White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism / Edition 1

by Kevin M. Kruse

Overview

The forgotten story of how southern white supremacy and resistance to desegregation helped give birth to the modern conservative movement

During the civil rights era, Atlanta thought of itself as "The City Too Busy to Hate," a rare place in the South where the races lived and thrived together. Over the course of the 1960s and 1970s, however, so many whites fled the city for the suburbs that Atlanta earned a new nickname: "The City Too Busy Moving to Hate."

In this reappraisal of racial politics in modern America, Kevin Kruse explains the causes and consequences of "white flight" in Atlanta and elsewhere. Seeking to understand segregationists on their own terms, White Flight moves past simple stereotypes to explore the meaning of white resistance. In the end, Kruse finds that segregationist resistance, which failed to stop the civil rights movement, nevertheless managed to preserve the world of segregation and even perfect it in subtler and stronger forms.

Challenging the conventional wisdom that white flight meant nothing more than a literal movement of whites to the suburbs, this book argues that it represented a more important transformation in the political ideology of those involved. In a provocative revision of postwar American history, Kruse demonstrates that traditional elements of modern conservatism, such as hostility to the federal government and faith in free enterprise, underwent important transformations during the postwar struggle over segregation. Likewise, white resistance gave birth to several new conservative causes, like the tax revolt, tuition vouchers, and privatization of public services. Tracing the journey of southern conservatives from white supremacy to white suburbia, Kruse locates the origins of modern American politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691133867
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/29/2007
Series:	Politics and Society in Modern America , #89
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	297,903
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kevin M. Kruse is professor of history at Princeton University. He is the author of One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America and the coauthor of Fault Lines: A History of America since 1974.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 3

CHAPTER ONE: "The City oo Busy to Hate": Atlanta and the Politics of Progress 19

CHAPTER TWO: From Radicalism to "Respectability": Race, Residence, and Segregationist Strategy 42

C HAPTER THREE: From Community to Individuality: Race, Residence, and Segregationist Ideology 78

CHAPTER FOUR: The Abandonment of Public Space: Desegregation, Privatization, and the ax Revolt 105

CHAPTER FIVE: The "Second Battle of Atlanta": Massive Resistance and the Divided Middle Class 131

CHAPTER SIX: The Fight for "Freedom of Association": School Desegregation and White Withdrawal 161

CHAPTER SEVEN: Collapse of the Coalition: Sit-Ins and the Business Rebellion 180

CHAPTER EIGHT: "The Law of the Land": Federal Intervention and the Civil Rights Act 205

CHAPTER NINE: City Limits: Urban Separatism and Suburban Secession 234

EPILOGUE: The Legacies of White Flight 259

List of Abbreviations 267

Notes 269

Index 313

What People are Saying About This

Clifford Kuhn

This is an imaginative work that ably treats an important subject. Kruse gets beyond and beneath Atlanta's image as a place of racial moderation, the national center of the civil rights movement, and a seedbed of black political power to reveal other simultaneous, important currents at work.
— Clifford Kuhn, Georgia State University

Sugrue

White Flight is a myth-shattering book. Focusing on the city that prided itself as 'too busy to hate,' Kevin Kruse reveals the everyday ways that middle-class whites in Atlanta resisted civil rights, withdrew from the public sphere, and in the process fashioned a new, grassroots, suburban-based conservatism. This important book has national implications for our thinking about the links between race, suburbanization, and the rise of the New Right.
— Thomas J. Sugrue, Kahn Professor of History and Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, author of "The Origins of the Urban Crisis"

From the Publisher

"In his study of Atlanta over the last 60 years, Kevin Kruse convincingly describes the critical connections between race, Sun Belt suburbanization, the rise of the new Republican majority. White Flight is a powerful and compelling book that should be read by anyone interested in modern American politics and post-World War II urban history."—Dan Carter, University of South Carolina

"White Flight is a myth-shattering book. Focusing on the city that prided itself as 'too busy to hate,' Kevin Kruse reveals the everyday ways that middle-class whites in Atlanta resisted civil rights, withdrew from the public sphere, and in the process fashioned a new, grassroots, suburban-based conservatism. This important book has national implications for our thinking about the links between race, suburbanization, and the rise of the New Right."—Thomas J. Sugrue, author of The Origins of the Urban Crisis

"This is an imaginative work that ably treats an important subject. Kruse gets beyond and beneath Atlanta's image as a place of racial moderation, the national center of the civil rights movement, and a seedbed of black political power to reveal other simultaneous, important currents at work."—Clifford Kuhn, Georgia State University

