The History Guy
The History Guy
Lance and Josh Geiger
Counterfactuals: Smith v. Allwright and Civil Rights
1 hour 5 minutes Posted Aug 12, 2026 at 3:52 pm.
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Show notes
Welcome to the History Guy Podcast: Counterfactuals. What is a counterfactual? At it’s most basic, it is a ‘what if’. It’s a way of understanding history as it is by discussing what it could have been.

 Today we talk about a 1944 supreme court decision that fundamentally altered the American electorate and set the stage for civil rights victories that culminated in the Civil Rights Act: Smith v. Allwright.