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Difficulty: MediumThe Conservative Movement and the Election of 1980

Read the excerpt below:

'I’ve been a Democrat all my life, and my father was one too. But look at what has happened to our neighborhoods and our paychecks. Between the price of groceries doubling and the factories laying people off, we can't afford four more years of this. And it's not just the money. It feels like the leaders in Washington don't respect the values we live by—hard work, family, and a strong country that doesn't get pushed around by foreign dictators. For the first time, a lot of us on the line are looking at the Republican ticket.'
—Excerpt from an interview with an auto worker in Macomb County, Michigan, September 1980

The sentiments expressed in the excerpt best illustrate which of the following historical developments during the late 1970s and early 1980s?

  1. A
    A rising belief that Keynesian demand-side government spending was necessary to address structural economic stagnation.
  2. B
    A widespread public consensus to return to absolute isolationism and withdraw from international commitments.
  3. The realignment of traditional Democratic constituencies into a new conservative electoral coalition.Answer
  4. D
    An advocacy for the complete elimination of all federal economic regulations to restore a pure laissez-faire capitalist system.

Answer

The realignment of traditional Democratic constituencies into a new conservative electoral coalition.
The correct answer is correct because the source highlights a blue-collar worker and lifelong Democrat transitioning to support the Republican ticket in 1980. This trend reflects the emergence of 'Reagan Democrats,' a critical segment of the new conservative coalition that also included fiscal conservatives, social traditionalists, and defense hawks, leading to a significant political realignment.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source to identify the speaker's background and their specific grievances.
The speaker is a lifelong Democratic blue-collar auto worker who expresses concern over economic distress (inflation and layoffs), perceived cultural decline, and weak foreign policy.
Understanding the speaker's identity and issues helps determine which political shift or group they represent.
2
Connect the speaker's grievances to the broader political landscape of the late 1970s and 1980.
These grievances align with the core platform of the conservative movement led by Ronald Reagan, who targeted working-class voters with promises of economic revival, traditional values, and national strength.
This links the micro-level source to the macro-level historical trend of coalition-building.
3
Evaluate the options to identify which historical development is illustrated by a unionized Democratic worker shifting support to the Republican ticket.
This shift represents the formation of the 'Reagan Democrats' and the broader realignment of voters that formed the modern conservative coalition.
This step identifies the correct historical concept and eliminates distractors based on accurate historical context.

Key Concept

The shift of traditional working-class Democratic voters to the Republican Party, forming a new conservative electoral coalition that led to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.
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Topics

The Conservative Movement and the Election of 1980

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