President Ronald Reagan: The Rise of the New Conservative Right

E. America Enters World War II (1945-Present) g. Analyze the origins of the Cold War, foreign policy developments, and major events of the administrations from Truman to present

2.Changes at Home a. Analyze major domestic issues and responses of the administrations from Truman to present c. Identify the events and influential individuals of the civil rights, human rights, and counterculture movements and assess their impact d. Evaluate the impact of changes in the national economy on contemporary American society e. Identify the major contemporary social, environmental, and political issues (e.g., immigration, global warming, terrorism), the groups involved, and the controversies engendered by those issues f. Assess increasing global interdependence, the potential for conflict, and the U.S. role in world events in the present and future

The Old Republican Right In 1964, Republican Barry Goldwater ran on the notion that the government should have less control over the states, businesses, and individuals. He urged for the government to reduce taxes. Yet, he lost to Democrat Lyndon Baines Johnson. Government social programs to assist the poor, elderly, and others, such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare, made many people frustrated because the programs cost a massive amount of tax payer money. Therefore, the old Republican model was to reduce funding for government programs and allow people to keep more of their income by reducing taxes and decreasing funding for social and other programs. Copyright, USHistoryTeachers.com All Rights Reserved.

The Old Republican Approach Republican: Barry Goldwater -Claim: The government is taxing too much and must reduce its size and lower taxes. Democrat: Lyndon Baines Johnson -Claim: The government should use taxes to provide social programs for the poor, elderly, and others who need assistance. LBJ won the election. The Election of 1964

Social Concerns of the New Republican Right While Republicans before 1980 championed a smaller government to reduce taxes, the agenda of the Republicans expanded to include other issues by 1980. Republicans still wanted lower taxes. Yet, many were concerned with the social changes that occurred in the Mid-20th Century. Many of these concerns came from Evangelical Christians. The Supreme Court outlawed staff led prayers in schools in 1962, abortion was federally legalized due to Roe vs. Wade in 1973, and the sexual ethics of the USA had shifted radically during the 1960s. Conservatives wanted to reverse the momentum of these movements. Copyright, USHistoryTeachers.com All Rights Reserved.

The Religious Wing of the New Right An Evangelical pastor from Virginia, Jerry Falwell, urged fellow Fundamentalist Christians, who interpreted the Bible rigidly, to unite and support the Republican Party. He started a group called The Moral Majority. Falwell believed that the Republican Party could challenge abortion, return prayer to schools, and champion the ethics of the Religious Right in the USA. Falwell had massive exposure due to televising his sermons nationwide. The New Religious Right supported low taxes. Yet, they longed to change many social patterns that had come about in the USA as well. Copyright, USHistoryTeachers.com All Rights Reserved.

the Republican Party should support the concerns of his Jerry Falwell, pictured above, holding the microphone, a televangelist, urged Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians to support the Republican Party. He believed in lower taxes. Yet, he also believed the Republican Party should support the concerns of his political coalition, which he called the Moral Majority.

The New Conservative Right supported low taxes, but, they also championed their Social Concerns. Many of these New Republicans supported Ronald Reagan in the Election of 1980. Above is Ronald Reagan and Jerry Farwell meeting to discuss the concerns of the Moral Majority group that Farwell started.

was called the Pro-Life Movement. Many of the New Republicans opposed the Supreme Court Decision of Roe vs. Wade, which recognized abortion as legal in the USA. They wanted to see this decision overturned and abortion outlawed. Their movement was called the Pro-Life Movement.

While many Conservatives on the Right wanted to see abortion outlawed, many liberals on the political left felt that abortion was a right and a choice that women should be allowed to make without the government stopping them. This movement was called the Pro-Choice Movement.

Other Issues of the New Right The New Right stood against the Equal Rights Amendment and Affirmative Action. They claimed these endeavors did not recognize traditional gender roles and practiced reverse discrimination. The Equal Rights Amendment was written to ensure gender discrimination would not occur. The Religious Right asserted that it would have effects beyond that goal, such as removing gender distinction for public restrooms. Affirmative Action meant that businesses and government entities had to hire a quota of minorities. The New Right opposed this as discrimination against some who were qualified for jobs, but not a member of the group the business needed a quota for due to the government rules. Copyright, USHistoryTeachers.com All Rights Reserved.

but not a part of the quota system of Affirmative Action. While many supported Affirmative Action as a means to correct the racism and discrimination that afflicted America’s past, others saw Affirmative Action as reverse discrimination against those who were qualified for colleges and jobs, but not a part of the quota system of Affirmative Action.

Iran experienced an extremist takeover by Shi’ite Muslims in the late 1970s. Under Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, the USA experienced a great deal of cooperation. When he fell from power, the USA began to have massive hostilities with Iran.

became the theocratic leader of Iran. In the late 1970s, the leader of Iran, who supported the USA, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, pictured to the left, experienced a rebellion against his leadership. Pahlavi fled into exile and Ayatollah Ruhollah Mostafavi Moosavi Khomeini, pictured to the right, became the theocratic leader of Iran.

Pictured above are some of those hostages. This incident damaged When the USA allowed the Shah of Iran to get cancer treatment in the USA, many extremists in Iran were angry that the USA was helping their overthrown, former leader. They charged into the US embassy and took Americans hostages. They remained hostages for 444 days. Pictured above are some of those hostages. This incident damaged the popularity of President Jimmy Carter.

The Election of 1980 In the Election of 1980, the Republican, Ronald Reagan, challenged the incumbent Democrat, Jimmy Carter. The New Religious Right heavily backed Ronald Reagan. Ironically, Jimmy Carter stressed that he was a born again Evangelical Christian. Yet, the Religious Right leaders, like Jerry Falwell, believed Reagan was more likely to implement their goals. Under Jimmy Carter, the economy was struggling and the Iran Hostage Crisis was still going on. These factors damaged his political popularity and Ronald Reagan won the Election of 1980. Copyright, USHistoryTeachers.com All Rights Reserved.

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