The Rise of Conservatism/Fall of New Deal Liberalism

1. The Rise of Conservatism/Fall of New Deal Liberalism Roots: 1960-1974 Early Reagan Years: 1964-1980

2. “Conservative” vs. Republican? Conservatives Republicans Southern whites Evangelical Christians Wealthy Pro-business Small govt. Libertarians Military Isolationists? Suburban or rural Anti-entitlement • Tea Party • States rights • Low taxes • Small govt. • Strict constitutionalists • Traditional values • Pro-defense • Anti-abortion • Anti-gay-rights • Gun rights

3. The Republican Party’s Tortured Past: A Conservative Party? • Conflicting ideals; divisions; which way? • Civil War Radical Republicans = Big Govt. to protect civil rights • Gilded Age Republicans = Big Govt. for Business, small govt. for everyone else • Early 20th-century Divisions between small govt., laissez-faire and Teddy Roosevelt Bull Moosers • New Deal era = years in the political wilderness • 1950s = moderate Republican Eisenhower • 1950s = redbaiting and divisive politics for others

4. Young Americans for Freedom, Sharon Statement, 1960 • Conservative radicals trying to retake America and Republican Party • Main ideals?

5. The New Republican Majority • Peel off segments of the New Deal coalition? • On what issues?: • African Americans? • Liberals? • Southern white Democrats? • White ethnics (descendants of New Immigrants, Catholics, Jews)? • Workers?

6. Democratic Mistakes • Democrats alienated major parts of their electoral coalition: • Liberals and Leftists – (issues?) • Working-Class • White Ethnics • Women • Southern whites • African Americans

7. 1960s/1970s Democratic Mistakes • Ways Democrats Alienated Voters? • Vietnam decisions and actions • Alienated liberals and left-leaning radicals – pro-peace • Liberals/left, Not enough on civil rights • From the right – too permissive of demonstrations, “chaos” • From the left – liberals not very liberal • From the right – too liberal on civil rights, ruining the social structure • Economy? • Spending money on social welfare programs, Great Society • Perception of spending money on black people • Association with black and urban riots, decaying cities, loss of control – Law and Order

8. George Wallace: Southern Democrat, Republican Ideas • Rebuild white Democratic Party in south • Retake Democratic Party for white people • Opposed civil rights legislation and activism • Appealed to southern AND northern whites to run for president in 1960s and 1970s • Used race as focal point for campaign • Changed language of racism: from blame the “niggers” to blame the lawless, criminals, people on welfare

9. George WallaceAlabama Governor & Presidential Candidate (Dem.)

10. George Wallace

11. Nixon, Vietnam & Watergate: Effects on the Political Landscape

12. Nixon’s Foreign Policies and Actions • Focus on Big Fish – wanted to open up trade, talks with China and USSR, decrease Cold War tension • Vietnam - Policy of Vietnamization – turn over war to South Vietnamese army • Secrecy - secret bombings of N.V., Cambodia, Laos; secret negotiations w/ N.V. • U.S. detachment from Vietnam conflict – use rhetoric of peace and withdrawal, while continuing bombings to force N.V. to accept split Vietnam • Heightened rhetoric against protesters = protesters were anti-American, helping North Vietnam

13. Richard Nixon

14. Nixon

15. Nixon and New Republican Majority

16. Vietnamization • Nixon ran for president in 1967-8 on platform of “Vietnamization” – transfer of military operations in Vietnam to the South Vietnamese military • Video clip on Vietnamization

17. Secret Wars: Cambodia & Laos • Publicly, Nixon pushed Vietnamization, gradual withdrawal from Vietnam, and peace talks • In secret, he began bombings and military missions in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, expanding the war • Official U.S. involvement in Vietnam lasted 6 years under Nixon, longer than under LBJ • Video Clip on Bombings & Secret Wars

18. Nixon’s Political Strategies • Kevin Phillips’, ‘Emerging Republican Majority’: Republicans could win (and did) from 1968-1992 • Southern Strategy – use “hostility to blacks and browns” as political strategy (idea from George Wallace) • Get white Catholics, ethnic whites, and white southerners to permanently switch to GOP • Appeal to ‘Silent Majority’ of Americans: patriotic, anti-protester, anti-urban • Law and Order campaign: used images of riots, protests, and fear to sway voters • Silent Majority of Americans were the real victims (of protests, draft, taxes, civil rights, economy)

19. The Silent Majority: Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle • ‘All the animals come out at night’ clip • ‘Late for the sky’ scene clip

20. Watergate • Link to film clips, Nixon: The Fall • Connections to Vietnam War • Nixon’s insecurity and fear of political opposition • Use of FBI to spy on and undermine antiwar and civil rights movements • Political dirty tricks to hurt political rivals • Covered up instead of coming clean

21. Nixon and Conservatism: Conclusions • Nixon’s foreign policies towards China and USSR were fairly successful, opened up lines of communication • Deceitful policies in Vietnam: rhetoric of peace, while bombing and prolonging war • U.S. involvement in Vietnam War dragged on for 6 more years as he used it as pawn in larger foreign policy • Nixon’s southern strategy and appeals to ‘silent majority’ widened political and social rifts in U.S. • Watergate and corruption further weakened people’s trust in government • Republicans benefited in long run from increasing distrust of government

22. Nixon and Watergate helped Conservatives in the long run? • General distrust of government • Helped Republicans’ argument against too much government • Dems handling of impeachment alienated the public – fatigue • Helped purge Nixon (moderate on foreign policy and economy) from party – purified party – door open to conservatives

24. Reagan, ‘A Time for Choosing,’ 1964 • Part One

25. Reagan, ‘A Time for Choosing,’ 1964 • Part Two (text)

26. Reagan, ‘A Time for Choosing,’ 1964 • Part Three

27. Carter’s ‘Crisis of Confidence’ speech, July, 1979

28. Reagan’s 1980 Acceptance Speech

29. Modern Conservatism • Rise of Christian Right, evangelicals • ‘With God on Our Side’ documentary, part one • Cultural issues: religion, abortion, prayer in schools, homosexuality, ERA, women’s issues, gender issues • Diff. political action groups, organizations, like the Moral Majority • Problems of keeping coalition together: religious conservatives, economic, foreign policy, libertarians

30. 1980s: ‘Wall Street’ America • Wall Street clips