The South’s connection and political response to European fascism during the interwar period (1919-1939)

Foti, David (2024). The South’s connection and political response to European fascism during the interwar period (1919-1939). University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This dissertation argues that the U.S. South’s connections — commonalities, networks, and exchanges — and political response to European fascism were distinct from the rest of the United States during the interwar period. While the allegations of fascism levelled against the South by its critics were exaggerated, it was the U.S. region that most closely mirrored the racial, labour, and political practices of fascist Europe during the 1930s. These similarities underpinned the region’s relatively affirmative political response to fascism as demonstrated by the discourse of southern politicians. Case studies illuminate how individual southern politicians engaged in the discourse of fascism both to undermine the more progressive elements of the New Deal and to protect the traditional racial, political, and economic social structures of the South. The South’s distinct response to European fascism shifted U.S. domestic policy rightward and offered encouragement to European fascists via transnational exchanges.

The methodology for this thesis was informed by the nature of the questions being studied and the depth of the available historiography. A hermeneutical approach was utilized to interpret the interwar discourse to uncover insights on topics ranging from the nature of fascism to the South’s political response. Comparative and transnational methods were deployed to understand the similarities and entanglements between the South and fascist Europe. The Congressional Record and the personal and professional papers of southern congressmen were foundational primary sources. Secondary sources utilized generally fell within one of three categories. First, those few texts that explicitly explore the connections between fascist Europe and the U.S. South; second, a much larger body of work comprised of monographs that discuss the South and fascist Europe separately; and third, the new and emerging body of research on transnational fascism. The monographs provided background and context while the handful of sources on direct comparison and the exchange of ideas offered starting points from which to extend the historiography.

The South’s connection to the interwar transnational fascist movement provides meaningful context to better understand the contemporary rise of right-wing populism. Southern symbols and ideas have metastasized and are now used globally by the right. The South may have been militarily conquered and its Jim Crow laws may have been banished, but the ideas and practices that underpinned the conception of the South as America’s fascist region continue to manifest within the rising tide of global right-wing populist movements. In such ways the memories of the interwar South continue to shape understanding of current events and inspire actions in the present as well.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):