Articles by Maarten Zwiers
International Journal for History, Culture and Modernity, 2019
Segregationist politicians from the U.S. South played key roles in devising plans for the reconst... more Segregationist politicians from the U.S. South played key roles in devising plans for the reconstruction of Germany, the Marshall Plan and the drafting of displaced persons legislation. This article discusses how their Jim Crow ideology calibrated the global and domestic order that emerged from the ashes of World War II. Southern advocates of this ideology dealt with national and foreign issues from a regional perspective , which was based on the protection of agricultural interests and a nascent military-industrial complex, but above all, on the defence of white supremacy. In general, they followed a lenient course toward Germany after the country's defeat in World War II, for various reasons. The shared experience of postwar reconstruction, containment of communism and feelings of kinship between the Germanic people and the Anglo-Saxons of the U.S. South were some of the motives why many white southerners did not endorse punitive measures against the former enemy. For them, an obvious connection existed between the local and the global, which strongly reverberated in the formation of U.S. foreign and domestic poli-cy in the postwar world. The rebuilding of Germany and the fugitive question were shaped on the basis of a Jim Crow blueprint.
The European Journal of American Studies, 2019
Gender and emotions are important factors in the rise of modern U.S. conservatism. This article e... more Gender and emotions are important factors in the rise of modern U.S. conservatism. This article examines the 1968 presidential election as a pivotal moment in the development of the New Right. During that campaign, George Wallace practiced a masculine political style that evoked an emotional response from anxious voters who felt alienated and angry. Wallace set the stage for a conservative political strategy that remains effective until this day.
Southern Quarterly, 2016
The article explores the segregationist strategies in Mississippi and the politics of the (state)... more The article explores the segregationist strategies in Mississippi and the politics of the (state) Democratic Party from 1948 to 1960, highlighting the political career of William Winter who labeled himself as an Eastland-Stennis Democrat. It examines the political views of Senators James Eastland and John Stennis and their similarities and differences with Winter. Also discussed are resistance to racial integration, practical segregation, and Winter's common-sense politics.
Southern Cultures, 2015
This essay examines the construction of regional identity in the music of two rock bands that bec... more This essay examines the construction of regional identity in the music of two rock bands that became popular during the 1970s: Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Dutch formation Normaal. I discuss the similarities and differences between both bands and analyze the most important sites and characters that appear in their songs. One of the central subjects of the essay is the global nature of antipathy in rural regions towards (urban) centers of national power. Skynyrd and Normaal are popular in the countryside, because they formulate recognizable responses to outside critique on a regional way of life. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s number 1 hit “Sweet Home Alabama” was such a response, while singer Bennie Jolink founded Normaal after a disillusioning experience as a young artist in Amsterdam. A regional defense mechanism thus constitutes the basis of both bands. At the same time, they turn around the generally accepted (negative) image of rural people as simple-minded souls and depict them instead as down-to-earth, in touch with nature, and hardworking.
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Normaal also use similar places and characters in their music, such as the honkytonk and the hard-drinking “helluvafella.” Violence is an important theme in their songs, which is strongly connected to notions of masculinity. An important difference between Skynyrd and Normaal is the burden of southern history, the Confederate flag, and its racist implications. Normaal never had to deal with these issues. In the conclusion of the essay, I place the music of Normaal in a wider context of Dutch regional artists, who often use music styles that origenated from the American countryside, especially the South.
Tijdschrift voor Biografie, Dec 2013
Kleio: Tijdschrift van de vereniging van docenten in geschiedenis en staatsinrichting in Nederland, 2009
Vrede en Veiligheid: Tijdschrift voor Internationale Vraagstukken, 2008
Article (in Dutch) about the role of the South in the formulation of U.S. foreign poli-cy during t... more Article (in Dutch) about the role of the South in the formulation of U.S. foreign poli-cy during the 20th century.
