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Thread ID: 17858 | Posts: 1 | Started: 2005-04-19
2005-04-19 22:20 | User Profile
[URL=http://www.oldright.com/2005/03/conservative-impulse-from-19th-century.html]The Conservative Impulse: From the 19th Century to the Old Right by Jim Danky and John Cherney [/URL]
Digging into the entire history of the right-wing movement would be a monumental task, but there is a continuity with early 20th century conservatism that holds with the conservatives of today. There are some very similar terms when speaking about the Right, though there is enough distinction to be mentioned. The Old Right refers to the conservative movement which ended in the early 1970s, with the Republican fiasco of Watergate, the Nixon resignation and Ford's appointment of liberal Republican Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President. The New Right refers to the a reorganized right-wing movement after 1974, of which had new leaders, but retained many of the same issues and concerns as the Old Right. The difference between the Old Right and the New Right is mainly chronological rather than ideological, though the New Right championed issues that never surfaced for the earlier incarnation (abortion, family issues, school curricula, etc.). The New Religious Right is a term applied to the organization of evangelicals in the late 1970s by the leaders of the New Right.
The foundations for the conservative movement as we know it today lie in a strong anti-European sentiment existing in Jacksonian times, but dramatically appearing after the Civil War. Isolationist views became prevalent within certain segments of the American population, and directly led to a glorification of the Old West in America and along with that, images of tough sheriffs, rugged individualists, and a deep distaste for our European past. This developed into strong nativist sentiment and xenophobia. Pat Buchanan perhaps encapsulated this attitude best when he said in 1975, "The United States was built by men and women who turned their backs on Europe." This is consistent with what Alan Crawford wrote in 1980 in his book Thunder on the Right, that New Right politics seems intent on reasserting control over the federal government and the American culture, a control that they believe has been wrongly usurped from the common people of the frontier by the aristocratic East. The American East was seen as an extension of Europe (especially New York City), a fact dramatically emphasized by the millions of refugees emigrating to America through Ellis Island.
This anti-European anger and resentment is a fundamental element throughout the history of American conservatism and is crucial in understanding the various Right-wing groups of today. (The irony of discovering that some of their prophets are Europeans, Frederick Hayek and Leo Strauss come to mind, is probably lost on them.) The perceived evils of immigration and multiculturalism cut across the varied groups that comprise the Right of today. A chilling example is the strong attachment civilian militias place upon American founding fathers, or patriots. They revolted against evil Europe over two hundred years ago, and while the original intentions of their revolt was noble indeed, Washington, Jefferson and company are no doubt cringing to have their names linked to such movements and terrorism. The Oklahoma City bombing took place on April 19, 1995, (the anniversary of the start of the revolutionary war), and groups of goofballs, such as the Montana Freeman, consistently cite their cause, over 200 years later. The disregard for historical continuity is very dangerous.
1900 to 1960
The conservative movement and it's attachment to the Republican Party began, in effect, with President Wilson's defeat for U.S. inclusion into his own League of Nations. This isolationist attitude (led by Henry Cabot Lodge) prevailed through the Republican Party during the Harding and Coolidge administrations. During and after the Second World War, the conservative movement gained momentum. The non-interventionist group America Firsters and Sen. Robert Taft both carried the tradition of a conservative movement dominated by anti-communist, anti-European themes. Of course, McCarthy was at the center of the anti-Communist crusade.
At the end of the 1950s, the conservative movement was at a low point. Taft, the conservative leader for over two decades, died in 1953, McCarthy was discredited and the 1958 midterm elections swept conservative leadership out of office. However, these elections did produce a new conservative leader: Barry Goldwater, just reelected to the senate.
THE 1960S
The early 1960s witnessed an explosion of conservative activity, including a small radical element within the movement. This radical Right, spearheaded by such groups as the John Birch Society (started in the late 1950s) and the Christian Crusade, targeted issues such as communism and public schooling. Though the radical faction of the conservative movement was growing rapidly, it was still overshadowed by the greater growth (in numbers) of the main faction of the movement or mainstream conservatism. This larger faction also included a group of young conservative activists within the Republican Party who worked diligently towards getting a conservative candidate on the ballot for Republican nomination in 1960. They failed, but their leader, Barry Goldwater spoke for the issues important to these young activists.
These two main factions of the conservative movement at this time, the radical and mainstream, faced a growing split in the early 1960s, yet they shared much in common. They espoused the same causes, shared leaders and most importantly, had a common enemy; the liberal establishment.
The Right had a wide opening to gain for government control in the late 1960s, when the turbulence of the times (especially American foreign policy in Vietnam) indicated massive failure for the U.S. Government and consequently a decided decrease in influence through many facets of American society. Culminating in 1968 with the election of Richard Nixon, still a compromise candidate for the right, the conservative movement enjoyed growth that was to get them a near majority in the next election in 1972.
It is important to note that conservatism, reaching back to the 1940s and continuing to the early 1970s, shared common bases among its many faces (more radical and less radical factions, etc.). These commonalities allowed them access to political channels and financial resources. First of all, they shared solid support among the Republican party. Together with that was strong support from both the business community and the upper middle class.