Dr Jonathan Bartho
Whistling Dixie: Ronald Reagan, the White South, and the Transformation of the Republican Party
PhD completed 2021
Supervisors:
Professor Iwan Morgan and Professor Jonathan Bell
My research explored numerous aspects of this story, particularly the appeal of Reagan to conservative Southerners, the importance of Reagan's support from evangelical Christians across the South, and how Southern states rescued and revitalised Ronald Reagan's election campaigns - and even his political career - between 1976 and 1980. By researching this previously overlooked aspect of Reagan's political life, I hope to gain a greater understanding of the impact the Southern states had on his career and, more importantly, the role of Reagan's campaigns in the transition of the formerly solid Democratic South into a loyal stronghold for Republican presidential candidates.
E-mail: jonathan.bartho.14@ucl.ac.uk