hist 1302 blog - week 11

Rise of Conservatism in America, 35-74 

First Steps, 1945-1968

HIST 1302: US History Survey, 1877-The Present

Week 11 

Prof. Dobe's Introduction (Video Not Available)

David Lawrence, America Turns the

Corner (June 11, 1947)

•David Lawrence (Profile at usnews.com)

•Attack on the New Deal•Context of the 1946 Strike

Wave •Wagner & Taft-Hartley

Laws•Right to Work•U.S. News•Views of Reconstruction

and the 1920s

Strom Thurmond, States’ Rights

Democratic Party Platform (1948)

•Dixiecrats•Racial Segregation •"Home-Rule" •Fear of "Police Nation"

Strom Thurmond

Joseph McCarthy, Lincoln Day

Address (February 20, 1950)

•Attack on "Godless Communism" and "Bright Young Men ... Born With Silver Spoons in Their Mouths"

•Traitors in the State Department (Acheson)

Joseph McCarthy

Douglas MacArthur, Farewell Address

to Congress (1951)

•Confrontation Between Truman and MacArthur Over Korea

•Havens North of the Yalu River

•"Unleashing" the Chinese Nationalists

Douglas MacArthur

Russell Kirk, The Conservative Mind

(1953)

•Edmund Burke vs. French Revolution

•Divine Order; Heirarchy; Property & Freedom

•Bonds of Tradition

Russell Kirk

C-SPAN American Writers: Writings of Kirk and Buckley

William F. Buckley, Jr., Publisher’s

Statement on Founding the National

Review (November 19, 1955)

•God and Man at Yale (1951) 

•Attack on "Relativism"•"Liberal Conformity"•Claims of Victimhood

William F. Buckley, Jr.

William F. Buckley, Why the South Must Prevail (August 24, 1957)

•More and Less Advanced Races

•British Imperialism as a Model

William F. Buckley, Jr.

William F. Buckley: Right From the Start (Fox Documentary on Hulu) 

Conservative Icon William F. Buckley, Jr. Dies

C-SPAN In-Depth With William F. Buckley, Jr.

Robert Welch, The Blue Book of the John Birch Society (1959)

•Things to ConsiderRobert W. Welch, Jr.

Official Photo From Robert Welch University

Website

What is the John Birch Society?

November 1997 Interview on Washington Journal

Barry Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative (1960)•Runaway Success

Amongst Conservatives•Lays Out Conservative

Position on:oLabor Unions and

TaxesoForeign and Military

PolicyoFederal vs. States'

Rights

Barry Goldwater

Young Americans for Freedom, The Sharon Statement (1960)

•Venue: Sharon, CT Estate of William F. Buckley, Jr.

•Conservative Equivalent of the SDS's Port Huron Statement (1963)

•Limited Government and Free Market Economics

•Victory Over Communism

Young Americans for

Freedom

Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (1962)

•"Supply-Side Economics"

•Focus on Inflation•Taxes and Regulation

Threaten American Freedoms

•Criticized Governemnt Programs

Milton Friedman

C-SPAN In Depth With Milton Friedman

Ronald Reagan, Rendezvous With Destiny (October 24, 1964)

•You can read along with the video on the following slide...

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, Rendezvous With Destiny (Oct 24, 1964)

L. Brent Bozell, Who is Accommodating What? (May 4, 1965)

•Things to Consider

Role of the Central

Government

•Why, according to these documents

have some conservatives opposed a

strong central government except in

foreign policy?

Religion and Conservatism

•Why was religion less important in the

early years of conservatism than it later

became?

Pro-Life and Anti-Tax

•How have pro-life activists and

traditional tax cutters found common

ground in the conservative movement?

Role of the South

•Why has the South been of such critical

long-term importance in the rise of

conservatism? Has its importance

shifted over time?

Women, Minorities, and

Conservatism

•Liberals have criticized the conservative

movement for its underrepresentation of

women and minorities. Do the

documents support this criticism? If so,

does this seem to be a consequence of

the nature of conservatism itself?

Race in the Conservative

Movement

•How important, on the evidence of the

record, was race in the forming of

modern conservatism? Was it more

important than gender? More important

than class? Than region? Than

patriotism? Than faith?

The Obstacle to Conservatism

•What was the biggest obstacle

conservatives thought they faced in

building their movement and gaining

power? Were they correct?

Something Wrong With the

System?•Conservatives have been described as

“policy critical” but “system supportive” -

wanting, in other words, to change

government policies and leaders but not

the American system as a whole. Given

the documentary record, does this seem

an accurate appraisal?

Gender and Conservatism

•Conservatives have been described as

promoting “strong father” leadership and

policies - decisive, protective,

demanding, in control - as opposed to

“caring mother” liberals. Do the

documents support this kind of

interpretation?

Making the Rich Richer

•Conservatives have been described as

having wealth redistribution upward as a

constant long-term goal, with other

concerns - religion, race, guns, and so

forth - playing support roles. Do the

documents support this kind of

interpretation?