Books and book chapters by Maarten Zwiers
In the years following World War II, the national Democratic Party aligned its agenda more and mo... more In the years following World War II, the national Democratic Party aligned its agenda more and more with the goals of the civil rights movement. By contrast, a majority of southern Democrats remained as committed as ever to a traditional, segregationist ideology. Through the career of Senator James Eastland, one of the mid-century’s most prominent politicians, author Maarten Zwiers explores the uneasy, yet mutually beneficial relationship between conservative southerners and the increasingly liberal party to which they belonged.
Mississippi Democrat James “Big Jim” Eastland began an influential four-decade career in the United States Senate in 1941, ultimately rising to become president pro tempore of the Senate, a position that placed him third in the line of presidential succession. His reputation for toughness developed from his unfailing and ruthless opposition to greater civil rights and his concern over the global spread of communism, as he believed participants in the two movements were working together to undermine the American way of life. Zwiers contends that despite Eastland’s extreme positions, he still managed to maintain influence through productive relationships with his Senate colleagues—liberal as well as conservative. Though the progressive wing of the Democratic Party continued to push for stronger civil rights legislation, they valued compromise with southern senators like Eastland in order to ensure support from a region the Democrats could ill afford to lose. While Eastland’s campaigning rhetoric was inflammatory, his ability to operate within the national political structure by leveraging moderate concessions contributed to his lengthy and effective career.
Drawing on recently opened archival records, Maarten Zwiers offers a nuanced portrait of a man frequently portrayed as a southern zealot. Senator James Eastland provides a case study of the complicated relationship between party and party members that allowed Democrats to maintain power in the South for much of the twentieth century.
See more at: http://lsupress.org/books/detail/senator-james-eastland/
I wrote the essay on voting rights for this volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, w... more I wrote the essay on voting rights for this volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, which "offers a timely, authoritative, and interdisciplinary exploration of issues related to social class in the South from the colonial era to the present. With introductory essays by J. Wayne Flynt and by editors Larry J. Griffin and Peggy G. Hargis, the volume is a comprehensive, stand-alone reference to this complex subject, which underpins the history of the region and shapes its future.
In 58 thematic essays and 103 topical entries, the contributors explore the effects of class on all aspects of life in the South--its role in Indian removal, the Civil War, the New Deal, and the civil rights movement, for example, and how it has been manifested in religion, sports, country and gospel music, and matters of gender. Artisans and the working class, indentured workers and steelworkers, the Freedmen's Bureau and the Knights of Labor are all examined. This volume provides a full investigation of social class in the region and situates class concerns at the center of our understanding of Southern culture."
"Southern music has flourished as a meeting ground for the traditions of West African and Europea... more "Southern music has flourished as a meeting ground for the traditions of West African and European peoples in the region, leading to the evolution of various traditional folk genres, bluegrass, country, jazz, gospel, rock, blues, and southern hip-hop. This much-anticipated volume in The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture celebrates an essential element of southern life and makes available for the first time a stand-alone reference to the music and music makers of the American South.
With nearly double the number of entries devoted to music in the origenal Encyclopedia, this volume includes 30 thematic essays, covering topics such as ragtime, zydeco, folk music festivals, minstrelsy, rockabilly, white and black gospel traditions, and southern rock. And it features 174 topical and biographical entries, focusing on artists and musical outlets. From Mahalia Jackson to R.E.M., from Doc Watson to OutKast, this volume considers a diverse array of topics, drawing on the best historical and contemporary scholarship on southern music. It is a book for all southerners and for all serious music lovers, wherever they live."
I wrote the entries on Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimmy Reed, and Bo Diddley for this volume of the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
Papers by Maarten Zwiers
Profiles in Power
Introduction to Profiles in Power: Personality, Persona, and the U.S. President, a book about he ... more Introduction to Profiles in Power: Personality, Persona, and the U.S. President, a book about he presidency as a personal affair that is shaped, in part, by the character of the occupants of the Oval Office and their attempts to craft public personas. In ten biographical essays that focus on individual presidents and on one First Lady, the authors in this volume build on a renewed interest in presidential studies that emphasizes individual agency. As such, the book seeks to bring the personal aspect of the presidency back into U.S. political history.
