Popular name for a US Democrat in a Southern state opposed to desegregation. In 1948 the States’ Rights Democratic Party was founded by diehard Southern Democrats (“Dixiecrats”), opposed to President Truman’s renomination as Democratic candidate for President on account of his stand on civil rights (see civil rights acts). Its members wished each state to be able to nominate its own presidential candidate without losing the label “Democratic”. After Truman’s victory they abandoned their presidential efforts but continued to resist the civil rights programme in Congress. Many Dixiecrats moved to support the Republican Party in the 1960s and 1970s.