RISE OF THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT
1920s All three presidents (Harding, Coolidge and Hoover) were Republicans who supported a conservative
economic agenda. They believed in tax cuts led by Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon.
1930s – FDR’s New Deal plan was the most liberal time in American economic history. The economist John
Maynard Keynes believed in deficit spending, when the government increases debt in order to stimulate the
economy.
1952 Dwight Eisenhower, a war hero, defeated Adlai Stevenson for president.
He was a Republican, however, the Democratic party also sought him out to be the nominee. He was
considered a moderate Republican. He was conservative in economic issues but somewhat liberal on social
issues.
1950s – considered a more conservative, traditional era
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Clothing was more conservative
Women dressed and behaved more conservatively. When the men returned from war, women
returned to the house.
Television – I Love Lucy would not show married couples in the same bed.
Elvis Presley was not shown on tv from the waist down.
1960 – JFK was elected with the help of the African American vote. This decade was more liberal.
1964 LBJ defeated Barry Goldwater, a Republican, conservative senator from Arizona. He is often referred
to as “Reagan before Reagan.” He was a conservative politician during a liberal decade. By today’s
standards he would be considerate libertarian. Discussing gays in the military, he once said, “you don’t
have to be straight to shoot straight.”
In the campaign, LBJ had a commercial with a girl picking petals off a flower and then blowing up in a
nuclear holocaust. LOL LBJ was trying to make Goldwater look like a pro-war candidate.
Goldwater wrote The Conscience of a Conservative.
1968 Chicago Democratic Convention – hippies were protesting; nominated Pigasus; threatened the lace
the water supply with LSD; workers on strike
Nixon defeated Humphrey to become president.
He believed that the country had a “silent majority” of conservatives even though liberal hippies
dominated the media.
Nixon used a policy of “law and order” to bring down crime rates in the cities. This is a conservative
measure.
1973 Equal Rights Amendment movement by feminists. Only 35 of the necessary 38 states ratified the
amendment. Phyllis Schafly organized the STOP ERA group. Her son started Conservapedia as a website.
1973 Roe vs. Wade – legalized abortion
This led to a backlash by religious groups who coalesced into the Moral Majority. The rise of conservatism
was also viewed on social issues.
Economic Issues:
During the 1970s, the economic suffered greatly.
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Oil crisis
Stagflation – high inflation along with stagnant job growth
Gas lines
Unions in decline
Republican Ford and Democrat Carter both suffered from the bad economy.
1980 Election of Ronald Reagan
Tax policy: trickle down, supply side economics or Reaganomics
This policy derived from the economist Milton Friedman, who believed that tax cuts would support
economic stimulus.
Reagan and his economic team believed that cutting taxes for the wealthy would give them more
money to spend. This would then trickle down to the lower classes. (Where’s my trickle?)
Yes, Tom, Reagan lowered taxes for all brackets.
However, as Mr. Simone said almost as many times as Rand Paul, REAGAN INCREASED THE SOCIAL
SECURITY TAX!!!!
Grover Norquist is a lobbyist today who asks congressmen to sign a pledge that they will never raise
taxes.