Republicans and Evangelicals I Segregation Academies (part 2)

Give to help Chris continue to make Truce George Wallace was, as historian Dan Carter put it, "the most influential loser in American history". He was the governor of Alabama and lost multiple bids for president of the United States. In the process, he spread his racist views throughout the country. Wallace is a vitally important figure in American history. His success in pulling in votes from racists attracted the attention of establishment politicians. He showed men like Richard Nixon that there was a significant voting bloc out there willing to vote based just on their fears about race. In this episode, Chris speaks with historian and author Dan T. Carter about his book The Politics of Rage. Wallace Bio (AI Generated) George Corley Wallace Jr., born on August 25, 1919, in Clio, Alabama, rose to prominence as a controversial figure in American politics. A graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law in 1942, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. After the war, Wallace embarked on a political career, serving in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 and as a circuit court judge until 1959. His early political endeavors were marked by a moderate stance on racial issues. However, his political trajectory shifted dramatically in the early 1960s. In 1962, Wallace was elected governor of Alabama, campaigning on a platform of staunch segregationism. His infamous declaration, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever," during his inaugural address in 1963, epitomized his commitment to maintaining racial segregation. That same year, he attempted to block the enrollment of African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, at the University of Alabama, an event that became known as the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door." This act of defiance against federal desegregation efforts brought national attention to Wallace and solidified his reputation as a symbol of resistance to civil rights advancements. Wallace's political influence extended beyond state politics. In 1968, he ran for president as the candidate of the American Independent Party, advocating for states' rights and appealing to disaffected white voters. He carried five Southern states and secured 13.5% of the national vote, demonstrating significant support for his segregationist views on a national scale. Despite his presidential aspirations, Wallace's influence remained strongest in Alabama, where he served multiple non-consecutive terms as governor. A pivotal moment in Wallace's life occurred in 1972 during his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. While campaigning in Laurel, Maryland, he was shot by Arthur Bremer, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Despite this setback, Wallace returned to Alabama politics, winning the gubernatorial election in 1974. His later years in office were characterized by a shift in his political ideology, as he sought to distance himself from his earlier segregationist positions. Sources: The Politics of Rage by Dan T. Carter National Park Service article about the 16th Street Baptist Church Curtis LeMary's announcement speech History.com article about George Wallace being shot Nixon Library audio tapes collection Nixon talking about Wallace on tape Rolling Stone magazine, October 24, 1974, “The Ministry of George Wallace” by Joe Klein. Questions: Had you heard of George Wallace before? Why was Wallace important? How did Wallace's moderate successes change politics in his era? One prominent person speaking negatively about another race can significantly impact public opinion. How could his bloviating give permission to white people in the north to be openly racist? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give to help Chris make Truce We talk about racism in the United States like it only happens in the South. But the nasty truth is that the North is also guilty of racist behavior. This is evident in the way that we behaved when schools were integrated by bus. Brown v. Board of Education called for public schools to integrate. However, it took decades for many public schools to carry out this directive. It wasn't until the 1970s that the Boston schools were forced to integrate. But how? Schools are frequently attended by children who live in a given school district. But the North had divided itself up by race, forcing black people to live only in certain areas of a city. Black children were not going to white public schools because they simply didn't live in white neighborhoods. This was de facto segregation at work. So when schools were called to integrate, they had to come up with a plan. They would bus students between schools, thus integrating them. But there were problems. In Boston, they started this program by cross-populating poor schools with poor schools. So the quality of education didn't go up. Violence broke out across the city as parents and children alike struggled to welcome people who looked different than them. In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Zebulon Miletsky, Associate Professor, Africana Studies and History at Stony Brook University. Sources: Before Busing: A History of Boston's Long Black Freedom Struggle by Dr. Zebulon Miletsky Boston Against Busing by Ronald P Formisano Boston Globe (1960-); Sep 26, 1968; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe pg. 1 and 32 Nixon's radio address about integration The Busing Battleground PBS documentary (worth a watch!) GBH's coverage of busing American Archive video collection on busing Discussion Questions: Integration was going to be difficult. How should it have been handled? Would you send your kids to a potentially unsafe school? What if it meant helping to integrate it? Was the uproar over integrated busing about more than just race? Why is it that black parents sometimes didn't want their kids going to formerly white schools? How do people like Ms. Hicks build a political career on a single issue? