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Difficulty: HardPolitical Realignment, Watergate, and Rise of Conservatism

“Our nation’s moral decay is not accidental. It is the direct result of a secular humanist philosophy that has taken over our public classrooms, our courtrooms, and our halls of government. The traditional family is under siege by federal regulators and social engineers who wish to replace parental authority with state control. We can no longer afford to remain silent. We must organize the moral majority of this country to register to vote, elect leaders who respect traditional values, and rebuild the moral foundation of America.”
—Jerry Falwell, speech at a rally, 1979

The sentiments expressed in the excerpt reflect which of the following historical developments during the late 1970s?

  1. A
    The legislative expansion of Great Society programs to regulate cultural and religious institutions in local communities.
  2. B
    A bipartisan shift toward an isolationist foreign policy to redirect federal resources to religious education.
  3. The mobilization of a new conservative coalition that successfully united evangelical Christians with economic conservatives and foreign policy hawks.Answer
  4. D
    A consensus among civil rights groups that federal oversight was necessary to protect traditional family structures from secularism.

Answer

The correct answer is the mobilization of a new conservative coalition that successfully united evangelical Christians with economic conservatives and foreign policy hawks.
The correct answer is correct because Jerry Falwell's formation of the Moral Majority in 1979 was a key milestone in the rise of the 'New Right.' This movement formed a powerful coalition by uniting social conservatives concerned with moral and religious issues with economic conservatives who favored deregulation and tax cuts, as well as foreign policy hawks who supported a strong military stance against communism.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source text to identify the speaker's main concerns and goals.
The speaker, Jerry Falwell, is criticizing secular humanism, federal regulations, and state control over families, and calls to organize the 'moral majority' to register to vote and elect leaders with traditional values.
This establishes that the document represents the political mobilization of religious conservatives (the Moral Majority) in the late 1970s.
2
Place this mobilization within the broader context of United States political history in the late 1970s.
During the late 1970s, the Rise of Conservatism (or the 'New Right') was characterized by a coalition that brought together social/religious conservatives, free-market advocates, and foreign policy hawks.
Connecting the source's religious mobilization to the larger political realignment explains its significance in the rise of the modern conservative movement.
3
Evaluate the choices to determine which historical development aligns with this mobilization.
The correct option identifies the mobilization of a new conservative coalition. The other options either incorrectly identify the movement's foreign policy goals, conflate it with liberal reform eras, or misrepresent civil rights groups.
This confirms that the correct answer is the statement regarding the mobilization of a new conservative coalition.

Key Concept

Political Realignment, Watergate, and Rise of Conservatism
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Topics

Political Realignment, Watergate, and Rise of Conservatism

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