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Appealing to the Rust Belt and Appalachian Voter—Trump and the Rhetoric of Nostalgia and Race

Van Winkle, William Woods
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1591800737356775

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, English.
This paper looks at Donald Trump’s rhetoric of nostalgia and how it influenced voting within Appalachia and the Rust Belt. I argue that many voters within the two regions—often colloquialized as spiritual “others” within the United States—exemplify a desire for a past time in which they were of extreme importance to the country’s industry, culture, and politics and how they influence the structure of modern day political campaigns. In 2016, both regions became the target of Donald Trump’s popular message to “Make America Great Again” in which he promised to stimulate their economies through deregulation, new trade deals, and a reversal of numerous energy policies made by President Barack Obama and presidents before him. I argue that the politics of race and populism, as well as the rhetoric of nostalgia, play extremely important roles in how Appalachia and the Rust Belt vote and that the 2016 election created both a newly reinvigorated interest in politics and a step back into anachronistic beliefs of xenophobia, racism, and distrust in the system.
Stephen Wilhoit, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Jennifer Haan, Dr. (Committee Member)
Tereza Szeghi, Dr. (Committee Member)
31 p.
Rhetoric
Nostalgia; Race; Politics; Trump; Rust Belt; Appalachia; Rhetoric

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Van Winkle, W. W. (2020). Appealing to the Rust Belt and Appalachian Voter—Trump and the Rhetoric of Nostalgia and Race [Master's thesis, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1591800737356775

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Van Winkle, William. Appealing to the Rust Belt and Appalachian Voter—Trump and the Rhetoric of Nostalgia and Race. 2020. University of Dayton, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1591800737356775.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Van Winkle, William. "Appealing to the Rust Belt and Appalachian Voter—Trump and the Rhetoric of Nostalgia and Race." Master's thesis, University of Dayton, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1591800737356775

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

dayton1591800737356775
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This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.