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1950s Conservatism

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Submitted By professorluff
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1/13/2011

Conservatism: The Convoluted and Controlling Movement of the 1950’s

In the 1950’s, intellectuals were crucial in shaping a conservative movement. The main tactics from the viewpoint of the conservatives was the waging and winning of the Cold War and the American public's rejection of the idea that the federal government should be the primary solver of major economic and social problems[1]. With these being the basic foundations, it would be the “imminent” threat of Communism on the home front in America that would make the conservative movement powerful and longstanding. The substance of the conservative movement would surprisingly rise from a liberal source. The New Deal had provided the country with stability in dire economic times with what seemed like a complete government takeover of traditional small government role. This would be where the Conservative movement would take reign. Following
World War II, the American government and it’s citizens grew uneasy about the Soviet Union far more than it ever had before. The liberal administration would enact policies such as the Truman Doctrine that had been monitoring Greece's crumbling economic and political conditions, especially the rise of the Communist-led insurgency known as the National Liberation Front[2]. The new liberals failed to discern the continuity between the anti-Communist politics of Joe McCarthy and anti-Communist politics of the Truman Administration, or to understand how the rhetoric and leadership of the Truman Administration, alarmist in tone and manipulative in form, helped to create the climate that eventually led to McCarthyism[3]. The passion the liberals placed upon anticommunism was a major part in the development of the conservative movement. Before the 1950’s in America, the conservative movement was an array of ideas with little to no continuity. There were anti-Communist conservatives, business conservatives, segregationist conservatives galore, not to mention admirers of Senator Joseph McCarthy, followers of Senator Robert Taft and people[4] that all seemingly apart of the same interest group. William Buckley, creating the National Review and a variety of traditionalist writings, became one of the leading personalities and publicists for the conservative movement. His particular quarrel with fellow conservative philosopher Ayn Rand would prove the disputes were serious within the intellectuals. Beliefs such as Christianity and atheism separated the two thinkers and caused for much variability within the conservative development. Even economists such as Friedrich Hayek, veering from his main studies, would write The Road to Serfdom that focused primarily on politics. Nevertheless, with the substance of the movement springing from the upper class intellectuals such as Buckley, Ayn, Hayek, Frank Meyer, Russell Kirk, and Milton Friedman, the magnitude of the movement would take shape with the influence of the anticommunism panic traveling across America. The Red Scare and McCarthyism brought about great changes in citizens’ attitudes. The anti-Communist network was not a monolith, but a coalition that gradually attracted groups and individuals. Each element in the network appealed to a different constituency and used its own tactics; the mixture of offensives became far more potent than any single campaign would have been[5]. It was this perceptive fear of the communist society that the intellectuals could use to push the conservative agenda. Communism and conservatism clearly were opposites in how they sought for society to function and operate. The main difference was that of the influence of government in people’s lives. It was this notion that all of the intellectuals had agreed on and were able to fully support despite their differences. Conservatives attacked communism in America quickly. The government was filled with anticommunist sentiment following the Truman Administration for the conservatives to use. The Republicans charged that the Democrats were "soft" on communism dominated American politics… the FBI at the heart of the federal government's internal security apparatus, the anti-Communist agenda that emerged from Washington was to be powerfully influenced by the ideologically conservative conception of anticommunism so central to the bureau's mission[6]. Through anticommunism the conservative movement would become legitimate. Power seemed lost for the “weak handed” liberals against the communists in America. As Senator McCarthy called names from his list that would blacklist thousands of American workers (in particular those in Hollywood), the conservatives slowly took to power through an extensive anticommunist campaign. The conservative movement that had long been solely of the intellectuals slowly transferred into a grassroots movement throughout America. Conservatism had always been an affluent aspect in American culture. However the conservative movement, due to ideal circumstances, grew as a powerful movement focused on small government, tradition, the continuance of military as a world power, and capitalism. McCarthyism would turn many against the conservative movement due to its many false accusations. The liberals, while inevitably working with the conservatives for many years, would always fight the for power in the government. Nevertheless, both McCarthyism and the liberals of the 1940’s would help develop the conservative movement in the 1950’s into a well-built movement that would carry far into future America.

Works Cited

Edwards, Lee, Ph.D. "The Origins of the Modern American Conservative Movement." The Heritage Foundation 21 Nov. 2003: n. pag. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .

"Harry Truman and the Truman Doctrine." Harry S. Truman: Library and Museum. N.p.: n.p., 2008. N. pag. Harry S. Truman: Library and Museum. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .

Hodgson, Godfrey. "I Don't Stoop. I Merely Conquer." The New York Times 15 May 1988: n. pag. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .

Schrecker, Ellen. "The Growth of the Anti-Communist Network." The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: St. Martin's press, 1994. N. pag. Modern American Poetry. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .

----. "The State Steps In: Setting the Anticommunist Agenda" The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: St. Martin's press, 1994. N. pag. Modern American Poetry. Web. 12 Jan. 2011.

Theoharis, Athan. "The Politics of Scholarship: Liberals, Anti-Communism, and McCarthyism." File last modified on 31 May 2007. The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .
-----------------------
[1]Edwards, Lee, Ph.D. "The Origins of the Modern American Conservative Movement." The Heritage Foundation 21 Nov. 2003: n. pag. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .
[2] "Harry Truman and the Truman Doctrine." Harry S. Truman: Library and Museum. N.p.: n.p., 2008. N. pag. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .
[3] Theoharis, Athan. "The Politics of Scholarship: Liberals, Anti-Communism, and McCarthyism." File last modified on 31 May 2007. The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .
[4] H Hodgson, Godfrey. "I Don't Stoop. I Merely Conquer." The New York Times 15 May 1988: n. pag. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .
[5] Schrecker, Ellen. "The Growth of the Anti-Communist Network." The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: St. Martin's press, 1994. N. pag. Modern American Poetry. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .
[6] Schrecker, Ellen. "The State Steps In: Setting the Anticommunist Agenda" The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: St. Martin's press, 1994. N. pag. Modern American Poetry. Web. 12 Jan. 2011.

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