman, Committee on Government Operations, 1971-75
Chairman, Committee on Government Operations, 1971-75
"The decline and
fall of the Roman empire came after years of intermarriage with other races.
Spain was toppled as a world power as a result of the amalgamation of the
races. . . . Certainly history shows that nations composed of a
mongrel race lose their strength and become weak, lazy and indifferent."
--Herman E. Talmadge, 1955
Democratic Senator from Georgia, 1957-81
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, 1971-81
Democratic Senator from Georgia, 1957-81
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, 1971-81
"These Negroes,
they're getting pretty uppity these days and that's a problem for us since
they've got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up
their uppityness. Now we've got to do something about this, we've got to give
them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a
difference. For if we don't move at all, then their allies will line up against
us and there'll be no way of stopping them, we'll lose the filibuster and
there'll be no way of putting a brake on all sorts of wild legislation. It'll
be Reconstruction all over again."
--Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (D., Texas), 1957
"I have never seen
very many white people who felt they were being imposed upon or being subjected
to any second-class citizenship if they were directed to a waiting room or to
any other public facility to wait or to eat with other white people. Only the Negroes,
of all the races which are in this land, publicly proclaim they are being
mistreated, imposed upon, and declared second-class citizens because they must
go to public facilities with members of their own race."
--Sen. Richard B. Russell Jr. (D., Ga.), 1961
The Russell Senate Office Building is named for him.
The Russell Senate Office Building is named for him.
"I did not lie
awake at night worrying about the problems of Negroes."
--Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, 1961
Kennedy later authorized wiretapping the phones and bugging the hotel rooms of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Kennedy later authorized wiretapping the phones and bugging the hotel rooms of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"I'm not going to
use the federal government's authority deliberately to circumvent the natural
inclination of people to live in ethnically homogeneous neighborhoods.
. . . I have nothing against a community that's made up of people who
are Polish or Czechoslovakian or French-Canadian or blacks who are trying to
maintain the ethnic purity of their neighborhoods."
--Jimmy Carter, 1976
President, 1977-81
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, 2002
President, 1977-81
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, 2002
"The Confederate
Memorial has had a special place in my life for many years. . . .
There were many, many times that I found myself drawn to this deeply inspiring
memorial, to contemplate the sacrifices of others, several of whom were my
ancestors, whose enormous suffering and collective gallantry are to this day
still misunderstood by most Americans."
--James Webb, 1990
Now a Democratic Senator from Virginia
Now a Democratic Senator from Virginia
"Everybody likes to
go to Geneva. I used to do it for the Law of the Sea conferences and you'd find
these potentates from down in Africa, you know, rather than eating each other,
they'd just come up and get a good square meal in Geneva."
--Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D., S.C.) 1993
Chairman, Commerce Committee, 1987-95 and 2001-03
Candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, 1984
Chairman, Commerce Committee, 1987-95 and 2001-03
Candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, 1984
"I do not think it
is an exaggeration at all to say to my friend from West Virginia [Sen. Robert
C. Byrd, a former Ku Klux Klan recruiter] that he would have been a great
senator at any moment. . . . He would have been right during the
great conflict of civil war in this nation."
--Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), 2004
Chairman, Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, 2008
Chairman, Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, 2008
- "You cannot go into a Dunkin' Donuts or a 7-Eleven
unless you have a slight Indian accent."
- "My state was a slave state. My state is a border
state. My state has the eighth largest black population in the country. My
state is anything [but] a Northeastern liberal state."
- "I mean, you got the first mainstream African
American [Barack Obama] who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice
looking guy."
- "There's less than 1% of the population of Iowa
that is African American. There is probably less than 4% or 5% that is,
are minorities. What is it in Washington? So look, it goes back to what
you start off with, what you're dealing with."
Sen. Joseph Biden Jr., (D., Del.), 2006-07
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, 1987-95
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations
Candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, 2008
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, 1987-95
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations
Candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, 2008
Bonus quote:
"It has of late
become the custom of the men of the South to speak with entire candor of the
settled and deliberate policy of suppressing the negro vote. They have been
forced to choose between a policy of manifest injustice toward the blacks and
the horrors of negro rule. They chose to disfranchise the negroes. That was
manifestly the lesser of two evils. . . . The Republican Party
committed a great public crime when it gave the right of suffrage to the
blacks. . . . So long as the Fifteenth Amendment stands, the menace
of the rule of the blacks will impend, and the safeguards against it must be
maintained."
--Editorial, "The Political Future of the South," New
York Times, (May 10, 1900)