One America? : Presidential Appeals to Racial Resentment From LBJ to Trump

Despite major advancements in civil rights in the United States since the 1960s, racial inequality continues to persist in American society. While it may appear that presidents do not address the topic of race, it lurks in the background of presidential political speech across a range of issues, including welfare, crime, and American identity. Using a thorough approach that places textual analysis in a historical context, One America? asks what presidents say about race, how often they say it, and to whom they say it. Nathan Angelo demonstrates how presidents attempt to use rhetoric to compose a message that will resonate with the many groups that comprise the modern party system, but ultimately those alliances cause presidents to direct most of their speeches about race to an archetypical white, Middle-American swing voter, thereby restricting the issues and solutions that they discuss. While the American demographic profile is changing, rhetoric that links American identity with racially coded concepts and appeals to white voters' racial resentments has become ubiquitous. Angelo warns us about the possible repercussions of such tactics, noting that, while they may allow presidents to craft winning coalitions, their use continues to legitimate a system that ignores racial inequality. Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 14 Chapter 1 How Have Presidents Addressed Race since 1964?......Page 16 Method......Page 21 Long-Term Trends......Page 27 Presidential Rhetoric and the Rhetorical Presidency......Page 29 Does It Matter What the President Says?......Page 31 Untangling Race, Ethnicity, Whiteness, and National Identity......Page 38 When Did Presidents Start Talking about Ethnicity?......Page 42 Party and Strategy......Page 50 Limitations......Page 51 Outline of the Book......Page 53 Chapter 2 We’re One America: Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 Campaign and Richard Nixon’s 1972 Campaign......Page 56 Johnson, Civil Rights, and International Relations......Page 59 Going Public on Civil Rights......Page 62 The Presidential Campaign......Page 66 Economics, Race, and the South......Page 69 The Moynihan Report, the Culture of Poverty, and the Future of Civil Rights......Page 72 The Silent Majority and the Nixon Strategy......Page 77 One America and American Culture......Page 83 Welfare to Crime......Page 86 Welfare Rhetoric: Race and the Family......Page 87 Welfare in Uniondale, New York......Page 90 A Good Little Pro-Italian Talk......Page 91 Nixon’s Busing Appeals......Page 94 The Real Problem in the American Educational System......Page 99 From Whiteness and the World to Ethnicity and Resentment......Page 102 Chapter 3 Back to Basic Values: Ronald Reagan’s 1984 Campaign and George H. W. Bush’s 1988 Campaign......Page 106 A Brief History of Ronald Reagan, Welfare, and Political Campaigns......Page 107 Welfare and Work in 1984......Page 109 Reagan’s Not-So-Rainbow Coalition......Page 111 An Old Message for New Groups......Page 113 Reagan and Black Audiences......Page 117 The Reagan Economic Plan: Enterprise Zones......Page 119 The Reagan Economic Plan II: The Youth Opportunity Wage......Page 121 Ethnicity, Race, and Education......Page 122 The Willie Horton Ad......Page 129 The Bush Inaugural Address......Page 131 The Los Angeles Riots......Page 133 Welfare, Charles Murray, and the Riots......Page 136 No Longer an Issue of Legislation......Page 140 Adding New Elements......Page 142 Chapter 4 One America Redux: Clinton’s 1996 Campaign......Page 146 From 1992 to 1996......Page 148 Ethnic and Racial Diversity......Page 150 The End of Welfare as We Know It......Page 152 Stealing a Republican Issue: Clinton’s Rhetoric on Crime......Page 156 Black Church Burnings......Page 160 Educational Segregation......Page 162 Toward the Center with the Rhetoric of the Right......Page 164 Chapter 5 New Strategies for The Right? George W. Bush’s 2004 Campaign......Page 168 Expanding the Right Coalition in New Ways......Page 169 The Presence of Coded Rhetoric about American Identity......Page 172 The Three Elements of the Opportunity Society......Page 174 The Achievement Gap and