One America? : presidential appeals to racial resentment from LBJ to Trump / Nathan Angelo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Angelo, Nathan, 1980- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States--Racial attitudes.

Presidents.

Rhetoric--Political aspects.

Communication in politics--Social aspects.

Communication in politics.

History.

Race relations.

United States.

Presidents--Racial attitudes.

United States--Race relations--Political aspects--History--20th century.

United States--Race relations--Political aspects--History--21st century.

Presidents--United States--Election--History--20th century.

Presidents--United States--Election--History--21st century.

Communication in politics--Social aspects--United States.

Rhetoric--Political aspects--United States.

Rhetoric.

Political oratory--United States.

Political oratory.

United States--Politics and government--1945-1989.

Politics and government.

United States--Politics and government--1989-.

Presidents--Election.

Race relations--Political aspects.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xiv, 304 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2019]

Summary:

Reveals how presidents deploy a rhetoric that attempts to attract many racial and ethnic groups, but ultimately directs itself to an archtypal white, Middle-American swing voter. 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. Nathan Angelo is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Worcester State University.

Contents:

How have presidents addressed race since 1964?

Outnumbered to one America : racial rhetoric in Lyndon Johnson's 1964 campaign and Richard Nixon's 1972 campaign

Back to basic values : Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign and George H.W. Bush's 1988 campaign

One America redux : Clinton's 1996 campaign

New strategies for the right? : George W. Bush's 2004 campaign

An old message to reach new groups : Obama's 2012 campaign

Strategy, rhetoric, and the future : does it matter what presidents say about race and ethnicity?

Epilogue : Trump.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781438471518

1438471513

OCLC:

1027725832