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give to help Chris make the Truce Podcast In 2 Samuel 24 David is told that he must buy a certain piece of land in an act of repentance for his sins. The man who owns the land says that he'd like to give David the land and the animals to sacrifice. But David turns him down, insisting that he won't give to God something that cost him nothing. This story demonstrates something that may be missing from the Christian world today. Sacrifice should cost us something. Sacrifice should be a sacrifice. In the 1970s, school districts in the North and South were told that they had to integrate schools. This move was opposed by people of all sorts, including some Christians who worried that if segregation academies lost their tax-exempt status then Christian schools would too. This is the sad story of how some evangelicals with large followings came to oppose school integration. Our special guest is Daniel K. Williams, author of the excellent book God's Own Party. I also feature a clip from Angie Maxwell author of The Long Southern Strategy. Sources In Search of Another Country by Joseph Crespino Boston Against Busing by Ronald Formisano Reaganland by Rick Perlstein The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald 2 Samuel 24 Article on NPR God's Own Party by Daniel K. Williams Discussion Questions Sacrifice requires sacrifice. What are your thoughts on that statement? Do you believe in school integration? How should it have happened in the 1970s? Would you have wanted your kids to be bused to a different town if it meant a more multicultural experience? Why did some evangelicals with large followings think they needed to tie themselves to the GOP? How do we reconcile with the history of religious segregation academies? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give to help Chris continue Truce. Update: I would like to apologize for an error I made in the original version of this story. I stated that tuition payments to private schools are tax-exempt on the federal level. They are not. They sometimes are on the state level. The episode has been edited to reflect the correct information. When Brown v. Board of Education passed the Supreme Court in 1954, segregationists stepped up their efforts to keep black children out of their schools. If they couldn't use public schools, they'd establish their own private academies. In the 60's the Supreme Court struck down mandatory Bible reading and prayer in schools, causing some Christians to establish private Christian schools. This movement had unfortunate timing in that it lined up with the segregation academy movement. To our shame, many Protestant schools were segregation academies. But this story isn't so easy. In this episode and the next, we'll explore the strange twists and turns of the private school movements of the 1960s and 70s. They illustrate just how tangled evangelicals are with schools, taxes, and racism. Sources: In Search of Another Country by Joseph Crespino Reaganland by Rick Perlstein The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald Article on Jeffersonian Ideology The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro (especially books 1 and 2) Oyez.org article about the McCullum Case Interview with Austin Steelman, professor at Clemson University Oyez.org article about the Plessy case Oyez.org article about Brown v. Board Department of Labor article about the 1964 Civil Rights Act Oyez.org article about the Green case Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give to help Chris continue making Truce I made these episodes a few years ago, but since it is the 100th anniversary of the Scopes "Monkey" trial, I thought we should revisit them! Tennessee was the first state in the United States to crack down hard on the teaching of evolution in public schools. Others had dabbled, but Tennessee went all the way. The ACLU wanted to challenge the validity of the case in the courts. In order to do that they needed an educator to teach it, get busted, and be brought to trial. At the same time, the town of Dayton, TN, needed a boost. After the biggest employer closed down, it faced serious economic trouble. What if the men of Dayon could manufacture a court case to draw the attention of the nation? They found a young teacher named John Scopes and convinced him to participate in their scheme. They booked Scopes, even though he probably never taught evolution. The ACLU had its case. Soon, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow hopped on board, and it went from a publicity stunt to something for the history books. This is the event that some historians (wrongly) point to as the death of Christian fundamentalism in the United States until it was revived by the Moral Majority. One man fighting for the biblical idea