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The rise of the New Right was, in part, a result of the economic and political emergence of the Sun Belt.
Throughout the post-World War II era, the Sun Belt gained economic importance as a variety of industries, particularly those related to national defense, relocated there.
In 1961, President Kennedy committed the nation to putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The Johnson and Nixon administrations also supported this goal and provided significant funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to achieve it. By the time astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin walked on the moon on July 20, 1969, the U.S. space program had spent $25 billion. Much of that money was spent on the construction and staffing of facilities in the Sun Belt that oversaw rocket launches, trained astronauts, and managed space flight. The best known of these facilities are the Launch Operations (Kennedy) Center in Florida and the Manned Spacecraft (Johnson) Center in Houston, Texas.
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The space program would not have succeeded without the ongoing development of computers. Information technology was another industry that emerged in the Sun Belt, particularly in an area near San Francisco known as “Silicon Valley.” In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed Microsoft and, 1 year later, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple.Economic progress and innovation did not advance at the same pace in the Northeastern and Midwestern states. As economic competition with Western Europe and Asia increased—and U.S. trade deficits mounted—during the 1970s, this region became known as the Rust Belt.
Northern cities, including Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit, were among those hit hardest by international competition and the rise of the Sun Belt.
The relocation of plants to the Sun Belt and competition from Asian companies contributed to the decline of the automobile industry in Detroit (once known as the “Motor City”) and of related local industries. Between 1947 and 1977, the number of manufacturers in Detroit declined from over 3,000 to fewer than 2,000. During the same period, manufacturing jobs decreased from 338,400 to 153,000.
Attempts by local leaders and economists as well as elected officials in Washington, DC to solve the problem of stagflation sometimes widened the gap between the Sun and Rust Belts. Economic hardship increased inequality and frustrated many Americans.
When Jimmy Carter took office in 1977, the unemployment rate was high (7.5%), inflation was increasing (reaching 11.3% by 1979), and economic growth was slow.
Economic transformation, combined with social and political battles over Vietnam and identity politics, contributed to the emergence of a conservative political coalition known as the New Right.
To solve the nation’s economic and foreign policy problems, a group of intellectuals known as “neoconservatives” proposed an alternative to the liberal agenda that had produced the welfare state and international cooperation:
Neoconservatives valued individual freedom above social welfare. They argued that liberal programs (e.g., the food stamp program) led to dependence on government support. They also interpreted the “equal protection” clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and other federal civil rights measures, narrowly.
In March 1972, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and sent it to the states for ratification. The amendment banned all forms of sexual discrimination and, in doing so, provided a constitutional basis for gender equality. It was supported by the National Organization for Women (NOW) and other civil rights groups. By 1973, 30 states had approved the amendment; ratification seemed certain. However, neoconservatives, with the support of socially conservative grassroots organizations, argued that the amendment threatened “traditional” family values and would end privileges enjoyed by women, including gender-specific restrooms and exemption from military service. As a result of conservative activism, the ERA failed to receive the approval of 38 states—the number required for ratification.
A resurgence of Protestant evangelicalism during the 1970s contributed to a crucial component of the New Right. The evangelical movement (also known as the Religious Right) added a concern with social and moral issues to the New Right agenda.
Although membership in mainstream Christian denominations stagnated during the 1970s, evangelical Protestant sects grew significantly, especially in the area sometimes referred to as the “Bible Belt.”
Evangelical Christians were an important political and social force throughout the 1970s. A total of 1,300 radio stations were owned and operated by evangelicals. Christian television programs, including Pat Robertson’s The 700 Club and Jim Bakker’s The PTL (Praise the Lord) Club, were enormously popular and raised millions of dollars in viewer contributions. Large “megachurches” were built, particularly in suburban communities, along with Christian schools and universities.
Evangelical Christians believed that premarital and extramarital sex, abortion, homosexuality, drug use, and other “irreligious” practices were responsible for the decline of traditional family values in the United States. They organized to defend the values that they believed were under siege.
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In 1978, Christian singer (and former beauty pageant winner) Anita Bryant helped to establish Save Our Children, Inc. to overturn a Miami ordinance that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Using fundraising cards like the following one, which asked for help to “bring America back to God and morality,” Bryant gained the support of evangelicals and conservatives across the country. The ordinance was repealed.
Building upon Bryant’s movement in Florida, a Virginia minister named Jerry Falwell formed the “Moral Majority” in 1979. The Moral Majority, according to Falwell, was “pro-life, pro-family, pro-America.” In addition to its religious and moral aspects, the organization had a political focus, indicating the growing influence of the New Right in American politics.
The election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980 was the result of the political, economic, social, and cultural trends that led to the rise of the New Right. Reagan appealed to those who worried about the economy and the decline of American influence abroad. He also attracted the most ardent members of the New Right when he promised to reduce the role of the federal government and support states’ rights.
Reagan’s election was the culmination of an unusual transition from movie actor to politician. Born and raised in the Midwest, he moved to California in 1937 to become a Hollywood actor.
After the war, Reagan resumed his film career. He led the Screen Actors Guild (a Hollywood union) for a time and became a spokesman for General Electric. As a young man, he was a liberal Democrat. However, his opposition to communism and the influence of his socially conservative second wife, actress Nancy Davis, changed Reagan’s political views.
In 1966, Reagan launched his political career by running (successfully) for governor of California. He blamed his predecessor, liberal Democrat Pat Brown, for the race riots that had occurred in California’s cities and for student protests associated with the Free Speech Movement. He also criticized tax increases and the state government, which he denounced as “big government.”
After two unsuccessful attempts to win the Republican nomination for president in 1968 and 1976, Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter to win the office in 1980. Carter had failed to resolve the nation’s economic woes, and his handling of the ongoing Iran hostage crisis made him appear inept in foreign affairs. When Reagan asked an audience “Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?” during a televised debate with Carter in October 1980, many Americans replied, “No.”
Reagan won a resounding victory in the 1980 election, receiving almost 44 million popular votes and defeating Carter in the Electoral College, 489 to 49.
The New Right contributed to Reagan’s victory. Many evangelical Christians who opposed the legalization of abortion, the feminist movement, and sex education in public schools voted for him in 1980.
However, Reagan’s win was also the result of dissatisfaction with Jimmy Carter and widespread frustration with the government. During the 1970s, many White middle- and working-class voters resented the federal and state tax increases implemented to pay for social welfare and benefit programs. By the late 1970s, this resentment was manifested in “tax revolts” in California and other states where mostly White, middle-class citizens campaigned for the enactment of laws that significantly reduced property and state income taxes.
Reagan won the White House by addressing the moral concerns of the Religious Right and by identifying “big government” as the problem, not the solution, to the nation’s ills. His message reflected the country’s unsettled mood and helped to set the political agenda for the 1980s and beyond.
Source: This tutorial curated and/or authored by Matthew Pearce, Ph.D with content adapted from Openstax “U.S. History.” Access for free at openstax.org/details/books/us-history LICENSE: CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 4.0 INTERNATIONAL
REFERENCES
Debate between President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, October 28, 1980, transcript, Retrieved from the Ronald Reagan Library, bit.ly/2pR8zid
