The last decades of the 20th Century saw the rise
to dominance of the New Right. Historians have argued why, from economic
turmoil, the rise of the Sunbelt, white backlash, disillusionment with government
welfare programs, or simply the ideological exhaustion of liberalism. Why do
you think the New Right became such a strong force in American life? (100-150
words, by 5pm Friday May 17).
While the success enjoyed by the New Right in the late 20th Century can be explained by a variety of factors, it can be seen that the most compelling of these is viewing the emergence of the New Right as a backlash against the liberalism of earlier decades. Many middle-class white Americans were pushed into the arms of the conservatives by the shock that came from living in a radically and rapidly changing America following World War II. The various “revolutions” of the 1960s, be they sexual, feminist or homosexual, were seen to be at odds with what was seen as traditional morality by those attracted to the New Right’s reactionary message. If it weren’t for the rapidity of change in the post-war US, we can assert that many of the supporters of this “right turn” would likely not have been politicised and pushed into activism, hence propelling the New Right to prominence.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the New Right in the 1970's and 1980's appears to have been a reaction to the preceding decades that saw the rise of the New Left. Conservative Americans appeared to be exhausted by the constant demands for recognition of minority rights during the 1960's, as well as the apparent declining morals of the nation. Some of the significant catalysts leading to the formation of the New Right appear to be the Supreme Court decision of Roe v Wade regarding abortion, the increasing promiscuity of young people, the prominence of secular teaching in schools, as well as pressure for equal rights and opportunities for African-Americans. It therefore seems somewhat natural that conservatives would feel compelled to enter the political arena, because it appeared their way of life was in danger.
ReplyDeleteThe 1970s saw a shift in understanding that seriously questioned whether the Democrats were fairly representing the majority of Americans. The notion that the Democrats were the Party of the working-class, and the Republicans the Party of the elite, was essentially flipped, as a large majority of Americans felt they weren't represented by what had become a ‘Special Interest’ Party. Initiatives such as ‘The Great Society’ which emphasised the Federal Government’s responsibility to narrow socio-economic gaps between blacks and whites, and ensure the equal treatment of minorities, women, and homosexuals, meant that many middle-class whites began to feel a sense of abandonment. Southern whites alienated by the Civil Rights movement, blue-collar workers who didn't receive the benefits afforded to minorities, and the religious, offended by the stirring sexual revolution, all found their voice through forming a united front. This enabled the emergence of a majority who, feeling disillusioned and under-represented, was of great value to any presidential candidate. The Right became such a strong force because it became politically active, which meant their wants, and in turn support, were of great concern to the government.
ReplyDeleteThe last decades of the 20th century saw the rise of the New Right to dominance can be attributed to a number of different things, one of which was a backlash to the liberalism of previous decades. America was changing at a rapid rate, sexual revolutions, the more common use of drugs, feminism etc. The New Right became such a strong force because while remaining apolitical because of the repercussions of the Scopes trials, the conservative white Americans were still there but remained out of politics until they felt that the way which they choose to live their life was being threatened, that America was becoming morally corrupt, the Roe v. Wade ruling and Falwell influenced the return of the moral majority back into politics.
ReplyDeleteThe relative political transition, and concurrent rising influence of the religious sectors of society, experienced in the 1970s and 1980s across America can be considered a result of a frustration and fatigue with the prevalence of liberalism in the years previous. The shifting agenda, away from an emphasis on race relations and social welfare and toward matters of religion, abortion, and sexuality, coincided with growing support for conservatism and, of course, the election of Ronald Reagan into the Oval Office in November of 1980. The emergence of the ‘New Right’ as a political force in the United States, symbolised and underlined by movements such as Jerry Falwell and the ‘Moral Majority’, attempted to restructure the nation’s domestic policy priorities, and served as a response and reconsideration, rather than ‘revolution’, to causes such as the Great Society, and Civil Rights.
