Reagan Revolution Research Paper

Words: 1585
Pages: 7

The Causes, Policies, and Outcomes of the Reagan Revolution After the end of the Second World War, liberalism had seemed undefeatable. But by the end of the 1970s, the world of US politics had been turned upside down, culminating in the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. This marked the beginning of the Reagan Revolution, a revolution in American politics which illustrated the massive change away from liberalism in America. First, this rise in conservatism was caused by the rise of Evangelical Christians and the growing power of the Sunbelt. Subsequently, the failures of liberal governments in addressing economic failures, urban crime, and the seemingly weakening international status of the US dealt the final blow. As president, Reagan's policies …show more content…
The population of the country had been moving westward and southward, and many of the migrants were southerners who supported these traditional values. In 1968, Nixon would appeal to the growing power of the South and West. His presidency was built on criticizing anti-war sentiment and emphasizing Law and Order, views that propelled him into office. He appealed to the average white man who believed that change had become too radical. Nixon's most lasting legacy however, Watergate, proved to have the largest effect in supporting conservatism: it proved to the American people that the government was not to be trusted. Yet, it would be the economic struggles of the 1970s, not cultural changes, that proved to be the nail in the coffin for liberalism. The golden age of capitalism came to an end in 1973. The US had seen a decline in manufacturing and for the first time exported less than it …show more content…
Throughout the twentieth century, American culture had become more and more secular, and in response, Evangelical Christians sought to reinstate the Christian moral tradition. They lobbied to overturn rulings that banned prayer at schools and the legalization of abortion. Southern and Western suburbs would act like a bastion for Evangelical Christianity, calling for the return to traditional values. Christians were also deeply angered by the rise of the sexual revolution and the Gay Pride movement. Christianity's influence is plainly illustrated by the Equal Rights Amendment, which failed ratification even with popular support due to pushback from conservatives. Evangelicals also promoted American nationalism and patriotism. Many people thought that Carter was not doing a good enough job fighting communism, and there was a real fear that the US was starting to fall behind in the Cold War. The culmination of these unsolved American issues would lead to the election of Reagan in 1980, and the subsequent debut of the Reagan Revolution. Reagan's campaign culminated in the past three decades of conservative