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INTRODUCTION Places and Political Learning  I think it’s gotten a lot better. ’Cause I remember when I was little— it’s not that I was scared of Hispanics, but like, everyone else hated them, or they hated us or whatever. I think it’s gotten a lot better, ’cause the kids—we’re so used to it. It’s not a big deal if you have, like, eight Hispanics in your classroom. —Student, Perry High School, 2002 W hen I was ten, my family moved from New Orleans to Paducah, Kentucky . The move has caused me to wonder how growing up in a relatively small town has influenced who I am and how I might be a different person if my family had stayed in New Orleans. Unfortunately, the literature on political socialization has not given a great deal of insight into the effects of local context. Political science has been especially quiet with regard to small towns and rural communities. This book hopes to shed some light on the political socialization effects of growing up in small towns. It is an analysis of adolescents being raised in small communities in Iowa and examines one important aspect of the community: the influence of ethnic diversity. The most common reaction when people hear about my book is surprise: “You’re studying ethnic diversity in Iowa? That must be a short book.” Most analyses of diversity take place in major urban centers or in suburbs. However, in small communities across the Midwest and South, towns are rapidly diversifying through immigration. Most of the towns have not experienced foreign immigration since the nineteenth century, and as recently as 1990 their racial compositions, especially in the Midwest, were almost completely White and non-Hispanic. This book focuses on the political attitudes and inclinations of native adolescents who are growing up during a time when their communities are undergoing dramatic change. It compares them with young people in nearby communities of similar size whose populations have remained static. Group conflict theory predicts that White majorities may be initially threatened by ethnic 2 Introduction minorities and respond with intolerance or hostility. Research on social capital formation also suggests that the initial reaction of many people is to withdraw from politics in the wake of rapid demographic change. This book asks the following questions: How does rapid and significant demographic change affect the political socialization of native White youth? Does this contact with people from different ethnic groups and cultural backgrounds lead to increased tolerance for diversity, or does it lead these native young people to become more intolerant? Does it make them more (or less) knowledgeable about politics; does it affect their political efficacy or the sense that their voice matters and they are heard by those in power; are they more likely or less likely to say they will vote and to participate actively in their schools? It looks at the next generation and whether young people choose to reject the transformation occurring within their communities, or whether they accept and welcome these changes. Based on the assumption that adults’ political behavior is shaped primarily by experiences during adolescence, this book gives a glimpse into how demographic change is likely to influence politics in the future. The main argument of this study is that over time, native adolescents in ethnically diverse rural communities begin to accept and welcome newcomers. The book also shows that native adults in these communities also become more tolerant of newcomers over the 20 year period. The arrival of immigrants in small towns was initially accompanied by reduced levels of political knowledge, efficacy, participation, and tolerance among native students compared with native youth in similarly situated, predominantly White towns. Over time, however , the gaps between these groups shrank. Like the young man in Perry whose statement opens this chapter, young people adapt rather quickly to their environments . In his words, “It’s not a big deal.” This book is the result of a ten-year research project that uses a natural experimental design of five small towns in Iowa. Three of these towns are “traditional ” Iowa communities, in which residents are nearly all White and most are longtime residents (Boone, Carroll, and Harlan). These towns have almost no ethnic or racial diversity. The other two towns have experienced dramatic population changes since 1990, due in both cases to the arrival of Latino immigrants attracted to jobs at local meatpacking plants (Perry and Storm Lake). In Storm Lake, a small influx...

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