ReplyDeleteThe rise in support of the New Right had many contributing factors, but the main causes were from a combination of economic turmoil and a backlash towards liberalism. Post World War II was a time of economic prosperity in the US. It was also the beginning of a liberal movement. However, the economy dropped due to the industry conversion from wartime to peace time just as liberalism seemed to be at its peak. Thus, the declining economy was associated with the rise of liberal ideology. So to counter, and to get the economy back on the rise, US citizens saw hope in the New Right.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right was formed by a combination of religious fundamentalists and conservative politicians, primarily in backlash to the preceding liberal victories. This was largely categorized by Supreme Court decisions such as Roe V. Wade that legalized abortion, and the rise of government intervention with the Equal Rights Amendment and Affirmative Action. The perceived lack of morality that these liberal victories created in the nation gave rise to the New Right. The extent of liberalism in the decades prior caused a sharp shift and return to religion and conservative values that the New Right stood for.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right came to prominence out of what could be described as a 'liberal backlash' The New Right gained momentum from political movements that continuously occurred for a number of years, including the rise of the feminism movement, and the ongoing developments from the civil rights movement. The New Right gained momentum due to the fact that many conservative Americans felt no need to become involved in politics, until their relatively 'normal' way of life was threatened, albeit from a white backlash to the civil rights movement to the rise of the sexual revolution, conservatives played a major role in propelling the New Right into the political sphere.
ReplyDeleteIn the 20th Century the New Right became a strong force in American life as a counter against the New Left that were advocating for recognition of Civil Rights for African Americans, the Rights of Women, and the rights for feminist and homosexuals. The majority of conservative Americans were pushed towards the camp of the New Right as they felt that their way of life was being threatened by the demands for a more progressive society from the New Left. Conservative Americans may have felt that they were being neglected by the Federal Government as it concentrated more on liberal civil movements then on other more important issues like social security.
ReplyDeleteFollowing a significant and powerful Left movement, it is almost understandable why and how the New Right resonated so well with white, middle classed Americans. The influx of movements and ‘revolutions’ against a number of issues (abortion and homosexuality) that were considered important to a conservative America would have aggravated this group even more. Demands for change regarding such issues only angered conservatives, thus arguably pushing many Americans towards the ‘New Right’ arguably. Incidences such as the Hard Hat riots and its triggers, provides a good example of the growing frustration with these groups. Furthermore, policies such as Affirmative Action only angered Americans even more as many believed it was simply reverse discrimination towards whites. It’s with all these actions that we can see that many Americans were pushed into the New Right, due to a build-up of frustration against the Left wing revolutionaries.
ReplyDeleteAlthough many factors contributed to the rise of the New Right, the disillusionment with liberal government policies can be seen as one of the most important catalysts for this political change. The rise of the Democratic Party through FDR and the New Deal faded as the Democrats were increasingly seen as catering to ‘special interest groups’ seen through programs such as the Great Society. Furthermore, the ‘radical’ revolutions experienced throughout the 1960’s saw the American conservatives confronted with continued civil rights movements, feminism and sexual revolutions. A major catalyst of change seemed to be from the Roe v Wade trials regarding abortion, where the conservative ‘right’ again became a politically active, ultimately driving the New Right into a dominant political power.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the New Right was reactionary, as many felt that they were losing influence over Congress and that the nation was losing its international strength. Internationally, foreign states became more competitive with their exports and OPEC decided to boycott oil exports to the US. These factors and the ever prevalent fear of communism led to myriad citizens’ insecurity. However, domestic troubles were the most persuasive argument for many Americans to shift towards conservatism. Rights rhetoric was becoming reality as a socially liberal government implemented forced integration and affirmative action policies. A fear of change and continual underlying prejudice thus led to the manifestation of such concerns in the emergence of popular conservatism.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right experienced the same new freedoms that the New Left did in the 20th Century; television, greater educated population, the ability to spread information over the country. One can see that the forces that sparked the New Left into their public outcry may have done the same for the New Right. The New Right appeared to be a reaction to the liberalism of the 1960s and 70s, however its roots can be traced back to the evangelists of the 1920s. With a focus on family morals, the movement represented a portion of society that were tired of having their problems sidelined by ‘louder’ liberal issues. Although very different, the groups share a complex relationship; the Right feeding off the Left’s passion, whilst also rejecting it.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right became a strong force in American political life in the late 20th century, which can be attributed to various contributing factors. The strongest factor in the emergence of the New Right was the backlash against the ‘revolutions’ of the 1960s, and the perceived encroach of immorality into American life by way of civil rights, sexual liberation, Roe v Wade and increased secularism. This alienated many voters, and lead the democrats to be perceived as unrepresentative. Voters were accordingly perturbed by the uncertainty of relentless change, and sought refuge in the New Right’s reactionary politics, which advocated for moral conservatism and increased religious influence.
