Guided Response: Respond in a substantive manner to at least two of your classmates’, each response should be at least 100 words. Be sure to relate your discussion back to the course materials and move the conversation forward by asking a question, raising a new point, or elaborating more thoroughly upon a point already raised. Continue to monitor the discussion forum throughout the learning week and respond with robust dialogue to anyone (including your instructor) who replies to your initial post.

**Original Assignment Post***

Prior to beginning work on this discussion:

• Read Chapters 13 and 14 of the course text.
• Explore The Political Compass (Links to an external site.) website and take the quiz.
• Read The Rise of Conservatism Since World War II.

Based on your textbook and the required article, address the following items:

• Explain some of the beliefs and positions of the conservative movement.
• Keeping in mind the progress of the progressive movements in the 60s and 70s, explain at least three reasons for the rise of conservatism in the last part of the 20th century.
• Explain which groups benefited from conservative policies and which groups were impacted negatively.
• Select an issue that you feel is important today. How does a knowledge of history help us gain a better understanding of this issue?

Classmate #1 Regina Carter

The conservative movement is based upon social and moral values in equality and social justice. They believe in moral authority when it comes to conforming to the ways of society based upon freedom, justice and order. They believe in respecting the traditions of those that are gone on before us by utilizing their wisdom to maintain our morals instead of trying new ways. Another belief is in Prudence which means that we should be patient in weighing things out before jumping into things in a hurry and maintaining Christian values with exceptionalism. Lastly, conservatives believe in variety and imperfection based upon the thought that we won’t have a perfect society but can only aim for one that is free, just, and orderly (Kirk, 2018). The stand against same-sex marriages, civil unions and Abortion based upon maintaining their Christian values and republicanism.

Three reasons conservatism rose in the last part of the 20th century started with the election of Ronald Reagan as President in 1980 as a conservative. Although conservatism went back as far as the 1930s, Reagan advanced it with the restoration of trust in the public eye by supporting equal rights of African Americans, the reduction of government in economic matters and taxation. Before this took place Secularization, jeopardy of American institutions and values, and issues with Equal rights, abortion, pornography and school prayer were all in opposition that strengthened a fight for conservatism (Barnes & Bowles, 2014, Sec. 13.3). From the looks of all of this opposition it seemed necessary to have a Presidential leader rise up and level out the playing field.

During this rise in conservatism and the policies that followed some groups benefited and some did not. Through the existence of Reaganomics many tax laws were changed by President Reagan including the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 and the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 all were restructured to fit Reagan’s economic plan. This resulted in the Labor Movement being under attack by the declining rate of union members, closing of plants because of mergers and relocating of others to seek those who would accept lower pay while the company gain higher profits. Another group that didn’t benefit were the Homeless because of the reductions of social service programs including SSI, food stamps, and low-income housing in which the poor depended on. Those that benefited most during Reagan years as President were those that were wealthy because of the many tax cuts and those of the Clinton reign as President in 1992 that increased conservatism by the erosion of Affirmative Action along with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 for African Americans equality (Carter, 2003, Pgs. 14-15).

There are so many issues today that has been brought to my attention because of the knowledge that I have learned in history especially in this class. One of the major issues that I feel is most important is equality for African Americans and those that are poor which would be counted as Civil Rights and the constant need to push for more policies that would protect these individuals. Learning the history of African Americans has made me want to not just sit back but get involved with the NAACP and those that are fighting for equality throughout the Nation.

References

Barnes, L. & Bowles, M. (2014). The American story: Perspectives and encounters from 1877. [Electronic version]. Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.eduLinks to an external site.

Carter, D. T. (2003). The rise of conservatism since World War II. OAH Magazine of History, 17(2), 11-16. Retrieved from http://magazine.oah.org/Links to an external site.

Classmate #2 Janetha Pettiway

Explain some of the beliefs and positions of the conservative movement.

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, organic society, hierarchy, authority, and property rights. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity. The more traditional elements—reactionaries—oppose modernism…The turn of the 20th century The Allied victory in World War I resulted in the downfall of four great imperial dynasties—those in Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Ottoman Turkey —that were the last major bastions of conservatism based on monarchy, landed aristocracy, and an established church. The currents of conservatism that sparked anti-Socialist and antiforeign hysteria during the war continued, leading to immigration restriction, support for Prohibition, and a diminished tolerance for radicalism. Reagan’s presidency saw the advance of a more rigid and ideological conservatism in the Republican Party, and, at least initially, he earned wide support from voters of both parties. At 69 he was the oldest person ever elected president. Full of energy and inspiration, he wrote much of his own inaugural address, and one of the lines that resonated most with the people was the former actor’s assertion, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem” (as cited in Schlesinger, 2008, p. 314).
He thus echoed the enduring mistrust from Watergate, and clearly many shared Reagan’s view that government was impeding progress. His plan aimed especially at attacking unnecessary government regulation and reforming the welfare state to make individuals more responsible for their own behavior.The restructuring of the industrial economy was a large reason for the decline in organized labor. Seeking higher profits and lower wages, many firms closed plants in the United States and moved operations to Mexico and other developing nations where workers received little pay and there were fewer safety and environmental restrictions.Some of Reagan’s rethinking on the Cold War preceded Gorbachev’s ascendency to power in 1985 and demonstrated that Reagan was not simply reacting to changes in the Soviet Union but was also a force for a new direction himself (Fischer, 2000). In the latter half of the 1980s, the two world leaders made progress in reducing the numbers of nuclear weapons each nation possessed.Reagan’s presidency saw the advance of a more rigid and ideological conservatism in the Republican Party, and, at least initially, he earned wide support from voters of both parties. American workers still enjoyed the benefits of collective bargaining. During Reagan’s presidency union membership dropped substantially, so that unions protected just 18% of private sector workers by 1985. Reduced membership weakened unions’ bargaining power and labor leaders strove fearfully to protect meager benefits and wages, making strikes almost nonexistent.While some Americans enjoyed tax breaks and the fruits of capitalism, a growing number in the 1980s were “homeless in paradise.” For example, in Santa Barbara, California, reductions in social service programs prevented thousands of people, many whom were the so-called working poor, from receiving aid. As the number of people below the poverty line increased, those receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits decreased by nearly 15% (Rosenthal, 1994).

Barnes, L. & Bowles, M. (2014). The American story: Perspectives and encounters from 1877. [Electronic version]. Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu
(Links to an external site.)
Carter, D. T. (2003). The rise of conservatism since World War II. OAH Magazine of History, 17(2), 11-16. Retrieved from http://magazine.oah.org/