AP Syllabus focus:
‘Liberalism peaked in the 1960s, then faced growing conservative challenges and declining trust in government during the 1970s.’
Political realignment and debates over government power intensified after the 1960s as liberal achievements met economic strains, cultural conflicts, and rising distrust, reshaping U.S. politics nationwide.
Shifting Political Coalitions in the Late 1960s and 1970s
The apparent dominance of postwar liberalism began to erode as new political coalitions emerged. Liberalism—characterized by confidence in federal action to promote economic security and civil rights—reached its peak with Great Society legislation, yet social conflict and economic uncertainty soon challenged its authority.
The Fracturing of the New Deal Coalition
A major transformation occurred within the long-standing Democratic coalition.
Working-class white voters, once core Democratic supporters, increasingly moved toward conservative candidates in reaction to cultural change and civil rights policies.
Southern Democrats, angered by federal civil rights enforcement, realigned gradually toward the Republican Party.
Urban ethnic voters, who had historically benefited from social welfare programs, expressed frustration over rising taxes, inflation, and perceived disorder.
This political movement weakened the traditional base of liberal policymaking and opened opportunities for conservative resurgence.
The Rise of Suburban Conservatism
Suburbanization encouraged new political identities among middle-class Americans.
Many suburban families supported limited government, lower taxes, and tougher crime policies, expressing disapproval of perceived urban decline.
Business leaders and homeowners embraced the argument that federal intervention often produced inefficiency and dependency.
Growing distrust of government programs fueled support for political candidates promising to restrain federal authority.
These conditions accelerated a conservative shift that cut across regions, income groups, and party lines.
Debates over the Role of the Federal Government
Conflicts over federal power defined the 1970s, as Americans questioned whether Washington could solve national challenges.
Economic Turmoil and Government Credibility
The decade’s economic difficulties eroded faith in liberal economic management.
Stagflation, the simultaneous rise of unemployment and inflation, contradicted the assumptions of mid-century Keynesian policy.
Stagflation: A condition in which high inflation occurs simultaneously with stagnant economic growth and rising unemployment.
Oil shocks in 1973 and 1979 increased energy costs, undermining consumer confidence.
Policymakers struggled to respond effectively, fueling public skepticism toward federal competence.
These failures strengthened conservative critiques that government intervention distorted markets and hampered growth.
Expanding Social Movements and Debates over Authority
New social movements also reshaped debates over government.
African American civil rights activism, second-wave feminism, Chicano and American Indian movements, and LGBTQ+ activism pressed the federal government to expand rights and protections.
Supporters viewed federal power as essential for correcting structural inequality.
Opponents argued that rights-based policies burdened taxpayers, disrupted traditional institutions, or overextended federal authority.
These disagreements reinforced ideological divisions regarding the purpose and limits of government action.
Declining Trust in Government Institutions
A significant development of the 1970s was the collapse of public confidence in national leadership.
Watergate and the Crisis of Legitimacy
The Watergate scandal played a central role in weakening trust.
Barbara Jordan, a freshman representative from Texas, sits on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate impeachment hearings in 1974. The hearings highlighted congressional checks on presidential power and exposed abuses within the Nixon administration. This image includes additional historical detail, but clearly illustrates the broader theme of legislative oversight and the crisis of confidence in government. Source.
The revelation of President Richard Nixon’s involvement in the cover-up of a political burglary shocked the public.
Investigations revealed abuses of executive power, prompting widespread disillusionment.
Nixon’s 1974 resignation intensified doubt about the integrity of government institutions.
The scandal provided powerful evidence for critics who argued that centralized federal power threatened democratic accountability.
Congressional Responses and Efforts to Rein in Power
In reaction, Congress sought to restore balance within the federal system.
The War Powers Act of 1973 attempted to limit presidential authority to deploy military forces.
War Powers Act: A federal law requiring the president to consult Congress before sending U.S. forces into combat and mandating withdrawal without authorization after a set period.
New campaign finance reforms targeted corruption and increased transparency.
Intelligence oversight committees were created to monitor covert activities.
These measures reflected widespread concern that postwar expansions of federal and executive power had exceeded constitutional limits.
The Conservative Turn and Emerging Realignment
By the late 1970s, political debates increasingly favored conservative arguments about limited government and traditional values.
Intellectual and Grassroots Conservatism
A revitalized conservative movement blended economic, social, and foreign-policy critiques.
Free-market economists warned that regulation and welfare spending stifled innovation.
