The Conservative Turn in America

The Conservative Turn in America

“Ronald Reagan televised address from the Oval Office, outlining plan for Tax Reduction Legislation July 1981opens in a new window” by White House Photo Office; Originally uploaded to Wikipediaopens in a new window by Happyme22opens in a new window Licensed under Public Domain via Commonsopens in a new window.

It’s been nearly four decades since Americans overwhelmingly elected President Reagan as president. In hindsight, the conservative turn that Reagan helped to initiate seems almost incredulous in its ability to undo the numerous social welfare and civil rights oriented policies that Americans fought so hard to achieve in the 1960s and 1970s.

Yet, as the documents in Chapter 14 show, perhaps the change wasn’t so surprising. As our textbook notes, criticism, cynicism, and mistrust in the ‘American way’ were rife through the 1970s and well into the early 21st century. After reading the documents and essays in Chapter 14 address the following in this forum:

Create a post that identifies and discusses the ways in which the rise of a new right captured the imagination of the American public.

Assess the changes that emerged in the 1980s against America’s social fabric today, reflecting on what the United States gained during the 1980s.

As with the earlier discussions, you might want to draw on your research-in-progress — both in putting together your initial posts and in commenting on your peers’ contributions. Feel free to share insights that you might be developing from your research projects with each other.