DBQ 15: The Resurgence of Conservatism, 1964-2005 Liberals had dominated American society for most of the 1900s. The 1960s was widely known for being the age of counterculture, social reforms, and liberals. The era witnessed many advancements like racial equality such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a strong advancement in political liberalism, and a significant increase in the power and influence of government-funded social programs as a result of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society reforms. Beginning with the election of Nixon, however, followed a gradual return to conservatism whether religiously, politically, or economically. The resurgence of conservatism in American politics and government in the years 1964-2005, was caused in …show more content…
Consequently, the failures of the policies of liberal presidents like Carter and the success of conservatives like Reagan lead to the resurgence of conservatism. The rise of religion in American politics also contributed to the growth of conservatism. The most prominent was a coalition of conservative, evangelical Christians
People who supported the conservatives, but do not really agree with them. Most Neo-conservatives were actually liberal at one time and switched later on in their life. Neo-conservatism supports the spread of democracy around the world. Critchlow believed the neo-conservative movement helped in a way for the conservative movement. In steering away from liberalism and supporting the conservative movement. And become more partisan than the old right party. The neo-conservative movement became the face of modern conservatism. If I had to pick one person who led the movement in conservatism, it would have to be Ronald Reagan. Regan was once a liberal supporter and then switched to become the face of the conservative movement. This change in views was huge because it showed Americans that it’s ok to change political views during your life. And becoming a conservative means the liberal views were not working to Reagan. During the 70’s and 80’s there were several different kinds of Republicans. Reagan was able to take his views along with some views of each kind conservative movements, to form a massive conservative coalition. He was the face of the conservative movement, and won in a landslide election in 1980. Reagan was elected for a second straight term again and this time period was known as the conservative golden age. Or the Reagan revolution, which was the height of
These were conservative people who were disgusted with more liberal policies in favour of abortion, sexual freedom, welfare and equal rights for women, black people and homosexuals. They were desperate for a return to traditional family values, which Reagan promised to bring back. With an estimated 5 million evangelical Christians who had never voted before now voting for Reagan, he was gaining vast numbers of new votes while Carter was losing ones he should have been able to rely upon.
Johnson and Democratic liberals believed that economic growth made it possible to fund ambitious new government programs and to improve to quality of life. (Foner pg. 987) III. Reagan in his quest for economic freedom, proposed an economic Bill of Rights that was dubbed Reaganomics. For Reagan, "economic freedom meant curtailing the power of unions, dismantling regulations, and radically reducing taxes.”
The political shifts in American history during the last two centuries are often explained by Arthur Schlesinger's cyclical explanation of eras of public purpose followed by private interest. What is considered liberal versus what is considered conservative shifts in a similar pattern. While laissez-faire policies are considered liberal in the Roaring 20's, the onset of the Great Depression in
In 1964, Lyndon Johnson set out to enact the “Great Society” program in order to expand upon and complete Roosevelt’s New Deal. This was a liberal program set up to ensure that the government staked more claim in aiding the citizens of the United States. This program touched on issues such as civil rights, education, and health care which were prevalent issues at the time, and that still have a major impact on society today. John Andrew lays out in detail in the book Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society these issues, as well as others. He gives each major topic a chapter, and goes into great detail of how he feels Johnson set out to change the American political and social structure.
The Great Depression drastically changed America's definition of Liberalism. Prior to the onset of the depression, in the roaring twenties, policies of laissez-faire were considered liberal, radical, revolutionary, and even democratic. This was due to the fact that revolution was a horrifying notion and not until after the laissez-faire and the system of free market fails in the 1920's do people begin to look about for alternatives. The time when people starting to seek alternatives was at the onset of the depression when America's political views drastically change. As the Great Depression, started in 1929, America began to view conservatives as following the policies of social Darwinism, laissez-faire, and having
Throughout the next year Johnson focuses on approving and continuing Kennedy’s programs as well as passing the Passage of Civil Rights Act in 1964 which outlawed most forms of racial discrimination in schools. By election time his popularity had skyrocketed which lead to Lyndon Johnson winning the election with the largest margin in all U.S history with 61% of the popular vote. Finally, Johnson had reached his goal and could begin his ambitious vision of the “Great Society”. Throughout his presidency he focused on fighting poverty, urban renewal, education, arts, the environment, as well as citizen rights especially protecting voting rights which was reinforced in the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. However, it was his strong belief in fighting Communists in Asia that ruined his
For most of the ‘60s, America had liberal Democratic administrations. In 1961, Democrat John F. Kennedy became president. As part of his election campaign, Kennedy announced his New Frontier domestic program. During his presidency, he was not able to implement his promises successfully. “Without a clear Democratic majority in Congress he was unable to increase federal aid to education, provide health insurance for the aged, create a cabinet-level department of urban affairs, or expand civil rights” (Tindall and Shi 1050). His successor Johnson, committed to New Deal Democratic Liberalism, launched a War on Poverty and the so-called Great Society, a large array of social reform programs. However, since the US expanded its involvement in the Vietnam War, federal funds that were initially planned to be used for the War on Poverty, were instead used to cover the high war expenses (Tindall and Shi 1045). Many Americans lost their confidence in the liberal Democratic government and highly criticized the policies of the Kennedy and Johnson. Even though several legislative accomplishments can be ascribed to these two presidents, the criticism usually outweighed.