"Kevin Kruse recasts our understanding of the conservative resistance to the civil rights movement. Shifting the spotlight from racial extremists to ordinary white urban dwellers, he shows that 'white flight' to the suburbs was among the most powerful social movements of our time. That movement not only reconfigured the urban landscape, it also transformed political ideology, laying the groundwork for the rise of the New Right and undermining the commitment of white Americans to the common good. No one can read this book and come away believing that the politics of suburbia are colorblind."—Jacquelyn Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Dan Carter

In his study of Atlanta over the last 60 years, Kevin Kruse convincingly describes the critical connections between race, Sun Belt suburbanization, the rise of the new Republican majority. White Flight is a powerful and compelling book that should be read by anyone interested in modern American politics and post-World War II urban history.
— Dan Carter, University of South Carolina

Jacquelyn Hall

Kevin Kruse recasts our understanding of the conservative resistance to the civil rights movement. Shifting the spotlight from racial extremists to ordinary white urban dwellers, he shows that "white flight" to the suburbs was among the most powerful social movements of our time. That movement not only reconfigured the urban landscape, it also transformed political ideology, laying the groundwork for the rise of the New Right and undermining the commitment of white Americans to the common good. No one can read this book and come away believing that the politics of suburbia are colorblind.
— Jacquelyn Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Editorial Reviews

Kruse provides a useful resource in the debate over the significance of race in politics. His book is thoroughly researched and well written. Students interested in modern politics and Civil Rights histories alike would greatly benefit from this work.

Southern Historian - Jensen E. Branscombe

In Kruse's skillful hands, Atlanta's struggle over integration takes on many of the characteristics of low-level urban warfare. . . . Kruse illuminates a key phase in American political development.

Perspectives on Politics - Kimberley S. Johnson

Kruse's ultimate success lies in using history to answer contemporary political questions, and without compromising his professional standards.

Nashville Scene - Clay Risen

In his book, Kevin Kruse analyzes the ideology accompanying white flight and its ongoing impact on American politics. . . . In a beautifully written, clearly structured, and deeply researched narrative, Kruse lays out the historical processes that led to the development of modern conservatism.

Urban History Review - Kristen O'Hare

White Flight provides a detailed yet fascinating history of right-wing backlash against the civil rights movement that has relevance not only for historians but also for political scientists. Kevin Kruse's study deserves a wide reading.

New Political Science - R. Claire Snyder

Kruse presents a nuanced portrayal of the trends that fostered the growth of the suburbs and the casting aside of racist demagoguery.

Times-Picayune - Jonathan Tilove

An ambitious, well-researched, and interesting study, White Flight offers a provocative examination of the connections between race and conservative politics.

Journal of American History - Jeff Roche

In White Flight, a study of white resistance to desegregation in Atlanta, Kruse produces a panoramic and engaging portrayal of the struggle over desegregation.

American Prospect - Ronald Brownstein

Kruse provides a useful resource in the debate over the significance of race in politics. His book is thoroughly researched and well written. Students interested in modern politics and Civil Rights histories alike would greatly benefit from this work.
— Jensen E. Branscombe

Southern Historian

In Kruse's skillful hands, Atlanta's struggle over integration takes on many of the characteristics of low-level urban warfare. . . . Kruse illuminates a key phase in American political development.
— Kimberley S. Johnson

Perspectives on Politics

Kruse's ultimate success lies in using history to answer contemporary political questions, and without compromising his professional standards.
— Clay Risen

Nashville Scene

In his book, Kevin Kruse analyzes the ideology accompanying white flight and its ongoing impact on American politics. . . . In a beautifully written, clearly structured, and deeply researched narrative, Kruse lays out the historical processes that led to the development of modern conservatism.
— Kristen O'Hare

Urban History Review

White Flight provides a detailed yet fascinating history of right-wing backlash against the civil rights movement that has relevance not only for historians but also for political scientists. Kevin Kruse's study deserves a wide reading.
— R. Claire Snyder

New Political Science

Kruse presents a nuanced portrayal of the trends that fostered the growth of the suburbs and the casting aside of racist demagoguery.
— Jonathan Tilove

Times-Picayune

An ambitious, well-researched, and interesting study, White Flight offers a provocative examination of the connections between race and conservative politics.
— Jeff Roche

Journal of American History

In White Flight, a study of white resistance to desegregation in Atlanta, Kruse produces a panoramic and engaging portrayal of the struggle over desegregation.
— Ronald Brownstein

American Prospect

Co-Winner of the 2007 Best Book Award, Urban Politics Section of the American Political Science Association

Winner of the 2007 Francis B. Simkins Award, Southern Historical Association

Winner of the 2007 Malcolm Bell, Jr., and Muriel Barrow Bell Award for the Best Book in Georgia History, Georgia Historical Society

From the Publisher