There is a definite nostalgia for the past in lower class america, especially right-wing lower class america. Michael Kimmel, in his book, "Manhood in America", talks about three basic archetypes of Manliness in America (Artofmanliness.com did some writeups, which I will link herein) The Genteel Patriarch The Heroic Artisan The Self-Made Man You might ask what kind of crazy tangent I've gone on. I do have a point here. It comes with this section in the first article: This idea can most clearly be seen played out in the political arena. Ever since Andrew Jackson took the White House with a campaign promising to represent the common man, presidential candidates have had to make of a show of their rugged masculinity while downplaying characteristics that would mark them as the Genteel Patriarch, or in modern parlance, an “elitist.” A candidate must be intelligent, but not snobbishly so, articulate and well-mannered, but able to drink beer with factory workers and eat corn dogs at state fairs. This is why it is an insult to be called "Professorial". I recommend those three articles (I've never read Kimmel's book, but if those articles are the result it's probably worth the chance) The argument comes down to "Why would you look back on the past and look for bad things? Aren't you proud of your country? Or are you too good for where we are and who we are?" They are accusing those who look to closely at history as being too elitist, and in opposition of their own values of what it means to be a man.
In the end, according to Kimmel, the Self-Made Man won out, and American manliness today is defined by the archetype of the rugged, self-reliant man who through sheer force of will can shape his destiny no matter his circumstances. While the Self-Made Man triumphed as the defining ideal of American masculinity, the Genteel Patriarch and the Heroic Artisan archetypes still influence how Americans think about manhood.
As he did in the 19th century, the Genteel Patriarch today serves as a foil to more popular forms of masculinity. Men who seem too cultured, refined, and style-conscious are sometimes dismissed as wimpy and not sufficiently masculine. It is now, as it was then, really a class issue-guided by the belief that only those with gobs of money have the time to attend to the minutiae of etiquette and fashion, while “real men” are too hard at work to notice such things. The Genteel Patriarch archetype remains suspect in many minds because of its perception as non-democratic.