With the 2008 recession and the election of Obama, the conservative consensus was shaken. Obama ran on a financial platform that diverged from previous administrations. He campaigned against the “Bush economy” and wanted the federal government to have a role in ending the financial crisis. He believed that it was the responsibility of the governmentContinue reading “The economy or something?”
Author Archives: Emma O
Climate Change and Regrets
The Bush administration had a climate policy referred to as “no regrets”. Focused on the economy, this plan was uncertain of the new science of climate change and advocated for a traditional environmental remediation plan that holds up to a cost versus benefit analysis (183). Climate change, like many other policies, revolved around the economicContinue reading “Climate Change and Regrets”
Freedom and Foreign Oil
George Bush saw the spreading of American freedoms and democracy abroad as “the mission that created our nation,” connecting America’s freedom with empires abroad (18). Immediately after WWII, the United States was at the top, controlling ⅔ of the world’s gold and the most powerful naval and air military force. In many Americans’ eyes, thisContinue reading “Freedom and Foreign Oil”
The Environment and the New Right
The history of environmentalism is like a swinging pendulum, going from an active manipulation of the environment approach to a hands-off one and back again. The New Right took environmental activists as extremists who were taking part in a culture war (123). The Sagebrush Rebellion and Wise Use Movements were actions of opposition to theContinue reading “The Environment and the New Right”
Falwell, Conservative Christians, and the GOP
Pastor Jerry Falwell was instrumental in the formation of the Christian Right as he connected social conservative Christians to economic conservatives. As political scientist, Corwin Smidt, was quoted in Williams’s article, the economic conservatives often ignored social issues that the Christians and the Moral Majority were focused on (125). Jerry Falwell was a Baptist pastorContinue reading “Falwell, Conservative Christians, and the GOP”
Deindustrialization and the Working Class
The reality of de-industrialization meant that for those used to working high-wage industrial jobs, they were forced to find work in low-wage service jobs (180). Those displaced from industrial jobs, such as the steel-working industry, were then forced to find new employment in a scarce job market. The reallocation of labor had racial and genderContinue reading “Deindustrialization and the Working Class”
Hardhats vs Doves
While it is easy to say the split over Vietnam in the late 60s and early 70s was between elite doves and reactionary hardhats, the real split came from class divisions. George Wallace and Richard Nixon tapped into this stereotype to push working-class Americans further to the right of the political scale. Working-class Americans wereContinue reading “Hardhats vs Doves”
Working Class Vietnam
Christian Appy argues that the Vietnam war was a “working class war” because 80 percent of those enlisted came from working class or poor backgrounds (251). Appy believes the reasoning for this is that working-class young men were directed towards military enlistment, as young men from the upper classes were sent to higher education. Additionally,Continue reading “Working Class Vietnam”
Northern Racism
The North is not normally the focus of Civil Rights history. Instead of a regional struggle in the South, the civil rights struggles in New York City and Boston challenge that view and show it was a national one. In New York City, the Brown v. Board of Education decision was celebrated, but schools didContinue reading “Northern Racism”
I90 and ICBMs
The construction of Interstate 90, while it boosted the tourism industry and economic growth, was designed for the efficient moving of military equipment and personnel (Heefner 181). The introduction of the interstate system in South Dakota led to the construction of 150 Minutemen Missle silos placing South Dakota as a crucial and silent cold warContinue reading “I90 and ICBMs”
Will Wright 