Evaluating the Decline of Southern Internationalism Through Senatorial Roll Call Votes

Abstract

IN RECENT YEARS many southern members of Congress, long regarded as the bulwark of internationalism, have begun to challenge some of the Administration's foreign policies. This has been evident in the increasing proportion of southern votes cast in Congress against these policies, particularly foreign aid and reciprocal trade. Although it is well recognized that southern attiltudes toward foreign policy are changing, little attention has been given to measuring the extenit and timing of this change or to distinguishing among the attitudes toward various foreign policies. A brief survey of roll calls can supply this information. In explaining the changes in southern views, observers have emphasized in varying degrees the growth of southern industralization, the election of a Republican Administration in 1952, and the success or failure of individual leaders in the Administration or Congress.' The student of Congressional affairs is cautious about accepting any single or simple explanation of a voting trend. The significant motivating factors are numerous and cannot be completely evaluated without a detailed study of roll calls, interviews with members of Congress, and surveys of public opinion and economic conditions in the South. Even with such comprehensive information, it would be a task of staggering proportions to trace the elusive factors underlying the votes of individual members of Congress over an extended period. Nevertheless, roll calls alone may provide important clues to legislative behavior and thought. Properly used and evaluated, roll call statistics constitute a rich source of political intelligence, which deserves the increasing attention it is receiving from political scientists. This study differs in purpose from most recent analyses of roll calls. It does not seek to test the utility of a particular