1956 United States presidential election in Alabama

The 1956 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. Alabama voters chose eleven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate, as in the other states.

Since the 1890s, Alabama had been effectively a one-party state ruled by the Democratic Party. Disenfranchisement of almost all African-Americans and a large proportion of poor whites via poll taxes, literacy tests and informal harassment had essentially eliminated opposition parties outside of Unionist Winston County and presidential campaigns in a few nearby northern hill counties. The only competitive statewide elections during this period were thus Democratic Party primaries — limited to white voters until the landmark court case of Smith v. Allwright, following which Alabama introduced the Boswell Amendment — ruled unconstitutional in Davis v. Schnell in 1949, although substantial increases in black voter registration would not occur until after the late 1960s Voting Rights Act.

Unlike other Deep South states, the state GOP would after disenfranchisement rapidly and permanently turn “lily-white”, with the last black delegates at any Republican National Convention serving in 1920. Nevertheless, Republicans only briefly gained from their hard lily-white policy by exceeding forty percent in three 1920 House of Representatives races, and in the 1928 presidential election when Senator James Thomas Heflin embarked on a nationwide speaking tour, partially funded by the Ku Klux Klan, against Roman Catholic Democratic nominee Al Smith, so that Republican Herbert Hoover lost by only seven thousand votes.

Following Smith, Alabama's loyalty to the national Democratic Party would be broken when Harry S. Truman, seeking a strategy to win the Cold War against the radically egalitarian rhetoric of Communism, launched the first Civil Rights bill since Reconstruction. Southern Democrats became enraged and for the 1948 presidential election, Alabama's Democratic presidential elector primary chose electors who were pledged to not vote for incumbent President Truman. Truman was entirely excluded from the Alabama ballot,Key, V.O. junior; Southern Politics in State and Nation; p. 340 and Alabama's electoral votes went to Strom Thurmond — labelled as the “Democratic” nominee — by a margin only slightly smaller than Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four victories. Despite this, in 1950 loyalists regained control of the ruling party and few would support Republican nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.

In the four ensuing years, Alabama’s ruling elite was jolted by the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which ruled unconstitutional the de jure segregated school system in the South. The state attempted to use the doctrine of “interposition” to place its sovereignty above the Court and maintain de jure segregation, although incumbent Governor Jim Folsom viewed the idea as futile despite signing the statutes. The state would also be affected by the Montgomery bus boycott, and as a result an independent elector slate, not pledged to any candidate, would be nominated.

Predictions SourceRankingAs ofThe Philadelphia InquirerOctober 26, 1956The Sunday StarOctober 28, 1956The Birmingham NewsNovember 4, 1956Chattanooga Daily TimesNovember 4, 1956

Results + General election resultsParty Pledged to Elector Votes Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II Jasse Brown280,844 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II J. E. Brantley280,549 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II H. Tom Cochran280,366 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II William M. Kelly Jr.280,159 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II Lawrence E. McNeil279,999 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II Ben F. Ray279,878 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II Wilma K. Butts279,811 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II Henry H. Sweet279,774 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II Wesley Winchell Acee Jr.279,542 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II W. F. Turner279,484 Democratic Party Adlai Stevenson II H. Floyd Sherrod279,398 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) William H. Albritton195,694 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) Herman E. Dean Jr.195,200 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) Charles H. Chapman Jr.195,175 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) Robert M. Guthrie195,012 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) Neil Morgan194,991 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) W. M. Russell194,898 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) George Stiefelmeyer194,708 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) I. L. Smith Jr.194,699 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) R. S. Cartledge194,687 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) Thomas G. McNaron194,629 Republican Party Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) George Witcher194,014 Independent Unpledged Thomas Bellsnyder Jr.20,323 Independent Unpledged Russell Carter20,279 Independent Unpledged Tom C. King20,271 Independent Unpledged M. L. Griffin20,210 Independent Unpledged Jack S. Riley20,149 Independent Unpledged Edwin T. Parker20,112 Independent Unpledged J. S. Payne20,111 Independent Unpledged John Frederick Duggar, III20,082 Independent Unpledged Joseph S. Mead20,081 Independent Unpledged John C. Eagerton, III20,027 Independent Unpledged Llewellyn Duggar19,971 Write-in Ace Carter8 Write-in Jim Sherrill2Total votes 496,871

