New Right
New Right, grassroots coalition of American conservatives that collectively led what scholars often refer to as the “conservative ascendancy” or “Republican ascendancy” of the late 20th century. Dubbed the New Right partly in contrast to the New Left counterculture of the 1960s, the New Right consisted of conservative activists who voiced opposition on a variety of issues, including abortion, homosexuality, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), the Panama Canal Treaty, affirmative action, and most forms of taxation.
The “newness” of the New Right refers both to the reinvigorated and redefined forms of conservative political activity and to the youthfulness and mobilization of a previously disorganized suburban middle class. The New Right grew rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s, thanks in part to organizations such as Young Americans for Freedom and College Republicans. These organizations shared demographic characteristics (white, middle-class, Protestant, suburban) and were frustrated with a perceived decline in morality during the 1960s and 1970s, including rampant drug use and more-open and public displays of sexuality as well as rising crime rates, race riots, civil rights unrest, and protest movements against the Vietnam War. Additionally, New Right conservatives often blamed the nation’s ills on liberalism, which they saw as contributing to the mismanagement and corruption of the federal government.
Though some debate as to the regional birthplace of the New Right still exists among scholars, the most popular view sees the Sun Belt—the area of land stretching from southern California across the Southwest, through Texas, and into Florida—as the geographic home of the New Right. Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign is often viewed as a key event in the rise of the New Right, and Pres. Ronald Reagan is often seen as its iconic hero. Other key players in the rise of the New Right included anti-ERA activist Phyllis Schlafly and Richard Viguerie, whose use of direct mail revolutionized political strategies for mobilizing grassroots support.