Chapter 25 Flashcards
What made Barack Obama’s election such a major departure from the American caste script?
He was a highly qualified, charismatic African-American who rose to the highest office in a country historically dominated by a white caste hierarchy.
What unique qualifications and qualities did Obama possess that enabled him to break caste tradition?
Harvard-educated lawyer, constitutional scholar, U.S. senator, strong orator, conciliator on racial issues, with a compelling family story and campaign.
What were key external factors that helped Obama’s election
His opponent’s weak campaign
A poor VP choice by the GOP (Sarah Palin)
The 2008 financial crisis
Massive 401(k) losses and plummeting home values
Widespread economic desperation
Why did some dominant-caste voters ultimately support Obama despite caste expectations?
Economic crisis overrode racial bias for some; they were willing to take a chance on someone who symbolized hope.
What was the significance of Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize shortly after taking office?
It reflected global optimism and the symbolic power of a Black U.S. president offering hope and change.
How does Wilkerson frame Obama’s presidency in relation to caste?
As a seismic rupture in the caste system—a challenge to the entrenched racial hierarchy.
What does Wilkerson suggest it took for an African-American to rise to the presidency?
Essentially a “supernova” of near-perfect credentials, circumstances, and campaign execution.
Why was Barack Obama’s origin story perceived as more “acceptable” to the dominant caste?
His mixed-race background, immigrant father, and upbringing in Hawaii detached him from the direct legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, making his story less triggering for dominant-caste Americans.
How did Obama’s background allow dominant-caste Americans to relate to him?
His white mother and grandmother allowed people to see him as “part of themselves,” softening their discomfort and bypassing guilt over American racial history.
What comment by Joe Biden unintentionally revealed latent caste assumptions?
Biden said Obama was “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” implying such traits were rare among Black Americans.
What contradiction existed in white American attitudes post-Obama’s election?
Many claimed racism was over (“we have a Black president”)—yet the majority of white voters did not vote for Obama in either 2008 (43%) or 2012 (39%).
What symbolic overlap existed between Obama’s 2008 election and the Civil War?
Obama carried every state Lincoln won in 1860—suggesting the long arc of racial division still shaped political alignments.
What prediction did LBJ make after signing the Civil Rights Act, and how did it play out?
Johnson predicted Democrats would lose the South for a generation; in reality, they lost a large share of white voters nationwide for decades.
How did Obama’s presidency symbolize a loss for some white Americans?
His election and demographic changes projected the end of white political dominance, triggering fear and solidarity within the dominant caste.
What was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s stated goal during Obama’s presidency?
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
What disrespectful encounters symbolized resistance to Obama’s authority?
Rep. Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” during a speech to Congress; Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer pointed her finger in Obama’s face on an airport tarmac.
How did some white Americans express resentment during Obama’s presidency?
Through Tea Party rallies, birtherism, racist caricatures, increased voter suppression laws, and rising hate groups.
What legal and structural actions increased during Obama’s presidency to suppress marginalized voters?
Voter ID laws, purges of voter rolls (nearly 16 million from 2014–2016), and limitations on voting access, particularly after the Voting Rights Act was weakened.
What happened to racial attitudes during Obama’s presidency, according to studies?
Both explicit and implicit anti-Black attitudes increased from 2008 to 2012, reflecting backlash despite—or because of—his presence in the White House.
How did police violence reflect resistance to the symbolic reversal of caste?
Unarmed Black Americans were killed at 5x the rate of whites, with police killings becoming a leading cause of death for young Black men.
What impact did Obama’s race-neutral reforms have despite obstruction?
He reshaped healthcare, addressed climate change, advanced gay marriage, initiated sentencing reform, and investigated police brutality.
What paradox defined the backlash to Obama’s presidency?
His success and civility bred resentment—his very existence challenged the caste hierarchy and provoked a surge in white solidarity and resistance.
What did Rush Limbaugh and others express the day after Obama’s reelection in 2012?
A belief that the country had been lost; Limbaugh said, “I went to bed last night thinking we’ve lost the country.”
What tragic reaction occurred in Florida following Obama’s reelection?
A man named Henry Hamilton committed suicide, leaving a note cursing the president and blaming his reelection.
