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).
There was no single reason for the rise of the New Right in US politics. This is reflected in the diversity of groups from which it drew support, from the socially conservative Moral Majority, to the supply-side economists, small government theorists and fierce anti-Communists. Backlash against the moves towards liberalism in the previous decades was important, particularly for conservative Christians who had long abstained from secular politics. Also important was the population growth in some of the key constituents of the New Right, in particular among the Evangelicals and the Sunbelt states. Also crucial, however, was the political skill and organisation or Reagan and his team, who capitalised on a sense of discomfit within many groups in American society and united as many of them as possible in a Republican coalition, thus giving these groups and the Republican Party influence far beyond what wither of them had previously enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right became such a strong force in American life in part because of the liberal successes of the 1960s. There is merit in the argument that due to the successes the radical movement slowed. The Right in return mobilised to address issues such as abortion and women’s rights. It was inevitable that there was a response from the right and the New Right went further than the Old Right by promoting intervention in the way people should live their lives. Looking more broadly at the ‘ills of society’, the New Right propagated disillusionment with government welfare programs. Attributing the economic turmoil to the size of the federal government provided Reagan to use the New Right to propagate ideas which suited him. However the rise of the New Right resulted from a combination of factors, which has to include the role played by individuals such as Jerry Falwell.
ReplyDeleteI think that a lot of those factors, like disillusionment with government welfare programs and white backlash contributed to an overall demise of popular liberal ideology. Liberal programs like Affirmative Action and supporting the ERA which were aimed at leveling the racial and gender playing field instead alienated white, male voters who had previously identified as liberal. Despite Republican involvement in things like Affirmative Action, they were mostly viewed as liberal concoctions which demonstrate a complete disillusionment with liberalism. White voters began to feel oppressed by a liberal doctrine that embraced racial, gender and cultural priorities. The new doctrines appeared to these voters to shift the blame of racial discrepancies onto them, which didn’t sit well. The whole liberal ideology was being rejected by these voters, pushing them to the right.
ReplyDeleteWhilst the rise of the New Right is attributable to several factors, it mainly ignited from an overall disillusionment with extensive liberal welfare programs that had dominated in the previous decades. The notion that big government was the greatest threat to American liberty (no better exemplified than through Reagan) was an argument that explained the economic turmoil and gave a reason for the Moral Majority to expand and touch on a range of issues that they viewed to be detrimental to America, such as abortion and feminist movements. The ideological religious underpinnings supporting this conservative movement was key as it appealed to a significant proportion of the population (with over a quarter of Americans identifying themselves as born-again Christians by the mid-1970s). Hence, it is these factors, coupled with the ideological exhaustion of liberals that gave this movement such momentum.
ReplyDeleteA plethora of reasons contributed to the rise of the New Right. A significant contributor to this shift in ideological thought can be attributed to unpopular liberal initiatives, in particular those centered on welfare and race relations, whilst the relative slowdown in the radical movement further provoked change. An extensive push from religious institutions previously apolitical to assert political influence such as Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority made the political right more attractive. The US poor economic performance throughout the 1970’s resulted in the increase in popularity of supply side economics, while the inauguration of the charismatic Ronald Reagan all aided in the move towards a rightwing conservative government.
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ReplyDeleteThe rise of the New Right can be attributed to a number of causes. Chief amongst these can be seen as the decline of liberal attitudes that had dominated politics in the 60's and 70's and the inevitable rise of conservatism in its place. This can perhaps be attributed to an exhaustion and complacency on the part of liberal ideology, with a backlash against large public welfare policies and public spending. Also important was the increased activism and mobilisation of typically quiet conservative parts of society like the religious right. Ronald Reagan harnessed this new conservatism along with traditional anti-communist ideas to make the 80's a period of conservative ascendancy.
