 The Democrats returned to being the dominant power in the state by 1873 through an alliance with returned ex-Confederates, almost all of whom had been part of the pro-slavery anti-Benton wing of the Missouri Democratic Party prior to the Civil War.The reunified Democratic Party exploited themes of racial prejudice and their own version of the South's "Lost Cause", which portrayed Missourians as victims of Federal tyranny and outrages, and depicted Missouri Unionists and Republicans as traitors to the state and criminals.This capture of the historical narrative was largely successful, and secured control of the state for the Democratic Party through the 1950s.