Andrew Baker

Lecturer

Contact
Department of History
Office: Hardin Hall 023
Phone: Hardin Hall 023
Email: ahbaker@clemson.edu

Education
Ph.D., Auburn University (2020); MA, Clemson University (2012)

Research Interests
U.S. History; U.S. 1945-Present; U.S. South; Political; South Carolina; Labor

Dr. Baker is a historian of the twentieth century United States and the American South. His research focuses on the post-1945 South and the intersection between politics, economic development, and religion. He is currently revising his dissertation which examined political and economic change in Greenville, South Carolina, an area sometimes known as “the Buckle of the Bible Belt,” into a book manuscript.

The project follows Greenville’s transition from a textile manufacturing center to a more diverse economy, its role in leading South Carolina’s transition from the Democratic to the Republican Party and political divides between city and county residents. He examines the role of business leaders, politicians, and institutions such as Bob Jones University in this process.

He is also interested in the role that Jewish southerners have played in regional politics particularly Max Heller, the former mayor of Greenville, South Carolina, who is credited with helping to revitalize the city. Baker’s work has been featured in Southern Jewish History and other publications. He completed a Jewish History Collections Fellowship at Emory University in Summer 2022.

Prior to coming to Clemson, Dr. Baker taught at Auburn University and Anderson University. He completed a B.A. and M.A. in History at Clemson.

Selected Professional Works

Journal Articles & Book Chapters (Published)

"These People Are Not Against Us, But They Think We're Against Them:" The Republican Party and Working-Class Whites in Greenville, South Carolina, 1950-2005, Journal of the South Carolina Historical Association (2025)

“Max Moses Heller: Jewish Mayor in the Sunbelt South,” Southern Jewish History (Vol. 25: 2022): 59-98.

Journal Articles & Book Chapters (Accepted or Submitted)

"The New Left at Clemson University, 1966-1973," Completing Clemson University History, edited by Joshua Catalano and Rhondda Thomas.

Reviews & Interviews

Samuel G. Freedman, Into the Bright Sunshine: Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights, in Journal of Southern History (Published February 2025).