The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics

600 Pages·1995·39.325 MB·English

by  Dan T. Carter

GEORGE WALLACE, THE ORIGINS OF THE NEW
CONSERVATISM, AND THE
TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN POLITICS
mm
WINNER OF THE BANCROFT PRIZE
——
U.S. $30.00
Can. $40.00
"This vivid portrait ofGeorge Wallace not only
captures the passions ofan embattled era,
but taps into the pulse oftoday's headlines
and the continuing politics ofrage."
—
Ronald Steel
George Wallace has been called "the most influential
loser in American politics." The four-time Alabama
governorand four-time presidential candidate launchedthe
conservativepolitical movementthatputRonaldReaganin
the White House in 1980 and gave Newt Gingrich and the
Republicans control of the Congress in 1994. Historian
Dan T. Carter, prize-winning author of Scottsboro, builds
upon a decade of research to explain how Wallace tran-
scended his regional parochialism to become the voice of
the silent majority. Using newly available research materi-
als on the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations,
Carter describes in sharp detail Wallace's pivotal role in
shaping national politics from 1963 until the present.
George Wallace was the Deep South politician who
vowed "segregation forever," and first gave voice to a
national backlash against Washington. Through the 1960s
and 1970s, he sensed and then exploited the conservative
reaction Americans have come to know by many names
white backlash, the silent majority, the alienated voter
and he made a generation ofpoliticians dance to his tune.
As early as 1963, Wallace sensed a growing mood of
national discontent when he made his nationally televised
"stand in the schoolhouse door" at the University of
Alabama. Although he failedtoblock the admission oftwo
black students, and national opinion leaderscondemnedhis
defiance of the federal government, over 40,000 viewers
from across the nation flooded the Alabama governor's
office with congratulatory telegrams and letters.
Wallace first rocked the politicalestablishmentin 1964
when he entered the Wisconsin Democratic Primary with a
$700 campaign fund and a "Wallace for President" com-
mittee consisting of three John Birchers and a Milwaukee
[continuedOH hackflap)

Also by Dan T. Carter
TheAdaptable South (co-editor)
When the War Was Over: The Failure ofSelf-Reconstruction in the South,
1886-1867
Southern Women in the EducationalMovement ofthe South (co-editor)
Scottsboro: A Tragedy oftheAmerican South
The
POLITICS
of
RAfil
George Wallace, the Origins
New
of the Conservatism,
and the Transformation of
American Politics
Dan
Carter
T.
&
Simon Schuster
New York London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore
——
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Copyright © 1995 by DanT. Carter
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Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
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10
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carter, Dan T.
The politics ofrage George Wallace, the origins ofthe new
:
conservatism, and the transformation ofAmerican politics/ DanT.
Carter.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Wall—ace, George C. (George Co—rley), 1919- 2. Gov—ernors
Alabama Biogr—aphy. 3. Alab—ama Poli—tics andgovernment 1951
4. Con—servatism United States —History 20th century. 5. United
States Politics andgovernment 1945-1989- I. Title.
F330.3.W3C37 1995
976.106'092—dc20 95-31477
[B] CIP
ISBN 0-684-80916-8
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