Historical Note

When I wrote my column on the Trent Lott controversy last week, I intended to include a link to the Dixiecrat platform of 1948. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a copy online.

Thanks to The Smoking Gun, I can link to it now.

Question: Why was this platform adopted in Oklahoma City? The Dixiecrats weren't even on the ballot in Oklahoma. And the Democratic convention they walked out on took place in Philadelphia. Any political historians out there with an answer?

UPDATE: So it turns out the reason is pretty simple: This isn't the national Dixiecrat platform. It is, as the Smoking Gun page has been revised to explain, the platform of "the Oklahoma branch," which presumably cooked up a document of its own while it should have been trying to get onto the ballot.

Comments

[Chrees]

I'm not sure why the Oklahoma City address or why the election committee was based there. My (dim) memory of history tells me the actual convention was held in Birmingham, Alabama just a few days after the Philadelphia walkout. Maybe the platform and nomination was drafted in Oklahoma by these individuals and presented in Birmingham?

Thanks for pointing that out. Would love to find out more.