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HIST 255 Conservatism in the United States Saxe - Section #28243, Palmer 205, 12-12:50 MWF E-mail: saxer@rhodes.edu; Phone – 843- Office Hours – MW, 1-2 or by appointment, 307 Clough
This course will provide an introduction to developments in conservative thought and politics in the 20th Century. Students will learn about the roots of American conservatism in the first part of the century and learn how conservatives critiqued the creation of the New Deal, the rise of Stalinist Russia and the threat of communism, and the outbreak of World War II. In studying the postwar era, the class will discuss conflicts between traditionalists and libertarians, Eisenhower’s “modern Republicanism,” conservatives and the Cold War, the campaign of Barry Goldwater, and the conservative response to the civil rights movement, Vietnam and “free love.” Finally, the class will consider the Reagan revolution and its impact on the current state of conservative politics in the United States and suggest directions for conservatism in the 21st Century.
Required Texts: Dan T. Carter, From George Wallace to Newt Gingrich: Race and the Conservative Counterrevolution, 1963- Dinesh D’Souza, Letters to a Young Conservative Michel Schaller, Reckoning with Reagan: America and its President in the 1980s Gregory L. Schneider, Conservatism in America since 1930 Ronald Story and Bruce Laurie, The Rise of Conservatism in America, 1945-
Course Requirements: Exams 1st Exam, February 18 – 15% of final grade. 2nd Exam, April 23 – 15% of final grade Take home final exam, April 28 – 10% of final grade
Essays All essays should contain the following at the top of the first page: name, word count, date, and a meaningful title. In addition, any use of sources must be cited using Chicago- style footnotes (see http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html for help or you may ask the instructor). A title page and works cited page are not necessary. At the end of each essay, the Rhodes pledge should be printed and signed.
1 st^ Essay due in class, January 28 – 5% of final grade Please construct a 500-750 word essay of the following topic: how did the issue of communism bring conservatives together. Did this fusion of interests make sense?
2 nd^ Essay due in class, February 11 (e-mail copy to saxer@rhodes.edu) – 15% of final grade Please do one of the following:
- In 1500-2000 words, construct a conservative utopia in the United States in 1964. Please include a description of the economic, political, social and cultural features of this Heaven-on-Earth America for conservatives. Be sure to include the ideas of conservative thinkers from the semester to this point. Also, be sure to explain why you made your particular choices, and not other conservative alternatives.
- In 1500-2000 words, construct a conservative dystopia in the United States in 1964. Please include a description of the economic, political, social and cultural features of this nightmare America for conservatives. Be sure to include the ideas of conservative thinkers from the semester so far and how you are defying them. Also, be sure to explain if you cannot repel all conservative thought from this liberal gulag you have constructed.
3rd Essay due in class, March 17 – 5% of final grade Look at the selections from God and Man at Yale. Try to understand what William F. Buckley is criticizing at Yale and what problems he sees in higher education in 1951. Then, I would like you to construct and 500-1000 word essay entitled, God and Man at Rhodes. In this essay, I would like you to hypothesize about what Buckley might say about Rhodes and its effectiveness in teaching current students. Be sure to touch on some of the same things that Buckley did at Yale over 50 years ago.
4 th^ Essay due in class, March 28 – 5% of final grade Using this week’s readings as your guide, please construct a memorial to Ronald Reagan that will appear in Washington D.C. Be sure to incorporate historical themes from his presidency into your design. Why was he such an influential president? How can you convey that in a memorial? Describe your choices in a 250-500 word abstract. Visual aids for this assignment are required.
Final Essay due in class, April 18 – 20% of final grade For the final essay of the course, you are to choose a topic on American conservatism and write a research paper related to the themes of the course. You may select a particular issue, individual, or theme for your topic. The essay will be a minimum of 2500 words. Deadlines for final essay: February 6 – a topic paragraph on your proposed essay, due in class March 12 – a final bibliography of sources, due in class April 18 – a final copy of the essay, due in class (e-mail copy to saxer@rhodes.edu)
Class Participation Active participation in class discussion – 10% of final grade. Students may also improve their participation grade by meeting with the professor during office hours or by appointment.
