The author, Isenberg, presents an academic argument about the historical oppression and degradation of the white underclass. She traces the origins of this underclass and the attitudes toward it to England’s colonial era. She proceeds to chronicle the attitudes of several prominent political and cultural leaders toward this class throughout American history. To support her claims about the disdain for this class, she uses these leaders own words, as stated in letters and speeches. All such quotations are supported with extensive footnotes. Additionally, Isenberg highlights the depictions of the white underclass in popular culture, first in pamphlets, newspapers, and books, and later in television and the movies. Drawing upon statistics and historical works, Isenberg also describes the impoverished conditions under which this underclass works and lives. In short, she presents a thorough academic argument supported with ample evidence.

Isenberg is the T. Harry Williams Professor of American History at Louisiana State University, received a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the discipline of history, and has published a few other academic works, which have received academic awards. Like White Trash, her other books expose untold stories in American history, such as the role of sex and citizenship in antebellum America.