The Populist Revolt in the 2016 Election
The Great Revolt is the story of the people behind the electoral earthquake in the presidential election of 2016. The book profiles numerous swing voters from the battleground states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. For many presidential election cycles voters in these Midwest and Rust Belt states were loyal to the Democratic Party. However, due to several reasons explained in this well-written and well-researched book, these voters decided to change parties (or in some cases, vote for the first time) and vote for political outsider Donald Trump. Some of the burning issues which caused these swing voters to change parties include gun control, future justices on the United States Supreme Court, religious freedom, national security, and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States. The concluding chapters consider changing demographics and the short-term future of the Republican and Democratic Parties. The fusion of populism and conservatism, localism versus globalism, and pragmatism before ideology are some of the underlying themes of the book. As an American history teacher, I found this book to be extremely valuable in understanding what part swing voters in the Midwest and the Rust Belt played in the 2016 election. I also found the maps very helpful as I read each chapter. If you want to understand the voters who put Trump in office in 2016, read this book. Highly recommended.
