1032 ★ CHAPTER 26 The Triumph of Conservatism
of World War II. Associated in many minds with conspiracy theories, anti-
Semitism, and preference for social hierarchy over democracy and equality,
conservatism seemed a relic of a discredited past. When conservative ideas did
begin to spread, liberals explained them as a rejection of the modern world by
the alienated or psychologically disturbed.
Nonetheless, as noted in the previous two chapters, the 1950s and 1960s
witnessed a conservative rebirth. And in 1968, a “backlash” among formerly
Democratic voters against both black assertiveness and antiwar demonstra-
tions helped to propel Richard Nixon into the White House. But conservatives
found Nixon no more to their liking than his predecessors. Nixon echoed con-
servative language, especially in his condemnation of student protesters and his
calls for law and order, but in office he expanded the welfare state and moved to
improve American relations with the Soviet Union and China. During his pres-
idency, the social changes set in motion by the 1960 s— seen by conservatives as
forces of moral decay— continued apace.
Nixon’s Domestic Policies
Having won the presidency by a very narrow margin, Nixon moved toward the
political center on many issues. A shrewd politician, he worked to solidify his
support among Republicans while reaching out to disaffected elements of the
Democratic coalition. It is difficult to characterize Nixon’s domestic agenda
according to the traditional categories of liberal and conservative. Mostly
interested in foreign policy, he had no desire to battle Congress, still under
Democratic control, on domestic issues. Just as Eisenhower had helped to insti-
tutionalize the New Deal, Nixon accepted and even expanded many elements
of the Great Society.
Conservatives applauded Nixon’s New Federalism, which offered federal
“block grants” to the states to spend as they saw fit, rather than for specific pur-
poses dictated by Washington. On the other hand, the Nixon administration
created a host of new federal agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency
oversaw programs to combat water and air pollution, cleaned up hazardous
wastes, and required “environmental impact” statements from any project that
received federal funding. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
sent inspectors into the nation’s workplaces. The National Transportation
Safety Board instructed automobile makers on how to make their cars safer.
Nixon spent lavishly on social services and environmental initiatives. He
abolished the Office of Economic Opportunity, which had coordinated John-
son’s War on Poverty. But he signed congressional measures that expanded
the food stamp program and indexed Social Security benefits to inflation—
meaning that they would rise automatically as the cost of living increased. The