The sagebrush rebellion was a populist protest against public lands reform supported by western citizens, the natural resource industries, and local and state governments in the West (Turner). The people who took part in the rebellion were ranchers, miners and state officials who believed that the federal government was overreaching its authority by passing laws like the National Environmental Policy Act and the wilderness Act. The rebels believed the land which was being taken over by the federal government should remain under state control and as a result the main point of conflict for the rebellion was states’ rights. The rebellion would begin in the late 1970’s continuing on into the 1980’s, while the wise use movement would serve as a successor to the rebellion gaining prominence in 1988.
The wise use movement shifted the message of the sagebrush rebellion from states rights to the rights of individuals. The movement focused on the rights to bear arms, to own private property and to exercise political liberty (Turner). The wise movement presented itself as being a middle path which in essence shows how the right was trying to change its perception as being more moderate and central.
The movements provided a stance for the new right to get behind, standing against federal overreach and environmental regulation would become a stalwart of conservative ideology. The rise of conservatives would lead to the Reagan era, where republicans would have control of the senate thanks in large part due to their growing popularity in western states where the issue of public land use was far more polarizing then elsewhere in the country. Environmentalism was painted as a ploy by the federal government to gain more power aligning the idea with larger liberal ideas. The segregation era rhetoric of states rights evolved into the protection of individual rights and liberties. The switch in focus to individual rights would form the foundation of conservative ideology for the future, the effects of this switch can be seen in today’s conservative ideology to this day.
The battles over public lands would provide a catalyst for the conservative ideology to evolve as can be seen over the change in objectives from the sagebrush rebellion to the wise use movement. As the institutions of the new right took over the funding of the movements as the wise use movement was mostly backed by industrialists it further solidified the grassroots support for the new right. This would become the backbone of the new right and would pave the way for the republican majority in the senate.
In short the battles would provide the conservatives with the means to reach a new identity and to present a new message which would resonate with the west leading to a major political realignment.
Will Wright 