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).
In essence, rather than the ideological exhaustion of the liberalism or the rise of the Sunbelt , the reason behind the dominance of the New Right was simple: ordinary Americans were unhappy and, to some extent, shocked by the social and economic changes brought forth in America during 60s and 70s of the twentieth century.
ReplyDeleteStrictly speaking, racial tensions, economic downturn, the sexual permissiveness found in films and magazines, the increase of divorce and crime rates, homosexuality, and legalisation of abortion engendered a mood of resentment in the United States. For this reason, many Americans started to question the ability of the government to solve social and economic maladies. As a result, people desperately wanted to “cure the nation” and the New Right leaders capitalised on these negative moods.
In other words, they exploited the momentum and aimed to fight “ills” that were of particular concern for the Americans. It is also important to mention that New Right leaders effectively used mass telecommunications to convince Americans that the government was incompetent and that there was a great need to defend and promote traditional values. Moreover, they had access to massive databases containing the names and addresses of potential financial contributors, and unsurprisingly, they succeeded in fund-raising activities, spreading their message and getting new supporters.
Maria S. (22504079).
I think the New Right became such a strong force in American life because Reagan and the movement as a whole were able to tap into the American psyche and dredge up the notion that America is essentially a promised land with a destiny for greatness. That it is not unfair to believe that the American people deserve the best of everything and can achieve it through hard work, self determination and a strong moral backbone. They renewed a drained faith and self confidence in Americans and told them they could have everything they wanted.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right was a force of conservative and religious fundamentalists that emerged in the late 1970’s. They preached to America the wrongdoings of the past two decades and blamed both popular culture and the youth for the ‘decline’ of the countries economic and social standard.
ReplyDeleteThrough out the 1960’s-1970’s, America had a very liberal nature. Expression and freedom through sex, music and protest had become popular culture. The New Right claimed that this was to blame for many of America’s problems. Inflation was an issue in the late 1970’s and fundamentalists such as Jerry Falwell preached that this was because the younger generation lacked worked ethic. Many people believed that this reasoning was legitimate and therefore began to support the New Right.
The New Right was successful in preaching this for many reasons. Not only did it provide people with a sense of momentum and hope, it also created a lack of faith within the democratic government. The New Right claimed that the government was too large and that their liberal idealistic views were incompetent in rebuilding the economy. In addition to this, many people had lost faith in the government after the Iranian Hostage Crisis and therefore swinged their votes.
Tory Altson
The New Right was a reaction on the part of the most conservative layer of US society against the social changes that had occurred in the 60s and early 70s. They were uncomfortable with the more liberal status quo that had arisen, one in which sex could be divided from procreation and pregnancies could be safely aborted, in which people felt freer to pursue any kind of relationship they chose (including with partners of the same gender) and in which people of colour had improved their status. They wanted all of these gains to be reversed, often using Biblical justifications. The reason they could gain prominence in the late 70s was that the momentum that had been driving forward progressive change only a few years earlier had ground to a halt, leaving a kind of vacuum that conservative reaction could come to fill. As well, its agenda aligned neatly (if not completely) with that of the Old Right, which dominated ownership of a considerable amount of the media. So, the New Right was probably capable of punching above its weight in terms of influence, and was able to do so because of the weakening of the Left.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right was successful as it promised America a better future with dreams and hopes. The New Right focused on convincing American men and women that their previous governments were too large and responsible for the nation's social and economic downfall such as one of the worst sustained inflation’s in America's history. As well, they blamed the prior government's liberal views as the cause to the creation of a culture that lacked discipline and a strong work ethic , especially among the younger generation who were being taught to live on welfare, instead of making a real living. The New Right promoted strongly conservative policies and was linked with the religious right. It urged the need for a smaller government who could provide opportunities for the nation, instead of using control or influence over its people. These promises and new hopes gained them many new supporters in America and allowed them to become a strong force in American life.
ReplyDeleteThe New Right became such a strong force of American life because it was a return to moral values of the country that had seemed to be lacking after the economical and social rebellion ideals of the 60s and 70s. Having lost faith in the liberal ideals of the government, the New Right sought to change the economy and reduce inflation for Americans and ultimately change the countries perception on its moral values. A deeply religious country, Americans saw a return to conservatism as a return to the core values that the country was founded on and the basis for a better future for the country.
ReplyDeleteThe main forces driving the surge of the New Right were the rise of the Sunbelt and the ideological exhaustion of liberalism. The conservative population of the United States has always been prevalent in the American society, especially within the southern states. After World War II, this population grew rapidly; several conservative-majority states had population increases of over fifty per cent. The 1960s Civil Rights movement provoked a conservative backlash from this growing force. Discontent was generated by the radical movement for the rights of minority groups as it challenged the traditional ideas of the conservatives. The Republican Party capitalised on the discontent, appealing to and winning the support of the growing conservative population, and consequently won the 1969 election.
ReplyDeleteKathy Z.
The last decades of the 20th Century saw the rise of the New Right. The rise of the New Right was helped by the leadership and diplomacy skills of Reagan; he was able to gain the support of the Evangelicals who felt the America needed to revaluate their morals which had become corrupted by the liberal society that they had been a part of. The New Right also gained support as it helped to restore the faith of the American people, that they were special and that America was the grand country it once was and the New Right promised to put it back on track in becoming the greatest country in the World.
ReplyDeleteFollowing their inordinate landside in the 1980 presidential election, Ronald Reagan and his Republican administration were able to capitalise on the dissatisfaction many Americans had experienced under previous governments that had fostered many social, economic and political changes unwelcomed by the conservatives who saw many of these advances, such as sexual liberation, the increased size and role of government and the civil rights movement as key factors in the failures the nation was facing at the time. Through taping into the new conservative sentiment that was sweeping through the nation they were able to foster policies and programs that catered to and increased this conservative demographic through promising a return to good, old-fashioned values that would restore the nation.
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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