July 14, 1948
Segregationist Southerners, reacting to President Harry Truman’s civil rights program, walked out of the Democratic Party Convention and founded an independent States’ Rights Party, dedicated to preserving racial segregation. On this same day, the Democratic Party had adopted a strong civil rights plank for its platform, the first major political party to do so. The States’ Rights Party nominated South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond as its presidential candidate.
