Analyze the conservative shift in American politics from the late 1970s through the Bush years as president

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Good students will probably begin with discussion of the 1970s economy, which was characterized by high unemployment and inflation. With shrinking opportunities in the market place, whites began to blame the government for paying too much attention to programs for minorities and women, such as affirmative action. The public backlash on this issue was reflected in President's Carter's tepid response to requests to defend affirmative action in the midst of the U.S. Supreme Court's Bakke decision. Better students will point to the opposition against the Equal Rights Amendment and the emergence of the Moral Majority, which made inroads on issues such as abortion, despite the ruling in Roe v. Wade. Good students will conclude that this resurgent conservatism consolidated itself with a conservative demographic tilt toward the Sunbelt, which resulted in electoral landslides for Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush's electoral victory in 1988 . Good students will point out that this conservative political shift occurred despite indications of economic weakness in the U.S. economy, highlighted by the 1987 stock market crash.