DeleteNo one reason can be used to explain the emergence of the New Right in the last decades of the twentieth century. Instead, a number of factors acted in unison to assist the New Right by ensuring overwhelming public support. Fundamental to the New Right’s emergence was a general sense of exhaustion that had enveloped U.S. liberalism. With unpopular policies pertaining to social security and government spending acting as catalysts for this change, the message championed by conservatives of ‘little government’ managed to capture the American people. Taking this further, a sense of white disillusionment had formed as many of the liberal policies – policies like Affirmative Action – had a particular focus on rectifying racial and social inequality. However, another factor benefiting the New Right was the mobilisation of religious other groups who had, historically, been apolitical. While this opened up a large new base for conservative votes, the practical politics of Reagan should not be underestimated as he managed to draw these threads together with sometimes mixed, but always calculated, messages.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right was such a strong force in American life because it addressed and gave solutions to what was wrong with America both economically and socially, according to a cohort of voters, who were not represented by Liberal ideology. Lead by the ‘great communicator’ Ronald Reagan, and influenced by the religious leader Jerry Falwell, the New right found support due to the ideological failures of liberals and the US’s poor economic performance. Economically, the New Right moved away from welfare programs and promoted supply-side economics and small government s solutions. Socially, the New Right advocated for conservative policies, being anti-communist, anti-feminist and anti-homosexual. It was these answers to societies questions that attracted distressed constituents to the New Right, in hope that it would lead Americans back to their religious roots and put them on the ‘right’ path.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the New Right in America cannot be accurately tied to a single root cause. This is due to the fact that what became known as the 'New Right' was in fact a resurgence in the popularity of conservative views among many different groups, each of whose actions were the result of different stimuli. The Moral Majority and the rise of evangelism stemmed from the success of liberal movements in the 1960s and early 70s which had seen traditional Christian values challenged, while supply-side economists reacted to the failure of Keynesian demand-oriented economic policies to prevent high inflation and unemployment rates.
ReplyDeleteReagan's government sought to capitalise on, and therefore encouraged, this surge in conservative thinking, and as a result the conservative values of the New Right became a far greater part of the American political mainstream.
The New Right became a strong force in American life due to a number of reasons. One of these reasons is that wide variety of supporters it drew; including liberalists, traditionalists, the conservative Moral Majority and anti-communists. The New Right provided solutions to issues that most Americans faced in their lived, both economically and socially. An example of this was its focus on improving racial inequalities, as well as social inequalities. It shifted from welfare programs towards supply-side economics due to this disillusionment from the previous system and many Americans benefitted greatly from this. These reasons are some of the contributing factors of why the New Right became such an important part of the American people's lives.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right became a dominant feature of American society because the overwhelming majority were forced to act on the moral digression that was pervading society. Numerous factors such as abortion rights were shaping an American society that was becoming morally disillusioned. This gave the evangelical Christians and the socially conservative politicians the necessary impetus to launch a successful movement. The economic uncertainties also added urgency, thus a socially liberal yet economically liberal solution was what America needed at the time, which is why it was so powerful and successful.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the new right can be attributed to many factors. One of the main characteristics of this shift can be defined by the backlash against the radicalism of the 60’s and 70’s. White voters begun to feel disillusioned by government welfare programs, spending and an increasing focus on both gender and minority issues by the liberal government. Thus conservatism drew support from multiple factions of society, as it was seen to provide a solution to the issues that many felt to be plaguing American society. A rise in religious activism, supply-side economics, and increasing populations in the Sunbelt states also contributed to the dominance of the New Right. Thus Reagan’s ability to communicate and appeal to these groups allowed for conservatism to dominate American politics.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the New Right developed by way of many factors. One major drive, was the backlash against radicalism, and the social and political movements of the 1960s. During and after the rise of these movements conservative Americans banded together in order to contain the feminists movements, homosexuality and racial equality movements, to maintain their traditional conservative American society. Leaders such as Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell, facilitated the rise of the New Right with their reinforcement of conservative views and effective leadership and communication skills with the American public. The rise was also affected by disillusionment with government welfare programs - leading to the shift to the New Right.
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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