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States from 1981 through 1989, created economic policies throughout his presidency that aimed to pull the United States out of a recession. His policies, called Reaganomics, reduced government spending and reduced tax rates in order to foster economic growth. Reagan also appointed many conservative judges to the Supreme Court and federal courts in order to shift ideologies to the right. Because of this, Reagan was both underrated and overrated as a president.
The sixties seemed to challenge basic American assumptions; the value of hard work and of traditional family values. “Middle” America formed 55% of the population, earning between $5000 and $15000 p.a. They lived between the city slums and the affluent suburbs, and were usually up to their eyes in debt. They wanted the law to protect them and their property. They believed in good manners, in respect for authority and the flag. The changes of the sixties left many of them confused and angry. They were not sure who to blame for social unrest. They were the silent minority that Nixon appealed to in his election campaign, and they helped him to victory. They were the resentment and reaction byproduct of social unrest. They worked to ensure their property and found it unfair that the government gave money to the people that did not work as much as they did. They wanted law and order. They wanted a state that provided security, response to the insecurity they felt in face of the students movement and the liberal culture. They felt ignored by the democrat government because they did not benefit from the financial help, house and health security.
Social conservatism generally favors traditional, pro-family values, such as opposition to abortion and same sex marriage. Richard Nixon’s campaign echoed many aspects of the conservative language of the time, but ultimately his presidency was liberal, as he subscribed to liberal tendencies, such as broadening social programs and the influence of the federal government. He did not battle the Democrats, who held congress, on domestic issues and even expanded components of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society. Instead of curtailing the federal government’s role, Nixon created new agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board. His administration poured money into social services and environmental initiatives, expanded the food stamp program, and allowed Social Security to expand with inflation. Numerous acts were passed such as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act. His commitment to protecting the environmental ostracized businesses, natural allies of conservative ideologies, who deemed these regulations burdensome. Nixon broke the mold of conservative politics further by presenting a Family Assistance Plan that would guarantee a minimum income for all Americans and by pursuing affirmative action programs to “upgrade minority employment”. The Family Assistance Plan did not pass in congress and was criticized by
For many years the Republican party and its conservative base was the central point of blame for the economic woes that had occurred in America during the Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and his liberal Democratic party were portrayed as the saviors of the United States' economy and the only intellectual and political tradition that remained for America. However, the social excesses, political instability and economic turmoil that the liberals of the late 1960's and early 1970's created, led to a resurgence in conservative thinking. Americans began to reject the complete dependence on the government, and the inefficiency and corruption associated with it, in favor of a more independent and politically conservative way of thinking. As a result, 1980 saw the election of Ronald Reagan, a hard-core conservative Republican as President of the United States. Reagan's victory over then President Jimmy Carter signaled a distinct resurgence in conservative values and political activity.
Conservatives, Protestants, evangelical and fundamentalist combined religion with politics when they felt they were misrepresented after World War II. America evangelical retreated from larger society and constructed institution and networks to protect them because they felt threatened. They isolated from the society and operated their own churches whose the congregations were white they also build and run own bible colleges where young people were nurtured and got education on evangelism.
The United States has been experiencing some tough times with Cold War tensions high across the globe. The civil rights movement picked up after the violence in the south against blacks and sought to bring change within the country. The year of 1964 was a very impactful and a changing time within the United States due to various circumstances: America entered the Vietnam war, established the Civil Right Act and The Beatles revolutionized the new pop culture throughout America. The United States had many political accomplishments in 1964, beginning with most innovative law is the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Still, there was movement occurring, and hope remained as President Kennedy was working on a Civil rights Act, and he was suspected to pull out of Vietnam. This potentially would have aided the civil rights movement, and arguably due to the importance Robert Kennedy put on reforming African American’s rights, JFK would have addressed this issue now with more vigor. In 1963, however JFK was assassinated and Lyndon B Johnson took office, thus changing the course abruptly. LBJ passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation in schools, public places, and employment. He also proposed a set of domestic programs which he called “The Great Society” which goal was to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. There was a major increase in spending that addressed problems outlined in the New Deal such as education, medical care, urban problems, and transportation but differed from the New Deal in types of programs enacted. However well-intended these programs might have been, its goals were not being met at the rate in which civil rights activists would have liked. Part of the reason being that in opposition to Kennedy’s plan for Vietnam LBJ decided to continue fighting. Most of his attempts to increase the standard of living failed, partly due to his involvement in