of creation and another for godless atheism. But the real history is far more complex. Edward Larson, professor at Pepperdine University, joins us to discuss the trial and his Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Summer for the Gods”. Helpful Sources: “Summer for the Gods” by Edward Larson Rhea County Heritage and Scopes Trial Museum Worth a visit! Court Transcript of the Scopes Trial (easy to find online) “A Godly Hero” by Michael Kazin Discussion Questions: What events led to the Scopes trial? Why did the ACLU feel they had to try the Tennessee Law? Who should decide what is taught in schools? Teachers? Parents? Lawmakers? Or some combination? What were William Jennings Bryan’s motives for joining the prosecution? What were Clarence Darrow’s motives for joining the defense? Should prayer be allowed before a trial about religion? Should Christians get involved in what is taught in schools? To what degree? Dayton, Tennessee’s plan to boost tourism William Jennings Bryan’s crusade against Darwin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give to help Chris make the Truce Podcast Hal Lindsey published The Late Great Planet Earth in 1970. It was a HUGE hit, selling over 35 million copies by 1999. It was also produced into a film narrated by Orson Welles. That film was shown in movie theaters and church basements and made a splash. The movie is a repackaging of premillennial dispensationalism, which I covered last season. It presents a particular vision of end-times theology, which wrongly predicted that the world would end around 1988. We're going to discuss the book and movie because they have had a real impact on the way that some evangelicals see the world. I'm joined on this episode by Ray McDaniel, pastor of First Baptist Church in Jackson, WY, and Melvin Benson of the Cinematic Doctrine podcast. Chris on the Cinematic Doctrine Podcast Hamilton Ernest Scared Stupid Ernest Saves Christmas Gremlins Sources: National Endowment for the Humanities article The Late Great Planet Earth book and movie Cortney Basham's Master's Thesis The Day of the Dolphin trailer Imdb.com Questions: Have you ever seen The Late Great Planet Earth? What did you think of it? The book and movie echo the Bible in that a false prophet can be identified when their prophecies don't come true. Hal Lindsey's predictions have been wrong for decades. Does that make him a false prophet? What impact do books and movies like this have on the Christian culture? If a book or movie like this does some good (like bringing some people to Christ), but also makes false prophesies, is it still valuable? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support the work of the Truce podcast at www.trucepodcast.com/donate In the last episode, Chris and his brother Nick started their journey along the Camino del Norte, part of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. Now, join Chris as he looks at some of the forces on pilgrims hiking the trail. From the Twelve Tribes religious group and their Yellow Deli restaurants to a spiritual guru in Guemes, people are trying to leverage hikers. Despite this being a Catholic pilgrimage, most of the people we've met on three hikes have not been people of faith. Why is that? In this bonus episode, Chris hopes to restore your faith in humanity and encourage you to listen to those around you. Jesus died for our sins, but if we're not out there telling people, how will they know? Get out there and be the Church! Sources: The Twelve Tribe's document on the Confederate South Interesting article about the Yellow Deli Guemes albergue's official website about Ernesto Discussion Questions: Why are there so many forces trying to reach pilgrims? Are you open to reaching spiritual pilgrims around you? If you were on the hike, what would you say to people who think all religions are the same? What are some simple graces that you've seen in your life? How can you be the Church to your community? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give a little help Chris make Truce On this bonus episode, Chris takes you along with him as he hiked 250 miles on an old Catholic pilgrimage route called the Camino de Santiago. The Camino has a complex history and is actually comprised of more than one trail. The Norte, the oldest (if you take the Primativo), is along the northern coast, the Frances runs east-west through the middle, and the Portuguese routes are north-south from Lisbon to Santiago. You can walk from Turkey following a Camino, or from France. There are webs of them all across Europe. Many lead to the bustling city of Santiago de Compostela in the west of Spain. With lots of tourist traffic, ice cream shops, restaurants, and lodging that caters to pilgrims. The trails converge on a large square and a giant cathedral. This cathedral, started in 1078, as legend has it, is the resting place for the bones of Saint James, one of Jesus' apostles. If you approach the altar, you'll find a door to the right down a set of stairs. Inside, you can see a silver box containing the relics. Pilgrims have travelled there for over a thousand years. Some for religious purposes, others as criminals who were forced to walk as part of their sentence, a journey that could take years, and claimed the lives of many. Others hiked to absolve their sins, something Pope Calixtus II declared could happen if they did it in a year where St. James' Day fell on a Sunday. In the 12th