Replication Data for: Race, Trade, and the Demise of Southern Support for Multilateralism, 1945-62

Through the 1940s, Southern members of Congress strongly supported multilateralism in U.S. foreign policy, nearly unanimously backing the United Nations and other multilateral initiatives. By the end of the 1950s, though, many of them had turned against this institutional form. This shift bolstered domestic opposition to multilateralism, with lasting consequences for both U.S. foreign policy and world order. This paper assesses two complementary explanations for the change. First, changes in the region's economy made multilateral cooperation less valuable. Export-oriented agriculture, especially cotton, became less important. Labor-intensive industries, especially textiles and apparel, became more sensitive to international competition. Second, multilateral rules on human rights increasingly threatened Southern racial hierarchy. White supremacy provided material benefits to white elites through voter suppression, legal impunity, and labor-repressive agriculture that were much like those they derived from trade protection or access to foreign markets. Integrating the two explanations strengthens them both.