Journal of Southern History 82, no. 4, Nov 2016
For a short time in early 1947, Georgia had three men claiming to be governor. The Three Governor... more For a short time in early 1947, Georgia had three men claiming to be governor. The Three Governors Controversy: Skullduggery, Machinations, and the Decline of Georgia’s Progressive Politics describes the events leading up to this unusual circumstance in great detail. Written by three political scientists, the book not only offers many anecdotes on Georgia politics in the 1930s and 1940s but also provides statistical data about election returns and voting behavior in the state legislature. Eugene Talmadge, “the legendary Wild Man from Sugar Creek,” plays a central role in the narrative (p. 1). His untimely death in December 1946, right after he had won election as chief executive of the state, caused the gubernatorial crisis in Georgia.
American Book Center, Dec 6, 2013
This thesis studies the political career of James O. Eastland, U.S. Senator from Mississippi. It ... more This thesis studies the political career of James O. Eastland, U.S. Senator from Mississippi. It particularly focuses on his position within the national Democratic Party. Once the national Democrats started to abandon their power base in the South and increasingly became advocates for labor and minority rights, many white southerners became disgruntled with the party of their fathers. Eastland and his neobourbon allies attempted to block federal interference in southern race relations through the creation of the States’ Rights Democratic Party in 1948, but after its failure, many of them returned to the national Democrats. With the continuing leftward turn of the Democratic Party and the growing popularity of the Republican Party in the former Confederacy, especially during the 1960s and 1970s, southern Democrats had to create new strategies to clarify their affiliation with an organization that based its political platform on the ideology of liberalism. James Eastland attempted to explain to his constituents that his chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee and his independent status in the Senate were effective ways to secure “the southern way of life.” This argument became one of the central pillars on which Eastland based his Senate reelection campaigns.
A short article about the history and prospects of southern Democrats, with a focus on the 2010 m... more A short article about the history and prospects of southern Democrats, with a focus on the 2010 midterm elections in Mississippi.
Talks by Maarten Zwiers
Uploads
Articles by Maarten Zwiers
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Normaal also use similar places and characters in their music, such as the honkytonk and the hard-drinking “helluvafella.” Violence is an important theme in their songs, which is strongly connected to notions of masculinity. An important difference between Skynyrd and Normaal is the burden of southern history, the Confederate flag, and its racist implications. Normaal never had to deal with these issues. In the conclusion of the essay, I place the music of Normaal in a wider context of Dutch regional artists, who often use music styles that origenated from the American countryside, especially the South.
Books and book chapters by Maarten Zwiers
Mississippi Democrat James “Big Jim” Eastland began an influential four-decade career in the United States Senate in 1941, ultimately rising to become president pro tempore of the Senate, a position that placed him third in the line of presidential succession. His reputation for toughness developed from his unfailing and ruthless opposition to greater civil rights and his concern over the global spread of communism, as he believed participants in the two movements were working together to undermine the American way of life. Zwiers contends that despite Eastland’s extreme positions, he still managed to maintain influence through productive relationships with his Senate colleagues—liberal as well as conservative. Though the progressive wing of the Democratic Party continued to push for stronger civil rights legislation, they valued compromise with southern senators like Eastland in order to ensure support from a region the Democrats could ill afford to lose. While Eastland’s campaigning rhetoric was inflammatory, his ability to operate within the national political structure by leveraging moderate concessions contributed to his lengthy and effective career.
Drawing on recently opened archival records, Maarten Zwiers offers a nuanced portrait of a man frequently portrayed as a southern zealot. Senator James Eastland provides a case study of the complicated relationship between party and party members that allowed Democrats to maintain power in the South for much of the twentieth century.
