John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and the politics of ethnic incorporation and avoidance / Robert C. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Robert C. (Robert Charles), 1947-2023.

Series:

SUNY series in African American studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Minorities--Political activity--United States.

Minorities.

Minorities--Political activity.

Catholics--Political activity.

Catholics.

Irish Americans--Politics and government.

Irish Americans.

United States.

Political participation--United States.

Political participation.

Catholics--Political activity--United States.

African Americans--Politics and government.

African Americans.

Presidents--United States--Election--1960.

Presidents.

Presidents--United States--Election--2008.

Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.

Kennedy, John F.

Obama, Barack.

Physical Description:

xii, 254 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2013]

Summary:

Political analysts and journalists often draw analogies between John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic Irish president, and Barack Obama, the first African American president. Their election to the nation's highest office was historic, but for reasons not fully appreciated. In John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and the Politics of Ethnic Incorporation and Avoidance, Robert C. Smith provides a fascinating comparison of the challenges both men faced in their bid for the presidency, while at the same time providing comparative histories of the Catholic Irish and African American struggles to overcome racial and religious subordination in America. Kennedy's Catholicism was an explicit issue in the 1960 election, and once elected he was extremely careful to avoid appearing either "too Irish" or "too Catholic." While Obama's race was not an explicit issue in the 2008 election, he was just as careful to avoid appearing "too black." Paradoxically religion-thanks to rumors and lies about whether Obama was a Muslim-became a substitute for race, allowing Republican strategists to "otherize" Obama by raising the issue of religion in the context of national security and terrorism. Book jacket.

Contents:

Understanding ethnicity and ethnic incorporation in the United States

The subordination of Irish Catholics and African Americans

Identity, solidarity and culture : Irish Catholics and African Americans

Boston and Chicago and the rise of Kennedy and Obama

Ethnic men : the Al Smith and Jesse Jackson campaigns

The incorporation of the Catholic Irish, and the semi-incorporation of African Americans

Kennedy and Obama : charisma, character and ethnic identity

Religion and the election of 1960

Race and the election of 2008

The politics of ethnic avoidance in the Kennedy and Obama administrations.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781438445595

1438445598

OCLC:

787507860