Joseph Smith Klein 1

Joseph Smith Klein

Ms. Cooper

APLang

2 March 2017

Wallace and Us: An analysis of George Wallaces rhetorical strategies

The 1960s were a period of time in which the United States experienced the overturning

of norms that had existed for most of the countrys history. Most visibly overturned at the time

were the status and rights of African Americans. The degradation of this norm angered many

whites in the South who saw it as a threat to their historic way of life. In Alabama, George

Wallace used this fear to gain the keys to the Governor's mansion. Following his victory in the

1962 gubernatorial election, Wallace gave his infamous Inaugural Address at the Alabama State

Capitol, where he argued that a greater emphasis should be placed on States Rights. Wallace

utilized patriotism, along with bandwagon tactics, to excite and unite his base, but those same

strategies also proved to be ineffective or counterproductive in regards to expanding his base.

Their ineffectiveness was the result of a series of logical fallacies that could be seen by all but

the most jingoistic individuals.

Wallace made frequent references to events and individuals in American history in a

manner that was for the most part positive. He proudly boasted about the important role that the

Virginia Dynasty (Virginian U.S. Presidents who were founding fathers) played in the early days

of its history (Wallace Page 11). This reference to national heroes tied his disgruntled region of
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the country to one of the core facets of American identity, which provided his Southern audience

with a sense of exceptionalism. It was also an attempt by Wallace to gain the high ground by

tying his opinion about governance to the countrys founding. This attempt to gain credibility

through patriotism was only really effective for white southerners, as his frequent admiration for

the Confederate past limited the range of Americans he was able to appeal to.

Wallaces concentration on the South was not limited to just history, but also extended to

economics. He proudly stated that Alabama owns ten per cent [sic] of all the natural resources

of all the states in our country, and possess[es] over thirty minerals in usable quantities

(Wallace Page 3). This statement not only serves as a symbol of the states natural wealth but

also one of its moral character. This dual symbolism can be gleaned from Martin Harolds 1956

article, The Day It Rained Money, for the Saturday Evening Post. In the article, Harold

describes the impact that the discovery of oil has had on a small Alabama town. He notes that

despite the towns recent prosperity, nobody, so far, has made any ostentatious display of

new-found wealth (Harold Page 6). This, along with Wallaces proclamations of the

exceptionalism of the Southern people, supports the notion of dual symbolism. Wallace,

recognizing the divisiveness of his geographic favoritism, attempted to resolve it by crafting a

racially motivate us vs them narrative in regards to blacks and whites. A race of honor is

how Wallace described residents of the Great Anglo-Saxon Southland, which shows that he

thought a great deal about white people (Wallace Page 2). Wallace felt that their greatness came

in part from the fact that they were a hard working people, and he claimed that in the aftermath

of the Civil War the South received no coddling to make sure that our people would not suffer

(Wallace Page 10). He neglected to mention the Freedman's Bureau, which was an agency that
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provided aid to former slaves. African Americans taking advantage of government services, by

Wallaces logic, made those individuals inferior and not part of the us he speaks about, as they

dont have self-reliance. This not only excluded blacks from the population but morphed them

into an undeserving other that only gained citizenship through the illegal 14th amendment

(Wallace Page 10). His promotion of this narrative managed to expand American democracy

rightward (Lance Morrow).

Wallace used the influential Virginia Dynasty to establish ethos for himself as a

Southerner. His heavy reliance on southern history created a geographic divide that he attempted

to resolve by raising racial tensions. These were used with mixed results to advance his argument

of states rights.
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Work Cited

Harold, Martin, "The Day It Rained Money." Saturday Evening Post, vol. 228, no. 51, 16 June

1956, pp. 38-62. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=

true&db=a9h&AN=20695494&site=ehost-live, Accessed 28/2/2017.

Morrow, Lance. "Requiem for an Arsonist." Time, vol. 152, no. 13, 28 Sept. 1998, p. 54.

EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=

1080715&site=ehost-live, Accessed 28/2/2017.

Wallace, George. Inaugural Address of Governor George C. Wallace. Alabama Department of

Archives and History, 14/1/63, http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/ref/collection

/voices/id/2952, Accessed 27/2/2017.