The Sagebrush Rebellion occurred over the issues of public lands and state’s rights. Regan’s emerging thought involved the idea of “less government, wise use of lands, and movement towards the private sector.” The Sagebrush Rebellion, then, were political movements regarding federal control over public lands. The overall goal was to give the states and local authorities ownership of these lands as the right wing movement began to shape.
This shaped right wing beliefs regarding the expansion and review of states’ rights. A Republican state legislator from Wyoming explained that, according to page 132, “An emphasis on states’ rights, of course, has long been a central plank of conservative politics in a range of political debates… What is notable is that, despite the popular outcry of rural westerners party to the sagebrush rebellion, states’ rights remained the primary emphasis, more so than the rights of citizens…” This means that the government ‘s role in regulation shaped how the right was emerging.
We see this in contemporary politics too. Frequently, for example, Trump’s desire to abolish the Department of Education comes from the belief that states should have total control over the right to push out standards. This is not a new belief as the article also says that states’ rights were also central to education debates, but we see these viewpoints take shape especially with the ownership of land.
Will Wright 
I think it is very smart of you to draw the fight for states’ rights to other issues that the New Right fought for. I hadn’t thought about how Trump is echoing the states’ rights message through the dismantling of the Department of Education. However, I do somewhat believe that the fight for states’ rights is contradictory to the goals that the New Right has. We see New Right supporters advocating for less reliance on the federal government, yes, but then they also have goals that can only be achieved through a strong federal government.
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