WOMEN, BLACKS AND THE NEW-DEAL

Interestingly, two overlapping groups, the support of which were explicity sought by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, have provided disproportionate support for Democratic candidates over the past dozen years. These two groups were not even universally granted the franchise in the United States until the twentieth century. I argue that one time period when the two were most tightly bound was during the last realignment of the party system in the United States. This study examines the interactions of individuals such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune and Molly Dewson during this time period. The work also observes that the appearance of strong party organizations has been linked to advances in human rights.