Chapter 40: The Stalemates Seventies, 1968-1980
As if the 1960s had been turbulent enough, the next decade didn't do much to settle some of the existential angst that had been brought to the fore by hippies, draft dodgers, and everyone who attended Woodstock. (None of those are mutually exclusive, either.) At any rate, after JFK's little brother was assassinated, Nixon was essentially a shoo-in for the Presidency (completing one of the great political comebacks of American history), and he used his appeal to the "Silent Majority" to justify upping the campaign against Vietnam (as well as invading Cambodia).
The world had changed, and though the Vietnam War ended during this period, leaving many Americans wondering what all the fuss had been about in the first place, many new issues rose to the fill the void. The stagnant state of the economy was of particular concern. Nixon ended up resigning because of Watergate, Ford became the only President who was never elected to the Executive Branch, and Jimmy Carter won election not because of his policies, but because he seemed like the only candidate who would restore honor to the Oval Office. It was a lousy time... made worse when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. |
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Chapter 41: The Resurgence of Conservatism, 1980-2000
After the debacle of the Vietnam War, as well as the stain of the Watergate scandal, America was in a sorry state of affairs. Jimmy Carter had provided morality, but little in the way of visionary leadership, while serving as President. Carter's policies were widely panned as leading to an economic malaise, and Ronald Reagan charged once more into the breach (having failed to secure his party's nomination in 1976, narrowly). Reagan was charismatic, charming, and deeply funny: qualities that Carter lacked.
Reagan won, handily, and crushed Walter Mondale in 1984, during which time he led the "Reagan Revolution" that forever changed the face of the Republican Party, as the "Old Right" fiscal conservatives and defense hawks merged with the "New Right" social conservatives, who were far more likely to care about things like homosexuality, pornography, abortion, and other social issues.
Even in 1992, when the Democrats retook the White House, President Clinton was far more moderate than many of his predecessors had been. It signaled a sea change in America, a conservative backlash against the high tide of liberalism that stretched from the Populists all the way to the Great Society.
Reagan won, handily, and crushed Walter Mondale in 1984, during which time he led the "Reagan Revolution" that forever changed the face of the Republican Party, as the "Old Right" fiscal conservatives and defense hawks merged with the "New Right" social conservatives, who were far more likely to care about things like homosexuality, pornography, abortion, and other social issues.
Even in 1992, when the Democrats retook the White House, President Clinton was far more moderate than many of his predecessors had been. It signaled a sea change in America, a conservative backlash against the high tide of liberalism that stretched from the Populists all the way to the Great Society.