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Difficulty: HardThe Great Society and the War on Poverty

"The administration's War on Poverty has failed because it has been waged with administrative confusion, political favoritism, and the cynicism of buying votes. It has bypassed local government, destroyed local initiative, and created dependency rather than opportunity. We pledge to redirect these programs to emphasize jobs in the private sector, local control, and individual self-reliance."

— Republican Party Platform, 1968

Which of the following developments in the late twentieth century most directly reflects a continuation of the arguments expressed in the excerpt?

  1. A
    The bipartisan dismantling of New Deal-era social safety net programs like the Social Security Administration.
  2. The rising influence of a conservative movement that sought to limit the size of the federal government and promote private sector solutions.Answer
  3. C
    The implementation of Keynesian demand-side economic policies by Republican administrations in the 1980s.
  4. D
    The unanimous consensus among civil rights organizations in favor of federal control over local community programs.

Answer

The rising influence of a conservative movement that sought to limit the size of the federal government and promote private sector solutions.
The correct answer is correct because the critique of the War on Poverty in the 1968 Republican platform reflects the growing conservative backlash against the expansion of the federal government's role in social and economic affairs. This critique became a cornerstone of the modern conservative movement, which achieved major electoral success with the presidency of Ronald Reagan in 1980, promoting deregulation, tax cuts, and a reduction in the scope of the federal welfare state.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context and main argument of the stimulus.
The stimulus is from the 1968 Republican Party Platform, criticizing the Great Society's War on Poverty for bypassing local government, creating dependency, and increasing federal bureaucracy.
Understanding the source and its perspective is essential for contextualizing the historical argument.
2
Identify the long-term political impact or continuation of the arguments expressed in the stimulus.
The arguments against federal overreach and dependency contributed to the growth of the modern conservative movement, which gained prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Connecting the stimulus to broader historical developments aligns with AP US History historical reasoning skills (causation and continuity).
3
Evaluate the options to identify which choice correctly represents this development while discarding distractors that exhibit historical misconceptions.
The rise of a conservative movement seeking to limit the federal government aligns with the critique, while other options incorrectly represent the fate of New Deal programs, 1980s economic policy, or civil rights consensus.
This step ensures the selected option is historically accurate and directly answers the prompt.

Key Concept

Conservative critiques of the Great Society and the rise of the modern conservative movement.
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Topics

The Great Society and the War on Poverty

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