Essay about America and Post World War II Era: New Left Versus Right

As the United States was continuing recovering from the Civil War and embracing the expansion of the West, industrialization, immigration and the growth of cities, women’s roles in America were changing by the transformation of this new society. During the period of 1865-1912, women found themselves challenging to break the political structure, power holders, cultural practices and beliefs in their “male” dominated world.

Starting during the 1970s, factions of American conservatives slowly came together to form a new and more radical dissenting conservative movement, the New Right. The New Right was just as radical as its liberal opposite, with agendas to increase government involvement beyond the established conservative view of government’s role. Although New Right politicians made admirable advances to dissemble New Deal economic policies, the movement as a whole counters conservativism and the ideologies that America was founded on. Although the New Right adopts conservative economic ideologies, its social agenda weakened the conservative movement by focusing public attention to social and cultural issues that have no place within the established Old

The gender roles in America have changed tremendously since the end of the American Civil War. Women and men, who once lived in separate spheres are now both contributing to American society. Women have gone from the housewife so playing key roles in the country's development in all areas. Though our society widely accepts women and the idea that our society is gender neutral, the issues that women once faced in the late 1860s are still here.

What came to be referred to as the New Left, were a generation of young people with new ideas and visions for social change. They rebelled against what they saw as the apathy of the status quo of the “elitist”, middle-class affluence into which they were born. As they attended colleges and universities, they did not view history as being the forward progression of the pursuit of truly better lives for all men.

There is a fine line between what American society looked like during World War II and contemporary America. The dilemma is that society has gone from patriotism and a fight for liberty to “everyone walking around with a chip on his or her shoulder” (Carr 2). This two distinct differences on America culture and society is manifested in, Howie Carr’s “Take $2000 and Call Me in the Morning” and Ronald Reagan’s speech, “The Boys of Point du Hoc”.

The ideals by the Republicans which came into the limelight after the Revolutionary War would set into motion a revolution not just in the United States but in many countries across the world. Linda Kerber’s ‘Women of the Republic’ is a demonstration of the paradigm shift in relation to the US social and political structures after the American Revolution. Kerber observes that not only did the war provide more opportunities to women but also set a platform for women to chart the way forward politically. This important role is what came later to be known as the Republican Motherhood. The concept of Republican Motherhood demonstrates the important role that woken played politically in addition to attending to their traditional roles of domestic responsibility.

After the war, the American people made the change from "old" ways to "new" ways. Many factors, such as new technology, fundamentalism, new looks and church led to tension between the old and the new. The 1920s were a time of conflicting viewpoints between traditional behaviors and new and changing attitudes.

Beginning in the 1960s the conservative middle-class, living in the suburbs, called for an end to the New Deal and the moral decay of their country. Recognizing the liberal movement’s inability to organize, and agree on issues, right wing activists began to mobilize. Although split between social conservatives and libertarians the right was able to unify on common ground and change the direction their nation was headed. In Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right, McGirr argues that this movement, centered in Orange County, would begin a new era of a return to traditional values and would be successful as a result of organization, faith, and a fierce dedication to what these middle-class Americans believed to be morally right.

When one looks back on the frenetic 1960s, conservative sentiments aren’t usually the first thing to come to mind. Yet, while the New Left and the radical counterculture were reshaping cultural ideals, it was the New Right who emerged from the 1960s as a viable political force. The New Left can be categorized as a broad, largely youthful, movement with the goal to challenge various social norms and to institute a “participatory democracy”. Moreover, the New Left was “New” in a sense that they differed from the labor-centered liberal elites at the time; insisting on creating larger, more radical changes to society. On the other hand, the New Right was a largely grassroots movement aimed to restore traditionalist values from the “Eastern Establishment.” The New Right was “New” in a sense that it revitalized conservative hope at a time when those hopes looked mighty bleak. When analyzing the wildly different outcomes of the two movements, it becomes apparent that the New Right’s political-oriented manner to achieve their goals proved to be the decisive factor in maintaining long-term stability; something the confrontational New Left did not have the resources to achieve from the outset.

On December 7, 1941, with Japanese attack on Perl Harbor, all debate over avoiding war and the policy of American isolationism was gone. It was the beginning of a great war that brought death, devastation and finally the victory and power to United States. At the time of Roosevelt’s appointment in 1933, historically crucial events were taking place in Japan, Italy and Germany which had to shape the future and the fate of United States. This paper studies and analyses the major factors which contributed to American success both at home and abroad during WWII in addition to world’s view about American participation in war and bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For many, the 1970s is considered a decade of turbulent and chaotic times. The social disorder and political commotion of the 1960s would linger into the new decade, as struggles for social justice for many disadvantaged interest groups continued. While some campaigns and movements gained momentum in certain areas, others would suffer setbacks due to unforeseen events. Women, minorities, homosexuals and other powerless people continued their struggle for equality, and many Americans, fed up with a long and costly war, united in protest against an unwinnable war in Vietnam. The political postwar Left that enjoyed its dominant run throughout the 1960s was beginning to unravel by the end of the decade and a ‘New Right’ began to take shape in

This document was written by the National Organization for Women or also known as NOW. This organization is standing up for the rights of women across the United States. Women were being suppressed for decades and pushed into old traditional thoughts that are becoming outdated. The country was advancing but only for its’ men. Women were still considered to be good mothers and take of the household. The National Organization for Women argues that the world is advancing and becoming more and more technologized, where women are needed to work in the workforce rather than be treated less than men.

     One of the most important wars ever fought was World War II. In the midst, the Nazis

These women are having an influence on today’s government. Because women are working and continuing the responsibilities of the household and child care, they are now beginning to voice demands for programs such as affirmative action, equal pay, pregnancy disability payments, and abortion rights. According to Einstein, the New Right is composed of a “conservative middle class majority, citizens concerned about high taxes and inflation, small business people angry at governmental control, born- again Christians concerned about sex in television and movies, supporters of the right to life, who are against federal funding of abortion, and middle class Americans tired of Big Government.”

Throughout the ages, women have aided in the achievement of greatness of their brothers, sons, fathers and husbands. However, there are moments in history where this aid is more than a hand to hold. The distinction must be made that the Rosie the Riveter Movement did not take place for the same reasons as women’s suffrage. Thus, there is a difference between the concepts of Feminism and Patriotism. It is true that in some ways when the war ended women who worked had earned a more equal relationship with men in the workplace, however this was not the purpose of ‘Rosie the Riveter’. If one requires an example of a feminist movement, the events that took place in the 1960s and 1920s should suffice. Women assumed the roles of men during the war, and did so out of the responsibility to their country. This is the precise reason why World War II was the greatest moment in history for American women. The movement was not one of suffrage or equality; it was a demonstration of innate strength, endurance, and especially patriotism. Despite the odds, and all those who doubted them, women exercised their patriotism for their country. This is evident in the valor that many unrecognized women displayed in the United States’ Armed Forces, and on the Homefront. Neither gender, nor sexuality held any responsibility for their simple, yet heroic actions.