[OT] Educate me, please, on 'Realignment'

[Anabstercorian]

Okay, I need to find the definition of 'realignment' in the context of the U.S. Government by this thursday evening for a school paper. If any of you can help get me started, I'd be very happy, because I've scoured my Government textbook and I can't find it in either index or glossary.

 

[Sir Whiskers]

Okay, I need to find the definition of 'realignment' in the context of the U.S. Government by this thursday evening for a school paper. If any of you can help get me started, I'd be very happy, because I've scoured my Government textbook and I can't find it in either index or glossary.

The only thing I can think of is the recent creation of the Dept of Homeland Security, which led to a realignment of some parts of the government, e.g., the Coast Guard.

 

[Anabstercorian]

Thank you muchly. How's this sound:

Realignment is the alteration of political bereaucracy following a change in political structure.

 

[ArcOfCorinth]

Hope I'm not too late to help...

Realignment in U.S. politics is when voters who traditionally vote for a certain party swap to another party. Some sort of political upheavel usually causes this. An example would be the Great Depression. The Republican Party absolutely dominated American politics in the years following the Civil War and Reconstruction. That came to an end when the depression hit and people grew irritated at Hoover's failure to alleviate their sufferings. Diehard Republicans abandoned their party and flocked to the Democrat party and elected Roosevelt. Aside from minor deviations, these voters stayed Democrat for the rest of their lives and ensured Democrat dominance through the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and into 1960s. That is realignment. Well, I hope. Its what's in my notes and its what I put on my political science test today. *nervous twitch*

 

[3d6]

ArcOfCorinth is correct.

 

[RangerWickett]

By the way, it's Bureaucracy.

 

[Sir Whiskers]

Hope I'm not too late to help...

Realignment in U.S. politics is when voters who traditionally vote for a certain party swap to another party. Some sort of political upheavel usually causes this. An example would be the Great Depression. The Republican Party absolutely dominated American politics in the years following the Civil War and Reconstruction. That came to an end when the depression hit and people grew irritated at Hoover's failure to alleviate their sufferings. Diehard Republicans abandoned their party and flocked to the Democrat party and elected Roosevelt. Aside from minor deviations, these voters stayed Democrat for the rest of their lives and ensured Democrat dominance through the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and into 1960s. That is realignment. Well, I hope. Its what's in my notes and its what I put on my political science test today. *nervous twitch*

This makes a lot more sense than my response. What confused me is that I have a Political Science degree, yet we never discussed this in any of my classes - of course the degree is older than many gamers who post on these boards...

 

[DM_Matt]

What Ace of Corinth said, but it usually refers to a catagory of voters (racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, etc.) who change affiliation.

For instance, in the US, blacks almost universally voted Republican until the middle of the 20th century, when they moved to almost universally voting Democratic.

 

[Anabstercorian]

You people all get +2 to Karma! I love you folks. ^_^ Thank you!

 

[Piratecat]

Wonderful.

If you're all set, I'll close this now since it's OT. Just email me if you aren't done and need it reopened.