and 13th centuries, as many as a quarter of a million pilgrims made one of these journeys. Today, these routes are experiencing a renaissance. As hundreds of thousands more walk for their own reasons. To the chagrin of seasoned hikers who think the routes are too crowded. In this two-part series, you'll hear Chris and his brother Nick as they talk with people about the Camino, as they share Jesus with people, and find their way on this ancient route. Any packing list is going to be incomplete, because everyone likes their own things! But you REALLY should consider keeping it light. You will have more fun and fewer injuries if your pack stays light. Rain poncho 2 x hiking shirts 1 x hiking pants 1 x hiking shorts mini toiletries shoes (already broken in) hiking poles a broad-brimmed hat app with maps and GPS (we like Camino Ways) sun glasses journal and pens plastic bags for dry stuff light jacket 2 x hiking socks (I like the dual-layered kind) a small bottle of sunscreen cash (at least 3--400 euros) because not all albergues take cards medicines water bottles a tennis ball (to massage your tired feet!) and more! Sources: https://caminoways.com/the-history-of-the-camino-de-santiago Whaling museum Discussion Questions: What leads people to hike a long trail? Would you ever hike a pilgrimage route? Why do so many people have difficulty with the Christian Church that they would go on a pilgrimage route without being religious? How do you interact with strangers? Are you ever in places where you can meet them? Could you share the gospel with a stranger if you had the opportunity? What to pack for the Camino de Santiago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give to help Chris make Truce. A little goes a long way! In November of 1965, a young lawyer published a book called Unsafe at Any Speed about the dangers of driving a Chevy Corvair. The car could become unstable and possibly flip if driven in poor conditions or without proper training. The lawyer? Ralph Nader. It took a while for the book to find its audience, but soon it was on bookshelves across the US and made a celebrity our of Nader. Soon he and his "Nader's Raiders" were on a spree, advocating for consumer safety. This movement was met with skepticism and fear in the industrial community. Who did this guy think he was? Americans didn't need "big government" looking over their shoulders! Well, that's what big corporate leaders thought. They set out to dismantle the consumer safety movement and to convince conservative religious people that safety was actually creeping government interference. My special guest for this episode is Rick Perlstein, author of The Invisible Bridge and Reaganland. Sources: Chevy Corvair ad Reaganland by Rick Perlstein Road and Track article about the Corvair Washington Post article about the UAW strike One Nation Under God by Kevin Kruse Article with fun pictures from the Ad Council campaigns Christian Reconstruction by Michael McVicar Reagan's "I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help" Listen, America! by Jerry Falwell p73, paperback, Bantam edition, August 1980 Discussion Questions: What do you think about the government involvement in the Chevy Corvair? How has product safety impacted your life? Is the government small, big, or somewhere in between? Do you remember Ralph Nader? Is it okay for big business to use advertising to change American minds about the government and economics? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give to help Chris make Truce Gerald Ford's administration was in trouble. The country was experiencing stagflation, where prices were going up but employment was going down. What could he do? He announced his desire to lower taxes. This proposal was met with opposition by... Ronald Reagan. Reagan was worried that these cuts would increase the national debt. Then, just a few years later, Reagan changed his mind. Two major things happened. One was the invention of supply-side economics (also called trickle-down economics) and the other was the tax revolt of the 1970s. Supply-side economics was invented by an economist named Arthur Laffer. His ideas were based on an old concept but with a new twist. Laffer and his friends published their ideas in The Wall Street Journal and shared them with people like Dick Cheney. Author and historian Rick Perlstein joins us for this episode. His books are The Invisible Bridge and Reaganland. Sources: The Invisible Bridge and Reaganland by Rick Perlstein NPR story about Laffer's napkin legend International Inequalities Institute study of supply-side economics Investopedia article comparing inflation rates Reagan's "Restore America" speech Ford Library's documents about Reagan's inaccuracies in his speech Federal Reserve article about inflation. Here's another History of COVID stimulus payments Investopedia article on Keynes Zombie Economics by John Quiggin Historical tax bracket rates Proposition 13 article Discussion Questions: What is supply-side economics? How does it compare to Keynes' ideas? Does the Bible specify a tax policy? Where did you first hear about trickle-down economics? Who benefits from it the most? Rick Perlstein, former President George HW Bush, John Quiggin, and many others say that supply-side economics is bogus. What do you think? Why might supply-side economics appeal to some evangelicals? To people of the 1970s? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices