History of the Black Vote
May 1, 2008 12:44 PM Subscribe
I want to know which party African Americans have voted for in every election (that they have been able to vote in) since 1865. Where can I find this?
I'm doing something of a personal research project, and I want to see which presidential candidate has won the black vote in every election that there has been a black vote (I would presume that would be sometime in the late 1800s). I've tried some Google searches but haven't found anything. Help!
I'm doing something of a personal research project, and I want to see which presidential candidate has won the black vote in every election that there has been a black vote (I would presume that would be sometime in the late 1800s). I've tried some Google searches but haven't found anything. Help!
I would think he means who won the majority of black voters. Which is a perfectly valid question, if poorly worded.
posted by rooftop secrets at 12:55 PM on May 1, 2008
posted by rooftop secrets at 12:55 PM on May 1, 2008
Response by poster: Yes, perhaps the wording wasn't ideal.
By winning the black vote I mean getting the majority of the vote.
I know that prior to the 1930s the Republican party (the party of Lincoln) tended to get the majority, and after the 1930s (the New Deal) Democrats have gotten a fairly massive percentage of the vote (often in the 80s), but I'd like the statistics for each individual election.
posted by Autarky at 1:01 PM on May 1, 2008
By winning the black vote I mean getting the majority of the vote.
I know that prior to the 1930s the Republican party (the party of Lincoln) tended to get the majority, and after the 1930s (the New Deal) Democrats have gotten a fairly massive percentage of the vote (often in the 80s), but I'd like the statistics for each individual election.
posted by Autarky at 1:01 PM on May 1, 2008
Best answer: I would be surprised if you could get that information in an easily digestible form from before the advent of systematic survey research between WW1 and WW2. Actual votes of individuals aren't recorded anywhere (except their diaries, etc).
In principle, you could look at presidential vote by precinct in precincts that are essentially all black, if you don't mind a little ecological fallacy. But I suspect that this is more work than you want to do.
There are books about this. No idea whether that one is any good, or whether it makes any use of quantitative data.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:12 PM on May 1, 2008
In principle, you could look at presidential vote by precinct in precincts that are essentially all black, if you don't mind a little ecological fallacy. But I suspect that this is more work than you want to do.
There are books about this. No idea whether that one is any good, or whether it makes any use of quantitative data.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:12 PM on May 1, 2008
I forgot to add: to do the second paragraph, you might have to generate precinct-level race data from census blocks.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:13 PM on May 1, 2008
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:13 PM on May 1, 2008
Best answer: What you are looking for may not exist, as the phenomena of exit polling is relatively recent.
>This book has tables with district level data from the period of strongest change, 1932 - 1940.
--Chris
posted by Maastrictian at 1:39 PM on May 1, 2008
>This book has tables with district level data from the period of strongest change, 1932 - 1940.
--Chris
posted by Maastrictian at 1:39 PM on May 1, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
You are aware that African-Americans don't necessarily vote as a bloc, yes?
posted by TheNewWazoo at 12:53 PM on May 1, 2008