Results by county CountyAdlai StevensonDemocraticDwight D. EisenhowerRepublicanUnpledged electorsIndependentMarginTotal votes cast # % # % # % # % Autauga 1,161 50.77% 857 37.47% 269 11.76% 304 13.30% 2,287 Baldwin 3,878 46.08% 4,293 51.02% 244 2.90% -415 -4.94% 8,415 Barbour 2,530 73.35% 777 22.53% 142 4.12% 1,753 50.82% 3,449 Bibb 1,471 56.97% 1,004 38.88% 107 4.14% 467 18.09% 2,582 Blount 3,208 54.17% 2,628 44.38% 86 1.45% 580 9.79% 5,922 Bullock 812 64.86% 304 24.28% 136 10.86% 508 40.58% 1,252 Butler 1,958 55.42% 1,324 37.48% 251 7.10% 634 17.94% 3,533 Calhoun 9,069 65.24% 4,473 32.18% 358 2.58% 4,596 33.06% 13,900 Chambers 5,165 76.67% 1,448 21.49% 124 1.84% 3,717 55.18% 6,737 Cherokee 2,661 75.75% 845 24.05% 7 0.20% 1,816 51.70% 3,513 Chilton 1,891 36.73% 3,139 60.98% 118 2.29% -1,248 -24.25% 5,148 Choctaw 1,250 70.26% 457 25.69% 72 4.05% 793 44.57% 1,779 Clarke 1,962 57.91% 1,246 36.78% 180 5.31% 716 21.13% 3,388 Clay 1,677 50.47% 1,597 48.06% 49 1.47% 80 2.41% 3,323 Cleburne 1,407 56.96% 1,056 42.75% 7 0.28% 351 14.21% 2,470 Coffee 4,163 79.02% 973 18.47% 132 2.51% 3,190 60.55% 5,268 Colbert 7,007 78.40% 1,819 20.35% 111 1.24% 5,188 58.05% 8,937 Conecuh 1,687 61.26% 885 32.14% 182 6.61% 802 29.12% 2,754 Coosa 1,411 56.01% 1,070 42.48% 38 1.51% 341 13.53% 2,519 Covington 4,887 65.25% 2,257 30.13% 346 4.62% 2,630 35.12% 7,490 Crenshaw 2,252 75.70% 567 19.06% 156 5.24% 1,685 56.64% 2,975 Cullman 5,510 55.49% 4,381 44.12% 38 0.38% 1,129 11.37% 9,929 Dale 2,318 62.45% 1,284 34.59% 110 2.96% 1,034 27.86% 3,712 Dallas 2,121 39.59% 2,324 43.37% 913 17.04% -203 -3.78% 5,358 DeKalb 5,768 50.30% 5,684 49.56% 16 0.14% 84 0.74% 11,468 Elmore 3,353 62.16% 1,619 30.01% 422 7.82% 1,734 32.15% 5,394 Escambia 3,437 64.86% 1,529 28.85% 333 6.28% 1,908 36.01% 5,299 Etowah 12,374 62.22% 7,198 36.20% 314 1.58% 5,176 26.02% 19,886 Fayette 1,956 49.80% 1,948 49.59% 24 0.61% 8 0.21% 3,928 Franklin 3,354 49.55% 3,399 50.21% 16 0.24% -45 -0.66% 6,769 Geneva 2,841 68.99% 1,179 28.63% 98 2.38% 1,662 40.36% 4,118 Greene 691 66.19% 309 29.60% 44 4.21% 382 36.59% 1,044 Hale 1,314 68.54% 504 26.29% 99 5.16% 810 42.25% 1,917 Henry 2,127 78.40% 429 15.81% 157 5.79% 1,698 62.59% 2,713 Houston 3,630 53.06% 2,632 38.47% 579 8.46% 998 14.59% 6,841 Jackson 4,758 71.58% 1,868 28.10% 21 0.32% 2,890 43.48% 6,647 Jefferson 38,604 44.11% 43,695 49.93% 5,214 5.96% -5,091 -5.82% 87,513 Lamar 2,501 73.58% 867 25.51% 31 0.91% 1,634 48.07% 3,399 Lauderdale 9,150 78.26% 2,458 21.02% 84 0.72% 6,692 57.24% 11,692 Lawrence 2,961 70.75% 1,197 28.60% 27 0.65% 1,764 42.15% 4,185 Lee 3,302 65.37% 1,586 31.40% 163 3.23% 1,716 33.97% 5,051 Limestone 4,145 87.26% 589 12.40% 16 0.34% 3,556 74.86% 4,750 Lowndes 623 52.27% 326 27.35% 243 20.39% 297 24.92% 1,192 Macon 1,024 46.69% 1,067 48.65% 102 4.65% -43 -1.96% 2,193 Madison 9,054 74.52% 2,993 24.63% 103 0.85% 6,061 49.89% 12,150 Marengo 1,858 60.88% 1,009 33.06% 185 6.06% 849 27.82% 3,052 Marion 2,849 52.67% 2,536 46.88% 24 0.44% 