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Nothing Is The Matter With Kansas: White Southern Exceptionalism In American Politics, Paul White Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

There are two research questions at the heart of this dissertation: Does the American South have a distinct political environment in comparison to other regions? If so, how does this distinction influence American politics? I argue that the American South has long been politically distinct from other regions in the United States. This southern ethos, this southern way of agrarian politics, is predicated on three factors- State Centered Federalism, Racial Conservatism, and Religious Conservatism. I consider these factors in a model I call “The Determinants of Southern Exceptionalism” or the D.S.E. Model. It views the American South as remaining distinctive …