Yellow+Dogs+and+Republicans+-+Allan+Shivers+and+Texas+Two+Party+Politics.

1000 Word Report

I want you to develop a topic for your 1000 word report around something related to this book about one the transitional figures of Texas politics in the 20th Century: Allen Shivers. The book is:

//Dobbs, Ricky F. Yellow Dogs and Republicans: Allan Shivers and Texas Two Party Politics. 2005. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.//

We have grown used to Texas being a "red state" meaning that state wide offices are dominated by candidates that run on the Republican Party ticket. But this has not always been the case. From the founding of the state throught the New Deal Texas was dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party was little more than a political club. Very few people were elected as Republicans. But things began to change in the 1930s and for a variety of reasons the Republican Party became more competitive.

One of the reasons was because certain political figures helped facilitate this change. One of these was Allen Shivers who served as governor in the state and despite being Democrat began working with national Republican Party figures like Dwight Eisenhower. The assigned book tells how he began to transition from a pro-labor Democrat to a pro-business Republican and helped set the stage for many Texans to begin the slow change from D to R from the 60s through the 90s and beyond.

Its a great work of history that also helps us understand how power flows within the state. Over the course of the semester, I want you to get familar with the story the book tells and develop a topic around one of its themes. It can be anything as long as it is tied to some aspect of the book's general theme. I'll help you along by asking occasional weekly written assignment questions about it.

Write at least 1000 words - you may go long if you wish, use at least 3 additional references and follow MLA formating.

And let me know if you have question. I'd like you to do a good job.