Nativism is nationalism in a defensive posture.

Evidence

To explain the nativistic thrust of southern and western racefeelings solely in terms of a change in immigrant types is, however, to tell only half of the story. If we conclude that the penetration of the new immigration into the South and West automatically activated the color phobias of those areas, we do little justice to the distinctive essence of all nativisms. In every guise, the nativist stood always as a nationalist in a defensive posture. He chose a foreign adversary, and defined him, in terms of a conception of the nation’s most precious and precarious attributes. Along with the social impact of the new immigration, the South and the Far West in the early twentieth century were also tingling with the ideological stimulus of a new nationalism. Perhaps the kind of nationalism that flourished in the wake of the Spanish-American War did as much as anything else to enable the guardians of white supremacy to discharge their feelings on the new foreign groups. — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 1012

Categorization

• XREF: Central theoretical claim for the reader’s research: the manufactured-external-enemy thesis — nativists select an adversary defined against the nation’s valued attributes, not purely by objective threat. — connects to: Nativism is a distinct phenomenon, a defensive nationalism of perceived national crisis — John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Patterns of…, 971; Racial nativism began as a defensive swing requiring no new intellectual input — John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Patterns of…, 804; Nationalism masquerades as patriotism by claiming defensive aims — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian…, 51 (+2 more)
• SEED: The claim that a new nationalism enabled white supremacists to discharge pre-existing race feelings on new groups promises an essay on how ideological stimulus routes latent animosity toward fresh targets.

Broader Connections

• Nativism is a distinct phenomenon, a defensive nationalism of perceived national crisis #corroborates (0.98) — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 971
• Racial nativism began as a defensive swing requiring no new intellectual input #exemplifies (0.92) — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 804