The anti-war protests held in the U.S. against the Vietnam War during the late 1960s and early 1970s had a more significant trajectory on American democracy than many realize. How people believed in this war, and how others opposed it, was used as a tool for political campaigning. During this time, diversity within the working-class, a “‘new working-class,’” was growing to recognize people of color and women (161). However, this shift in focus from the Democratic party meant the white, and majority male, working-class people felt neglected and even forgotten (162). Richard Nixon focused on appealing to this group of Americans, as this was a large demographic that felt unrepresented by many leaders in the U.S. Nixon used this as a political tactic, benefiting off of those who many considered as the “silent majority” (163). The persuasion from his campaign was not difficult. In fact, his administration “fanned the flames of polarization and [aimed to reap] its rewards” (162). When Nixon was in the presidential office, he cracked down on university campus protests and heavily surveillanced the protesters and their leaders (168). He also implemented “military agents” and had the CIA and FBI conducting heavy surveillance on these protest movements as well (169).
Similar with George Wallace, regardless of being a democratic party member, he fed into the divisive narrative of the white working-class being considered its own minority to advocate for—encouraging the “‘us,’ working class,” v.s. “them,” liberals and “protesters,” mentality (171). It can even be argued that Wallace paved the foundation of the white working-class division becoming “more class-specific” when he started to criticize those who were a part of a university or used these campus to hold protests (169). Wallace used his 1968 campaign as a platform to suggest that elites were looking down on ordinary people, dictating the working-class’s lives through bureaucratic policies and moral, libral superiority (171).
The fact that this group was referred to as the white working-class, shows the real underlining issue—racism. This issue of the white working-class pulling away from the working-class in its entirety went beyond a class divide, this was a racist, and even sexist, division within the same social class. Being a part of a marginalized group does not mean that all minorities and underrepresented groups advocate for one another; this divide is an example of this. What this division showed is that most white working-class people felt a hierarchical superiority. This is why associating a group with a political side can be difficult. The working-class are categorized as being aligned with democratic values, but white superiority was a view shared by many white people, regardless of political affiliation. Yes, marginalized advocacy happened more with democratic members, but even this white superiority was visible within the democratic party; Wallace and his support of pro-segregated spaces is an example of this.
The political realignment of white working-class voters moving away from the Democratic Party was not inevitable, but at the same time the party seemed to struggled in preventing it. As cultural shifts and social movements boomed in the late 1960s, many white workers felt increasingly alienated from a party that appeared more focused on antiwar protests, civil rights, and student activism than on their economic concerns. While many in the Democratic Party were trying to advocate for “‘hope’” toward the growing recognition of diversity within the working class, some in the Republican Party advocated more for the theme of “‘unity,’” which “quite obviously played into the politics of [class] division” (168). Because of this deep division and the creation of the “other” in opposition to the white working-class, the Democrats could never mend the image of having all working-class people united. Especially with a major focus shifting on supporting anti-war protests, many which were held on university campuses, this was easily used against the democratic party to create the image that they were not as supportive of the working-class as they claimed to be.
Will Wright 