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Barry Goldwater causes right-wing to organize
Barry Goldwater as a candidate for the republican party gave the right-wing a chance to begin organizing as Goldwater was a candidate from their ranks and shared the same values. This brought the right-wing into the party and began the process of consolidating the party and it's voters. -
Reagan Enters the politcal arena
Reagan won the governorship of California allowing him to be, for the first time, a part of the politcal arena, a creating a clear advantage as it gave him the chance to gain name recognition. -
Richard M. Nixon Elected President
Nixon was the first president of this era. He was extremely conservative, as he preached a strict interpretation of the constitution, as well as supported the Vietnam War. He wanted to preserve Capitalism at all costs. -
Stagflation
Stagflation is a combination of the words inflation and stagnation. Stagflation was a period in the 1970s where unemployment and inflation rates were very high at the same time. In an effort to stop stagflation, President Nixon imposed a price freeze in 1971, but by 1975, inflation and unemployment were on the rise. -
Roe v. Wade Cases
Roe v. Wade brought together large numbers of Catholics, political conservatives and religious fundamentalists in an effort to oppose the supreme court decision. This therefore helped push the United States back towards the conservative side of the political spectrum. -
Nixon Resigns
Nixon resigns in disgrace after the house voted to call of impeachment. His resignation made Americans distrust him, yet not his Conservative ideals. -
Election of Ronald Reagan
Reagan was a conservative who believed in traditional families and the importance of the Christian God in America. He was inaugurated on January 20th, 1980. Shortly after his inauguration, Reagan instituted “Reaganomics”. Reaganomics was the economic policy of reducing taxes while simultaneously building up the army. -
Reagan is Re-elected
Reagan's re-election shows that the American people were behind the conservative nature of their President and therefore agree to a degree with the ideology. This cements the rise of Conservatism. -
Reagan appointed constructionist Justice Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia was a strict constructionist justice, or a hyper-concervative justice that shared the values that the government should be smaller. This shows the judicial shift toward conservatism as well. -
"Read my lips. No new taxes."
This was spoken George H.W. Bush's campaign phrase, after he first said it at the Republican Convention in 1988. He first spoke after he received the Republican nomination. Bush did not stay true to this phrase, bringing about his defeat in the 1992 election. This loss was the end of Conservatism.