No Child Left Behind......Page 175 The Ownership Society......Page 180 Terrorism, Immigrants, and Racial Rhetoric......Page 182 Arab Americans after 9/11......Page 185 Bush and Affirmative Action......Page 187 Republicans and Electoral Capture......Page 188 Chapter 6 An Old Message to Reach New Groups: Obama’s 2012 Campaign......Page 192 Race and the Obama Campaign......Page 194 Old Themes, New President, a Unifying Notion......Page 198 Immigration, Strategy, and Latino Identification......Page 200 A City on a Hill......Page 204 Taking a Stance on the Less Controversial Issues......Page 205 Race and the Obama Presidency......Page 207 Chapter 7 Strategy, Rhetoric, and the Future: Does it Matter What Presidents Say About Race and Ethnicity?......Page 208 Rhetoric, Public Opinion, and American Values......Page 209 Presidential Rhetoric and the Future of American Politics......Page 211 Epilogue Trump......Page 216 Notes......Page 232 Bibliography......Page 278 Index......Page 312 pt. 1. The matter of whiteness -- Richard Dyer Failing to see -- Harlon Dalton Representations of whiteness in the Black imagination -- bell hooks ; -- pt. 2. The history of white people -- Nell Irvin Painter The roots of racial classification -- Philip C. Wander, Judith N. Martin, and Thomas K. Nakayama How white people became white -- James E. Barrett and David Roediger How Jews became white folks -- Karen Brodkin Becoming Hispanic : Mexican Americans and whiteness -- Neil Foley The possessive investment in whiteness -- George Lipsitz Global white supremacy -- Charles W. Mills ; -- pt. 3. Making systems of privilege visible -- Stephanie M. Wildman with Adrienne D Davis Privilege as paradox -- Allan G. Johnson White privilege : unpacking the invisible knapsack -- Peggy McIntosh White privilege/White supremacy -- Robert Jensen Membership has its privileges : thoughts on acknowledging and challenging whiteness -- Tim Wise People of color talk is cheap -- Justin Podur -- pt. 4. Breaking the silence -- Beverly Tatum Confronting one's own racism -- Joe Feagin and Hernan Vera How white people can serve as allies to people of color in the struggle to end racism -- Paul Kivel. Paula S. Rothenberg has collected the classic core writings on white privilege and created a highly accessible, interdisciplinary resource meant to encourage deep discussions about race and unearned privilege in today's world and to initiate new thinking. Instead of focusing exclusively on the human cost of racism, this volume encourages us to explore the ways in which some people or groups actually benefit, deliberately or inadvertently, from institutionalized racism. The new third edition of White Privilege once again challenges readers to explore ideas for using the power and the concept of white privilege to help combat racism in their own lives, and includes key essays and articles by Peggy McIntosh, Richard Dyer, bell hooks, Robert Jensen, Allan G. Johnson, and others. Three additional essays add new levels of complexity to our understanding of the paradoxical nature of white privilege and the politics and economics that lie behind the social construction of whiteness, making White Privilege, Third Edition, an even better choice for educators. Described as vital, eye-opening, and powerful, White Privilege, Fourth Edition, remains essential reading for students and educators alike. Used in courses across disciplines and educational levels, this unique anthology expertly presents the significance and complexity of whiteness today and illuminates the nature of privilege and power in our society. Rothenberg's thoughtful four-part organization leads students through the ubiquity and corresponding invisibility of whiteness; the historical development of whiteness and its role in race relations throughout history; the real effects of privilege and its opposite, oppression; and finally, an exploration of how the system of privilege could be changed. The fourth edition continues to feature key articles and essays from such important scholars and writers as Peggy McIntosh, Richard Dyer, Beverly Tatum, bell hooks, Allan G. Johnson, and Tim Wise and includes new selections from Nell Irvin Painter, Robert Jensen, and Justin Podur