Religious conservatives condemned what they perceived as moral decline and judicial overreach.
Cold War hawks called for stronger military spending and a more assertive foreign policy.
These groups formed a coherent ideological coalition that contrasted sharply with fracturing liberal constituencies.
Electoral Shifts and the Prelude to the Reagan Era
As voters expressed dissatisfaction with inflation, taxation, and political scandal, conservative candidates gained traction.
Republican victories in the South and West signaled broader realignment.
Many independents and former Democrats shifted rightward, shaping new electoral patterns.
Calls for smaller government, market-based solutions, and renewed national confidence resonated with a public eager for stability.
By 1980, these developments laid the foundation for a lasting transformation in American political life, redefining debates over the size, scope, and legitimacy of government.
This Electoral College map shows Ronald Reagan’s decisive victory over Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election, highlighting the conservative realignment discussed in this subsubtopic. The widespread Republican gains across the South and West illustrate emerging shifts in party coalitions and voter priorities. The map extends slightly beyond the 1945–1980 period but serves as a clear visual marker of the political transformation shaped by earlier debates over government power. Source.
FAQ
Monetarist economists argued that inflation resulted primarily from excessive growth of the money supply, not from insufficient federal spending. This challenged the Keynesian model that had guided mid-century liberal policy.
These ideas strengthened conservative claims that government intervention distorted markets and worsened economic instability.
They also encouraged calls for:
Reduced federal regulation
Lower taxes
Greater reliance on market mechanisms
Monetarism therefore provided an intellectual framework for the conservative critique of liberal governance.
Population growth in the South and West increased the political weight of regions already trending conservative. Many new residents were suburban, middle-class, and sceptical of expansive federal programmes.
Migration patterns also diversified the electorate:
Younger voters questioned traditional party loyalties.
Older, tax-sensitive homeowners often supported candidates promising limited government.
These shifts helped reorder national electoral coalitions.
Rising crime rates and highly publicised urban unrest led many Americans to view public order as a pressing national issue. Conservatives argued that liberal policies were too lenient and undermined social stability.
Politicians tapping into these concerns gained support by advocating:
Harsher sentencing
Expanded policing
Stricter limits on federal welfare spending
These debates reshaped voter priorities and contributed to the appeal of conservative candidates.
As scepticism about government competence grew, taxpayers increasingly questioned whether federal spending produced meaningful benefits. This fostered resistance to rising taxes, particularly among suburban and middle-class households.
Movements such as California’s Proposition 13 reflected this sentiment by pushing for:
Tax cuts
Limits on property tax increases
Restrictions on government spending
Tax revolts became powerful symbols of waning confidence in federal and state institutions.
Perceived American weakness abroad—highlighted by events such as the Iranian hostage crisis and setbacks in the Cold War—created dissatisfaction with existing leadership.
Conservatives argued for:
Increased defence spending
More assertive diplomacy
Stronger presidential leadership in international affairs
Foreign policy anxieties helped voters embrace candidates who promised renewed national strength, contributing to the conservative ascendancy by 1980.
Practice Questions
(4–6 marks)
Analyse how political realignment in the 1970s contributed to the rise of conservatism by 1980. In your answer, consider both changes in voter behaviour and debates over the role of government.
Question 2 (4–6 marks)
4 marks:
Identifies relevant developments in political realignment (e.g., Southern shift to Republican Party, suburban conservatism).
Gives a basic explanation of how these developments supported the rise of conservatism.
5 marks:
Explains with some detail how voter behaviour, economic anxieties, debates over government power, or cultural issues strengthened conservative appeal.
Shows clear understanding of how these factors weakened post-1960s liberalism.
6 marks:
Provides a well-developed analysis linking multiple aspects of realignment to the growth of conservatism by 1980.
Demonstrates accurate contextual understanding (e.g., decline of New Deal coalition, reactions to federal authority, consequences of the 1970s economic crisis).
Uses specific developments to show how support coalesced around conservative policies and candidates.
(1–3 marks)
Explain one reason why trust in the federal government declined during the 1970s.
Question 1 (1–3 marks)
1 mark:
Identifies a valid reason for declining trust (e.g., Watergate, economic problems, Vietnam).
2 marks:
Provides a brief explanation of the reason, such as describing how a scandal or crisis undermined confidence in federal leadership.
3 marks:
Offers a clear and accurate explanation linking the event or trend directly to public disillusionment with government authority during the 1970s.
