1. UNITED STATES HISTORY AND THE CONSTITUTION South Carolina Standard USHC-8.4 Mr. Hoover Abbeville High School

2.  What were the causes and consequences of the resurgence of the conservative movement?  How did it impact social and cultural changes of the 1960s and 1970s?  How did the Conservative movement influence Supreme Court decisions on integration and abortion?  What were the economic and social policies of the Reagan administration, and the role of the media?

3.  Conservatism and liberalism have been in conflict throughout the history of the United States, especially in times of great social and cultural change and economic uncertainty such as the 1920s and 1930s, and again in the 1960s and 1970s. 

4.  This conflict continues in politics and society today.  Political positions on issues span a continuum, from the far Right to the far Left, with moderates of both sides finding some common ground in the middle.

5.  Individuals may be either social or fiscal conservatives or social or fiscal liberals or a mixture of both.  Since their inception in the 1790s, political parties have been the means by which like- minded people have influenced their government and shaped policies that reflect their positions on the issues

6.  The main issue that split the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans was the appropriate role and power of the national government.  This remains a major divisive issue between the parties today.  However, partisan politics addresses many issues and everyone who identifies with a political party does not hold exactly the same position on all of the issues.

7.  Within each party is a wide spectrum of positions, some of which are more conservative and others more liberal.  Political parties also respond to swings in public opinion and become more conservative or liberal in order to reflect the current concerns of voters.

8.  The basic differences between conservatives and liberals in the 1980s and today developed as a result of the varied responses to the Great Depression and the New Deal, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Great Society.

9.  Social upheaval and the counterculture of the 1960s strengthened the appeal of the conservative movement.  The Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education triggered the modern civil rights movement which led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.

10.  A conservative backlash, first evident in southern resistance to the Brown decision, was further fueled by television images and media reports of social unrest evident in riots in cities of the North and West.

11.  Anti-poverty programs and affirmative action plans passed as part of Johnson’s Great Society, were seen by some conservatives as helping African Americans at the expense of whites, despite the fact that many whites also benefited from anti-poverty programs.

12.  Reactions to civil rights and affirmative action pointed out the basic difference between conservative and liberals about the appropriate role of the federal government.  Conservatives believe that a large federal government threatens individual liberties and that the majority of governing should be left to the states (states’ rights).

13.  Conservatives believe in personal responsibility and that the government should leave charity to the private sector.  Consequently they do not support the extension of the welfare state because they believe that welfare programs make their recipients permanently dependent on government and are too costly.

14.  Liberals believe that the federal government should take an active role in protecting the rights and welfare of the individual and of minority groups against local prejudices.  Liberals advocate government programs to aid those who are least able to care for themselves.

15.  Other events of the 1960s fostered the development of the social conservative movement.  The women’s rights movement challenged the status quo and conservative ideals about the proper role of women in society.  The Supreme Court decision that state laws that criminalized abortion violated a woman’s right to privacy [Roe v Wade (1973)] outraged some conservatives and prompted a “right to life” movement.

16.  Many social conservatives believe the Supreme Court should overturn the decision allowing abortion.  Liberals believe that the individual should have the right to make decisions about his/her well being and support a woman’s right to choose.  Most conservatives opposed the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment while most liberals supported it

17.  President Reagan named the first woman to the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor, who was a conservative.  The conservative Supreme Court remains one of Reagan’s most enduring legacies.

18.  The Vietnam War, brought into American livings rooms on the nightly news, intensified the generation gap and the polarization of society as America divided between conservative “hawks” and liberal “doves.”  Pictures of peace marches and the burning of draft cards carried on the nightly news enraged conservatives.

19.  The fall of Vietnam to communists in 1975 intensified some conservatives’ anti- communist world view and their fear that America was losing its place as a world leader.

20.  The counterculture that developed out of the anti-war movement contributed to the sexual revolution of the 1960s and further alienated many conservatives.  As drug use, the divorce rate, and the number of unmarried people living together climbed, conservatives bemoaned this decline of “family values.”

21.  Increasingly conservatives had an impact on politics. Richard Nixon, a moderate Republican, was elected on the campaign promise to restore “law and order,” amid urban riots and anti-war protests, then used his Southern Strategy to broaden his appeal to southern conservatives.