313 5.79% 5,409 Marshall 6,329 66.66% 3,071 32.34% 95 1.00% 3,258 34.32% 9,495 Mobile 17,163 43.41% 20,639 52.21% 1,732 4.38% -3,476 -8.80% 39,534 Monroe 2,069 69.95% 759 25.66% 130 4.39% 1,310 44.29% 2,958 Montgomery 6,890 36.57% 8,727 46.32% 3,224 17.11% -1,837 -9.75% 18,841 Morgan 7,671 70.56% 2,974 27.35% 227 2.09% 4,697 43.21% 10,872 Perry 974 53.75% 613 33.83% 225 12.42% 361 19.92% 1,812 Pickens 1,660 58.78% 993 35.16% 171 6.06% 667 23.62% 2,824 Pike 2,631 68.53% 997 25.97% 211 5.50% 1,634 42.56% 3,839 Randolph 3,151 66.18% 1,584 33.27% 26 0.55% 1,567 32.91% 4,761 Russell 3,060 68.32% 1,265 28.24% 154 3.44% 1,795 40.08% 4,479 Shelby 2,502 44.83% 2,901 51.98% 178 3.19% -399 -7.15% 5,581 St. Clair 2,420 48.64% 2,441 49.07% 114 2.29% -21 -0.43% 4,975 Sumter 981 58.71% 578 34.59% 112 6.70% 403 24.12% 1,671 Talladega 5,243 54.63% 4,197 43.73% 157 1.64% 1,046 10.90% 9,597 Tallapoosa 5,070 72.00% 1,879 26.68% 93 1.32% 3,191 45.32% 7,042 Tuscaloosa 8,186 59.33% 4,994 36.19% 618 4.48% 3,192 23.14% 13,798 Walker 7,661 59.30% 5,179 40.09% 79 0.61% 2,482 19.21% 12,919 Washington 1,705 66.37% 777 30.25% 87 3.39% 928 36.12% 2,569 Wilcox 778 52.78% 499 33.85% 197 13.36% 279 18.93% 1,474Winston 1,570 34.35% 2,998 65.60% 2 0.04% -1,428 -31.25% 4,570Totals280,84456.52%195,69439.39%20,3234.09%85,15017.13%496,871

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Baldwin Franklin Jefferson Macon Mobile Montgomery St. Clair Shelby

Analysis As expected by the polls, Alabama voted for the Democratic nominees Adlai Stevenson II and running mate Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, with 56.52 percent of the popular vote against Republican nominees incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon, with 39.39 percent. Eisenhower's performance was nonetheless the second-best by a Republican in Alabama since 1884, when many blacks were still enfranchised, while Stevenson declined by eight percent compared to his 1952 performance. Eisenhower's main gains were in upper- and middle-class urban areas, where wealthier whites aligned strongly with GOP economic policies.Phillips. The Emerging Republican Majority pp. 221-222 The unpledged slate had little support and consequently did not make the impact it did in South Carolina, Mississippi or Louisiana, cracking twenty percent only in Lowndes County.

Stevenson received ten of Alabama's eleven electoral votes; the eleventh was cast by a faithless elector for Walter B. Jones.

, this is the last election in which Macon County voted for a Republican nominee, and the only election since 1872 the majority-black county has voted Republican. It is also the last time Houston County voted for a Democratic nominee,Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016. and the last time that the state has supported a losing Democratic nominee or that a Republican won two terms without ever carrying the state.

See also United States presidential elections in Alabama

Notes

References