Chapter 28 Resurgence of Conservatism

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Chapter 28Resurgence of Conservatism
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Section 1 The New Conservatism

• 1970s American politics dominated by Liberals
• Conservative ideas began growing in 1970s
• Ronald Reagan elected president-1980, a strong
  conservative.

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Liberalism

• Liberals believe government should regulate the
  economy to protect people from the power of large
  corporations and wealthy elites.
• Also believe that the Federal Government should
  give the wealthier people more taxes to help out
  unfortunate people.

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Conservatism

• Conservatives generally have a fundamental
  distrust of the power of government, particularly
  the federal government.
• Believe government power should be split up
  between branches, split between the state and
  federal levels.
• Believe free enterprise system is best way to
  organize society.
• Also, believe that social problems result from
  issues of morality and character.

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Conservatism and the Cold War

• 1930s-New Deal- conservatives lost much
  influence in national politics
• Support for conservative ideas began to revive
  for two major reasons
• 1. The struggle against communism revived the
  debate about the role of the government in the
  economy.
• 2. Many Americans viewed the Cold War in
  religious terms.

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Conservatives Organize

• 1955 - William F. Buckley founded a new
  conservative magazine called National Review,
  which revived conservative ideas in U.S.
• 1960 - some 90 young conservative leaders met at
  Buckleys family estate and founded Young
  Americans for Freedom (YAF)
• Barry Goldwater, a conservative, won the
  Republican nomination for president, but
  President Johnson won re-election in a landslide.

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The Rise of the Sunbelt

• American society moved decisively in a
  conservative direction after 1964 election.
• Conservatives in the South voted for Democrats
  and conservatives in West voted for Republicans.
  Liberals from the Northeast pulled both parties
  toward liberal policies.
• The movement South and West was called the
  Sunbelt.

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Sunbelt Conservatism

• Rust Belt- Industry in the Northeast was in
  decline.
• This region had more unemployed people than any
  other, and its cities were often congested and
  polluted.
• Early 1970s- Sagebrush Rebellion- rebellion
  against federal environmental regulations
  limiting ranching, controlling water use, and
  restricted development of regions natural
  resources

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Suburban Conservatism

• 1960s and 1970s- many Americans moved to
  suburbs to escape chaos of cities.
• 1970s-Rapid inflation caused the buying power of
  average middle-class families to shrink, but
  taxes still high.
• 1978- Howard Jarvis, a conservative activist,
  launched first successful tax revolt in
  California (Proposition 13, a referendum on the
  state ballot that greatly reduced property
  taxes).

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The Religious Right

• Roe v. Wade (legalized abortion), greatly
  concerned them.
• Supreme Court start limiting praying in schools,
  also more rights for accused.
• Feminist movement and the ERA (Equal Rights
  Amendment) seemed an assault, to the religious
  right, on the traditional family.
• Protestant ministers, such as Billy Graham and
  Oral Roberts, built national following.
• Late 1970s- about 70 million Americans described
  themselves as born again Christians.
• Televangelists- Marion Pat Robertson founded
  the Christian Broadcasting Network and Jerry
  Farwell used his television show The Old-Time
  Gospel Hour to form the Moral Majority movement

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A New Coalition

• The Watergate scandal, high taxes, and special
  interest politics had undermined many Americans
  faith in their government.
• Rising unemployment, rapid inflation and the
  energy crisis had shaken their confidence in the
  economy.
• Riots, crime, and drug abuse suggested that
  society itself was falling apart.
• Many Americans wanted stability and a return to
  better times.
• For some, the new conservatism and Ronald Reagan
  offered hope to a distressed nation.