22.  In the 1970s, businessmen who opposed environmental protections as a job– killing limit on their economic freedom and social conservatives and were galvanized by their opposition to abortion, joined in a movement that became known as the New Right.

23.  Fundamentalist and evangelical churches organized politically as social conservatives and became a cornerstone of the growing conservative movement.  Televangelists and radio personalities of the New Right used the media to reach millions with their conservative take on the issues of the day.

24.  By 1980s cable television, the twenty-four hour news cycle, and political talk shows intensified the political rhetoric and sense of partisanship.  The Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration and Nixon’s pardon by President Ford covered extensively by the media led to the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976.

25.  The Carter administration was beset by economic problems that had been exacerbated by spending on the Vietnam War and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, including double digit inflation and an energy crisis that eroded middle class prosperity and undermined support for social welfare programs.  This strengthened the popular appeal of fiscal conservatives.

26.  When the administration was unable to end the Iran hostage crisis, the stage was set for change.  Ronald Reagan campaigned for the presidency [1980] amid growing concern about the American economy and the weakened status of the United States in the world.

27.  Reagan’s patriotism and can-do attitude appealed to American voters buffeted by economic conditions, social change and international embarrassment.  Television coverage of the return of the hostages on the day of Reagan’s inauguration added to his can-do image.

28.  President Reagan launched what some have called the “Reagan Revolution”, cutting the taxes for the wealthy to promote investment and the creation of jobs, while at the same time cutting government spending.

29.  These policies found support among the fiscal conservatives whose position on the economy was rooted in their opposition to the New Deal.  These conservatives believe that if the wealthy have more money then prosperity will “trickle down” to the rest of society as the rich invest in building factories and hire workers (supply side).

30.  Liberal opponents of so-called “Reaganomics” believe that the economic well being of the nation depends on the ability of all of the people to consume the goods produced because increased demand will prompt entrepreneurs to create more jobs and more people with jobs will spend more money (demand side).

31.  They believe that the wealthy should pay taxes in proportion to their ability to pay and that tax cuts should go to the lower and middle class who will use those funds to consume goods prompting investment, jobs, and prosperity.

32.  Liberals hold that in economic hard times, the federal government should stimulate the economy through deficit spending.  Conservatives advocate belt-tightening and balanced budgets.  After a deep recession, the economy entered an era of growth and prosperity

33.  The Reagan administration also limited the enforcement of regulations on businesses and banks.  Deregulation found support among economic conservatives who believe that regulation of businesses constrains the free enterprise system.  Liberals in the progressive tradition generally support regulation.

34.  The Reagan administration also limited the enforcement of environmental protections.  Conservatives argue that jobs are more important than the environment and deny the impact of pollution.  Liberal opponents of Reagan’s policies argued that we can have both jobs and protection of the environment in order to ensure the health and well being of both the general public and the environment.

35.  Many conservatives also approved when President Reagan took a rhetorical hard line against the Soviet Union and significantly increased Cold War defense spending.  Conservatives credit Reagan’s policies with bringing about the dissolution of the Soviet Union; liberals attribute the fall of the Soviet Union to internal problems there as well as a change of Soviet leadership.

36.  Reaganomics and defense spending, as well as globalization, had a long term impact on the economy that is still being debated today.  Yearly budget deficits due to increased defense spending contributed to a tripling of the national debt.  The failure of many deregulated financial institutions led to the need for massive bailouts that further added to the debt and the crisis in economic confidence in the 1980s and again in 2008.

37.  Neither liberal nor conservatives addressed the increasing exodus of manufacturing jobs to places where labor costs were significantly lower.  New jobs that were created were most often in low-paying service industries which resulted in lower tax revenues.

38.  Low wages and Reagan’s tax policy contributed to a significant widening of the gap between the rich and the poor while consumerism and speculation fueled both prosperity and further speculation.

39.  President Reagan, as a media personality, successfully changed the vocabulary of politics so that conservative was now seen as synonymous with economic growth and traditional values and liberalism with wasteful spending and an overweening government.  Liberals attempted to counter this interpretation, portraying themselves as the champions of the middle class and the role of government as protecting the middle class.