Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media Tip Sheets
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media Tip Sheets

Assistant Professor of Political Science Steven White Offers Perspective on Jan. 6 Events in Washington, D.C.

Friday, January 8, 2021, By News Staff
Share
facultyMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public AffairsNews Mediapolitics

Steven WhiteSteven White, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs who has studied Southern politics. White specializes in American politics, American political development, race and politics collectively.

White provided remarks regarding the events in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021:

“A pro-Trump mob—some carrying Confederate flags—breaking into the Capitol and stopping the Electoral College proceedings reflects longer-term trends in the Republican Party finally reaching a breaking point. The GOP has always been primarily the party of business interests, but since that’s not a large enough group to win elections, they always needed other coalition partners. In the 19th century, that coalition included Black voters, especially in the South. Indeed, for a long time, Southern whites were the most anti-Republican voters in the entire country.

That changed over the course of the 20th century. The New Deal expanded the Democratic Party’s fortunes in the North, turning it into the more politically liberal, multiracial party that we know today. As Black voters started changing their political affiliations and becoming Democrats, some Republicans fought to keep the party as the party of Lincoln. Many more, though, saw the appeal of reaching out to Southern whites disenchanted with the Democratic Party’s more liberal—and increasingly racially inclusive—positions.

By the 1960s, Republican presidential candidates were selling a conservative anti-government message to Southern whites and finding immense success. Many of the Republican elites were concerned first and foremost with economic conservatism. But many of the new Republican voters interpreted the anti-government message as being one about preserving the racial status quo of midcentury America.

In the past few decades, ambitious Republican politicians have increasingly made appeals to the latent illiberalism of white voters around the country, not just the South. Many probably thought they could rile people up for votes but manage to keep things under control. What I think we saw on Jan. 6 is that they might have finally lost control of it.”

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

News Staff

  • Steven White

  • Recent
  • ‘It Was Never All or Nothing in Afghanistan’
    Thursday, April 15, 2021, By News Staff
  • Bioengineering Ph.D. Student Receives National Recognition for Breakthrough Molecular Computational Tool
    Wednesday, April 14, 2021, By Alex Dunbar
  • Whitman Maintains Prestigious AACSB International Accreditation
    Wednesday, April 14, 2021, By Dawn McWilliams
  • Search Committee Appointed to Identify Candidates for Next Chief, Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services
    Wednesday, April 14, 2021, By News Staff
  • ‘Build Your Financial Know-How’ Wellness Workshops Offered to Faculty and Staff in May
    Wednesday, April 14, 2021, By News Staff

More In Media Tip Sheets

‘It Was Never All or Nothing in Afghanistan’

After 20 years of military engagement and billions of dollars spent, the United States announced that it will withdraw troops from Afghanistan. Syracuse University’s Mark Jacobson is the assistant dean of Washington programs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public…

Virginia Is First Southern State to Adopt Its Own Voting Rights Act

According to Sara Swann at The Fulcrum, “Virginia is the first Southern state to adopt its own voting rights act: Almost eight years after the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Virginia has…

Expert Available to Discuss Migrant Surge at US-Mexico Border

For your continuing coverage of the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, Latin America expert Gladys McCormick is available for an interview. McCormick, assistant professor of history in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, specializes in the political and…

Amazon Union Efforts Part of Bigger Conversation of Racial, Economic Reckoning Facing US

Nearly 6,000 workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, AL are voting this month on whether they want to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It could be the first Amazon warehouse union in the country. Lynne…

Texas Power Grids, Extreme Weather and Changing Climate

The recent winter storm that led to massive power outages in several states including Texas, Mississippi and Kentucky has raised lots of questions with climate scientists and researchers who study electricity infrastructure. Is this linked to global warming, what may…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.