Mass Historical Society: Immigration, Race and the Tea Party Movement

Date: 

Tuesday, October 27, 2015, 5:15pm to 7:30pm

Location: 

Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215-3695

Luis Jiménez, University of Massachusetts—Boston
Comment: Theda Skocpol, Harvard University

To what extent has racial anxiety played a factor in the formation of the tea party movement? Previous literature, ethnographic work and anecdotal evidence point to a complex mythology of taxpayers versus freeloaders that appears to not have any empirical basis, but rather rests on racial cues. This paper tests these hypotheses through a number of measures at different levels--state, congressional, and county units. It finds that tea party behavior was more pronounced in states, districts or counties with disproportionate numbers of Latinos, or people perceived as an immigrant other.

Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.