Course Policies: Class attendance is mandatory. Students are allowed three absences without penalty. Students are required to find out what they missed in class on the day of their absence. If students miss more than three classes, they are required to meet with the professor to discuss their absences. Failure to do so will result in the lowering of a student’s final
Rise of Conservatism in America )
1 st^ Essay due in class, January 28
February 4, 6, 8 Fusion: William F. Buckley and the National Review Lunatic Fringe?: The John Birch Society, The Far Right and the Challenge of Mainstreaming Conservatism
(Buckley, all; “Fusion,” “A Rebel Finds His Tradition,” Why I am Not a Conservative,” “National Review: Statement of Intentions,” and “National Review: Credenda and Statement of Principles,” 169-200 in Conservatism in America ; “The Blue Book of the John Birch Society,” 54-59 in The Rise of Conservatism in America )
Topic paragraph for final essay due in class, February 6
February 11, 13, 15 Champions of the New Right: The Goldwater Campaign Reagan Revolution, Pt. 1: Reagan before the White House
(“The Plunge into Politics,” “The Conscience of a Conservative,” “The Young Americans for Freedom,” “The Sharon Statement,” “A Choice, Not an Echo,” and “Extremism in Defense of Liberty,” 207-246 in Conservatism in America ; “Rendezvous with Destiny,” 69-72 in The Rise of Conservatism in America )
2 nd^ Essay due in class, February 11
February 18 - 1st^ Exam
February 20, 22 Is Conservatism White?: George Wallace Republicans and Race
(“Platform of States’ Rights Democratic Party,” “Why the South Must Prevail,” “George Wallace for President,” “Capital Punishment,” “You in a Heap o’ Trouble, Son,” Labor Day Radio Address,” “Affirmative Discrimination,” 38-40, 52-54, 75-76, 82-84, 89-93, 97-100 in The Rise of Conservatism in America ; Carter, all ; D’Souza, Ch. 11)
February 25, 27, 29 Carter, cont. The Breakdown of Liberalism: Conservative Response to the Sixties Women and the Conservative Movement A New Home: The New Libertarians
(“Libertarianism,” “The Libertarian Review,” “Why Be Libertarian?,” “Libertarianism or Libertinism?,” “What is Libertarianism?,” “New Rights,” “An Emerging Conservative
Majority,” and “Message From MARs,” 247-317 in Conservatism in America ; “Expanding the Base,” “Two Speeches,” “Defense of the Republic,” “Confidential Memorandum,” “Interview with the Washington Star,” 12-20, 77-80, 84-88, 103-107 in The Rise of Conservatism in America ; D’Souza, Ch. 12)
March 3, 5, 7 Spring break – no class
March 10, 12, 14 The Door Opens: Nixon and the Fall of Modern Republicanism City on a Hill: Conservative Christianity in Culture and Politics
(“Who is Accommodating to What?,” “The Taxfighters are Coming” “Common Sense and the Common Danger,” “The NEA,” “American Weakness,” “Building the Moral Majority,” “Resolution on Abortion,” 72-74, 100-103, 107-117, 132-4 in The Rise of Conservatism in America ; selections from God and Man at Yale , provided by the instuctor)
Bibliography for final essay due in class, March 12
March 17, 19 Christian conservatives continued Reagan Revolution, Pt. 2: Conservatism Triumphant?
( Schaller, all ; “The Reagan Era,” “The Great Communicator: Three Speeches,” and “Looking Back at the Gipper,” 337-372 in Conservatism in America ; “Nomination Acceptance Speech,” “Wealth and Poverty,” “Social Security,” “Report on Privatization,” “Opinion on the Juvenile Death Penalty,” 118-125, 129-132, 134-143 in The Rise of Conservatism in America ; D’Souza, Ch. 8)
3rd Essay due in class, March 17
March 21 Easter Break
March 24, 26, 28 Reagan Continued
4 th^ Essay due in class, March 28
March 31, April 2, April 4 Cracks in the Foundation: Neocons vs. Paleoconservatives
(“Why Big Business is Good for America” and “Why I Am Not a Neoconservative, and “Of What Use is Tradition,” and “Conservative Splits,” 318-336, 373-394 in
