White Trash

An eye opening history of white trash in America. It covers indentured servitude from our colonial beginnings, lack of rights for squatters during American expansion, African slavery vs. poor whites in the pre-Civil War South, eugenics, all the way to the present time where white trash plays a part in contemporary culture: TV shows like The Dukes of Hazzard or Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as white trash presidents, etc. I was a little disappointed that the book focused mainly on the South, but I loved how it brought in race, self-presentation, and pop-culture. I thought the book did a good job of showing how class and power are tangled up in so many of the historical discussions about what's good for society or what should be done about social problems.

The quote I keep coming back to, because I think it sums up the gist of the book, is this one, from Lyndon Johnson (another white trash president): “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.” It's worth reading the book for all the richness of detail and the many connections that flesh this idea out.