The Rediscovery of Working-Class Americans

This essay first appeared in the April 2021 issue of Choice (volume 58 | issue 8).

Introduction:

The terms white working-class, working poor, and American workers appeared more times in political speeches and political columns in 2016 than any of the previous four presidential elections. President Donald Trump’s success, some claim, was his ability to connect automatically with the concerns of white American workers, as Michèle Lamont, Bo Yun Park, and Elena Ayala-Hurtado discuss in their essay “Trump’s Electoral Speeches and His Appeal to the American White Working Class.” During the 2020 Democratic primaries Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren openly courted working-class voters, and Democratic nominee Joe Biden often referenced his working-class background.


About the Author:

David Cullen’s PhD is from the University of North Texas. He is visiting lecturer of history at Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Arkansas.