ReplyDeleteLaura K
The rise of the New Right, which characterised the last decades of the 20th century, can be attributed to several factors. The most crucial of these was the backlash against the liberalism of previous years. The sexual revolution, the rise of feminisms, as well as other ‘revolutions’ were seen as a threat to the morality and the way of life of the conservative American. Such a threat could have pushed the ‘silent' conservatives to once again become more involved in American politics. Additionally, the Democrat’s focus on special interest groups resulted in a feeling of alienation of the ‘average’ American. Americans no longer saw the party as representative of their interests and many considered themselves to be discriminated against by liberal programs such as Affirmative Action and the Great Society. Consequently, many Americans may have been pushed towards the New Right, allowing it to become such a strong force in American life.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right rose to dominance as the 'Silent Majority' became disillusioned with the Democratic party. they felt that the democratic party was giving in to much to what they called special interest groups. These special interest groups were movements such as the civil rights movement and the sexual and feminists movements. the silent majority claimed they were the victims of what the termed as reverse racism. they felt that they were suffering at the profit of these radical movements. Another reason the right rose to prominence was because the Moral Majority decided to speak up. they supported the right because they were anti-abortion and homosexuality. The right overcame the democrats mainly because the people began to feel that they were being victimized in the effort to make everyone equal.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right rose to political prominence at the end of the 20th Century for a number of reasons. Backlash agaisnt the liberalism of previous decades was a significant cause of this. Programs such as LBJ's Great Society, the employment of affirmative action in the workplace and education spheres, meant that many white Americans felt the Democrats no longer represented them fairly in government, and had become a 'special interests' party. Similarly the increased support for activism, particularly among the youth of America, increased the popularity of groups such as the Moral Majority that opposed the new era of radicalism as they percieved it, including increased sexual promiscuity, feminism, and drug use. All of these new developments, many disillusioned Americans felt contributed to the decaying social values of America, and allowed the New Right to gather greater support.
ReplyDeleteThe 1970s saw a rise of the New Right which was a push against the 'revolutions' of the 1960s and towards a more traditionalist view. This movement attracted those who thought America was throwing their morals out the window. Conservatives were seen as protecting innocence and America's youth as opposed to exposing them to a sexualised world. It is due to the projection of this image that the New Right were seen as the 'good guys' and rose to popularity becoming the norm for the 'wholesome' american life.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the ‘New Right’ in the late 20th Century was reactionary in nature; it was not the exhaustion of liberalism that instigated this conservative backlash: it was its proliferation. The philosophy of equal opportunity – propagated by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, along with the various sexual revolutions – permeated the nation and, as Cornel West observed, conservatives began to confuse rights with expectations. The rapid succession of changes in America prompted somewhat of a moral panic, with backlashes against all progression abundant. Ironically, the ‘new’ right was actually traditionally conservative – Reagan was the poster-boy for a constitutionalist view of how the nation needed to regain its moral footing (smaller government, freedom for individuals to economically prosper etc). The New Right would not have emerged with such ferocity had the social changes of the 1960s not been as empowering for minorities. Consequently, the conservatives of America began to promote the idea of ‘reverse discrimination’ when a more suitable response would have been to readjust their unrelenting sense of entitlement.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right gained incredible success because it was able to unite multiple distinct ideologies under one banner; fundamentalist Christians, conservatives and neoliberals began to see themselves as right-wing. Conservatives saw the republicans as opposing the vast sweeping changes made by Democrats, especially those perceivably threatening white peoples’ economic prospects, through positive discrimination for minorities (e.g. Affirmative action). The politicised Christians saw a similar conservatism, only with moral implications, not economic ones – especially following the sexual revolution and Roe v. Wade. Neoliberals saw in the Republican Party, which wanted a smaller government, a ticket to increasing the free market’s dictation of the economy, as well as supporting the conservatives desires to remove affirmative action, arguing that individual merit and choice should be more important than government intervention in economic affairs.
ReplyDeleteConservative forces have always existed within the United States. Following the Second World War, the liberal consensus combined a belief in the activist state with anti-Communist values. As a result of this political context, opposing views were often marginalised. However, with the rise of economic difficulties in the late 1960s-early 1970s and the perceived radicalisation of liberalism, the liberal consensus broke down. It was out of this development that the New Right emerged, with its reaction to the perceived social ills associated with liberalism. By tapping into the growing divisions in American society, the New Right has emerged as a strong force in American politics.
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