Maggie's Farm

GoneWithTheWind: The mistake the writers and producers made was showing the war from the point of view of the South.

It's an idealization that minimizes the impact of slavery on all aspects of society. One interesting scene is the men returning from a KKK meeting, though they minimized the impact compared to the book. Here's from the scene when they are returning from a "political meeting":


It's probably the best movie that depicts the KKK as the good guys since Birth of a Nation.

mudbug: "For more than 200 years, our party has led the fight for civil rights..."

The roots of the Democratic Party are in the Democratic-Republican Party of Jefferson. Even though he was a slaveowner, Jefferson arguably made significant contributions to civil rights, including for his part in the American Revolution and as writer of the Declaration of Independence.

mudbug: Jefferson set the predicate for the end of slavery.

True (in large part).

mudbug: He created the Democratic-Republican Party.

True (in part — one person doesn't make a party).

mudbug: The modern Democratic Party arose in the 1830s out of factions from the largely disbanded Democratic-Republican Party.

True.

mudbug: It was formed by Jackson, who was also a slave owner, used the Indians when he wanted their help and then took their land.

True. Jackson was also part of a movement that largely eliminated property as a requirement for voting, extending the franchise to the "common man", called Jacksonian Democracy.

mudbug: From its inception it was the pro slavery party.

True, though the Jacksonian era was characterized by the attempt to avoid the politics of slavery.

mudbug: Democrats filibustered every civil rights laws Republicans wrote - including the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Largely true. Some bills were stopped by other parliamentary procedures.

mudbug: After blacks were given the vote (by Republicans), Democrats took it away after Reconstruction.

True, in the South at least.

mudbug: Democrats started the KKK to terrorize blacks and Republicans.

Largely true.

mudbug: As you mentioned, the KKK was lionized in the movie, Birth of a Nation, which was previewed in the White House by a Democrat president.

True. All the "good" people in Birth of a Nation were Democrats. In Gone With the Wind, nearly every character from the South was a Democrat, except Rhett Butler, who seemed to get along a little too well with Republicans.

mudbug: A Democratic president signed Women's Suffrage but it was a Republican bill and he had little choice but to sign it.

Of course he had a choice, but there was significant political pressure. The time had come.

mudbug: Democrats interned Japanese American citizens, taking their land and possessions.

Much of the pressure for internment came from Republicans, indeed from most political figures (Republican Ralph Carr was a notable exception), but it was Democrat FDR that signed the executive order.

mudbug: Democrats instituted Jim Crow laws and fought for segregation.

True.

mudbug: Can you name ONE piece of civil rights legislation Democrats initiated before 1964?

Sure. The extension of suffrage to the "common man" during the early 19th century, broadening participation in government and elections.

mudbug: A Democratic president signed Women's Suffrage but it was a Republican bill and he had little choice but to sign it.

To be clear, Wilson didn't sign the 19th Amendment, as the President is not a party to the Amendment process; however, he supported the effort in his 1918 State of the Union address, then after several failed attempts, he called a special session of Congress, leading to its passage.