Postwar Conservatism
During the turbulence of the 1960s, voices on the left and the right emerged to question moderation in politics. This essay assignment asks you to interpret postwar conservatism, aka the “New” Right. There are 4 major themes you need to address in your piece, not necessarily in this order and not necessarily assigned equal length/page space: A. Governmental ideology & domestic policy B. Vision of Americas role in the world / foreign policy C. Constituencies: Demographics (e.g. who they were) and how they changed over time. D. At least a brief consideration of their legacies, i.e. how national politics today still feels the reverberations of the 1960s. Black Lives Matter, the upcoming presidential contest, Trump conservatism, the Supreme Court’s composition, etc. — discussion of any one of these topics would fulfill this requirement. You could also discuss contemporary politics in relation to specific facets of the New Right, like foreign policy, economic theories/demands, even the role of the media within and without each movement. Questions you may want consider (these are for brainstorming purposes and you needn’t answer all of them): What was the appeal of your chosen movement? How did its leaders frame their arguments? Who were its participant groups, how did they relate to one another, and how were they mobilized? Was the concept of “change” present in its teachings? Why or why not? What role did the federal government play in either ideology or methodology? Race? You cannot possibly address every dimension of the movement in an essay of this length. To be strategic, you may choose to take a thematic approach. For example, the theme of “freedom”; how the Cold War shaped your movement; etc. You will need to articulate an historical argument/thesis statement about your chosen subject that clearly sets up the paragraphs to follow
