Wallace and the Wallacites: A reexamination

Abstract

Challenging the conventional portrait of Governor George C. Wallace's supporters, this essay uses survey data to show that Wallacites were not united by conservative political ideology but by feelings of political neglect, persecution, and pessimism. An examination of Wallace's rallies reveals dimensions of his rhetoric which account for such a coalition. The essay argues that both Wallace and Wallacites are best understood, not in conventional political or rhetorical terms, but in terms of the classic Hofferian model of social protest.