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The Political Theologies of Populism: The Garveyites, the Klan, and the Wobblies, 1905-1930

The Political Theologies of Populism: The Garveyites, the Klan, and the Wobblies, 1905-1930

Paperback

LaborGeneral Political ScienceSocial Movements

ISBN10: 0814351573
ISBN13: 9780814351574
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Published: May 22 2026
Pages: 368
Weight: 1.19
Height: 0.98 Width: 6.12 Depth: 8.97
Language: English

An excavation of populist movements in the US and their associated religious tropes.

In this work, author Colin Bossen argues that for over a century, American populist movements--even explicitly secular ones--have drawn on religious ideas and practices to infuse their politics and bring people together. Bossen explores Pan-African populism, white supremacist populism, and early twentieth-century pluralistic populism in the United States that coalesced into well-known, vastly different groups with a lasting presence in the American imagination: the Universal Negro Improvement Association (also known as the Garveyites), the Ku Klux Klan, and the Industrial Workers of the World (also known as the Wobblies). This book employs both historical analysis and political theory to unpack the trajectory of these groups and to illustrate how their respective search for belonging showcases as similar principles, despite their extremely different beliefs. This is a finding that, Bossen argues, exemplifies the mechanisms behind twenty-first-century politics, including the rise of Trumpism. This groundbreaking comparative analysis challenges readers to consider the repetition of history in today's political landscape and shows them how to rise to the challenges of our current political moment.

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Social Movements