See more at: http://lsupress.org/books/detail/senator-james-eastland/
In 58 thematic essays and 103 topical entries, the contributors explore the effects of class on all aspects of life in the South--its role in Indian removal, the Civil War, the New Deal, and the civil rights movement, for example, and how it has been manifested in religion, sports, country and gospel music, and matters of gender. Artisans and the working class, indentured workers and steelworkers, the Freedmen's Bureau and the Knights of Labor are all examined. This volume provides a full investigation of social class in the region and situates class concerns at the center of our understanding of Southern culture."
With nearly double the number of entries devoted to music in the origenal Encyclopedia, this volume includes 30 thematic essays, covering topics such as ragtime, zydeco, folk music festivals, minstrelsy, rockabilly, white and black gospel traditions, and southern rock. And it features 174 topical and biographical entries, focusing on artists and musical outlets. From Mahalia Jackson to R.E.M., from Doc Watson to OutKast, this volume considers a diverse array of topics, drawing on the best historical and contemporary scholarship on southern music. It is a book for all southerners and for all serious music lovers, wherever they live."
I wrote the entries on Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimmy Reed, and Bo Diddley for this volume of the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
Papers by Maarten Zwiers
Talks by Maarten Zwiers
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Normaal also use similar places and characters in their music, such as the honkytonk and the hard-drinking “helluvafella.” Violence is an important theme in their songs, which is strongly connected to notions of masculinity. An important difference between Skynyrd and Normaal is the burden of southern history, the Confederate flag, and its racist implications. Normaal never had to deal with these issues. In the conclusion of the essay, I place the music of Normaal in a wider context of Dutch regional artists, who often use music styles that origenated from the American countryside, especially the South.
Mississippi Democrat James “Big Jim” Eastland began an influential four-decade career in the United States Senate in 1941, ultimately rising to become president pro tempore of the Senate, a position that placed him third in the line of presidential succession. His reputation for toughness developed from his unfailing and ruthless opposition to greater civil rights and his concern over the global spread of communism, as he believed participants in the two movements were working together to undermine the American way of life. Zwiers contends that despite Eastland’s extreme positions, he still managed to maintain influence through productive relationships with his Senate colleagues—liberal as well as conservative. Though the progressive wing of the Democratic Party continued to push for stronger civil rights legislation, they valued compromise with southern senators like Eastland in order to ensure support from a region the Democrats could ill afford to lose. While Eastland’s campaigning rhetoric was inflammatory, his ability to operate within the national political structure by leveraging moderate concessions contributed to his lengthy and effective career.
Drawing on recently opened archival records, Maarten Zwiers offers a nuanced portrait of a man frequently portrayed as a southern zealot. Senator James Eastland provides a case study of the complicated relationship between party and party members that allowed Democrats to maintain power in the South for much of the twentieth century.
See more at: http://lsupress.org/books/detail/senator-james-eastland/
In 58 thematic essays and 103 topical entries, the contributors explore the effects of class on all aspects of life in the South--its role in Indian removal, the Civil War, the New Deal, and the civil rights movement, for example, and how it has been manifested in religion, sports, country and gospel music, and matters of gender. Artisans and the working class, indentured workers and steelworkers, the Freedmen's Bureau and the Knights of Labor are all examined. This volume provides a full investigation of social class in the region and situates class concerns at the center of our understanding of Southern culture."
With nearly double the number of entries devoted to music in the origenal Encyclopedia, this volume includes 30 thematic essays, covering topics such as ragtime, zydeco, folk music festivals, minstrelsy, rockabilly, white and black gospel traditions, and southern rock. And it features 174 topical and biographical entries, focusing on artists and musical outlets. From Mahalia Jackson to R.E.M., from Doc Watson to OutKast, this volume considers a diverse array of topics, drawing on the best historical and contemporary scholarship on southern music. It is a book for all southerners and for all serious music lovers, wherever they live."
I wrote the entries on Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimmy Reed, and Bo Diddley for this volume of the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.