Of Patrick Allitt's The Conservatives: Ideas And Personalities Throughout American History

In Patrick Allitt’s book “The Conservatives: Ideas and Personalities Throughout American History” there were several themes in the book regarding the rise (and ebb?) of conservativism in the United States. Dr. Allitt apologizes to the reader that his book was limited in its length and scope due to restrictions. One may suspect that major events like the era of Reagan conservativism could have consumed multiple chapters or volumes. Dr. Allitt provides to the reader numerous “snapshots” of conservative figures during critical junctures in American history. The book is outlined in a succinct chronological order from the Federalist period through the beginning of the 21st Century. One quickly learns that so as the country matured, so did …show more content…
Wade and other sanctity of life issues. This effort in the “Pro-Life Movement” has galvanized many against the secularism and social activism of the courts. This has also divided many neo-conservatives who held to the older Democratic views of choice. This block of the Southern Agrarian Christian voters represents in many states a powerful tool and often times splits from the current Conservative message. However, not all Papal Encyclicals have been received with such accord from Conservative American Catholics. The Encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) attacks free market fundamentals and profit motive. While the latest Encyclical, Laudato si ' (Praise be to you) is critical of the West, especially in the areas of climate change and consumerism. The defense of traditional values, has created within the conservative movement multiple divisions. The new conservatives of the 1960s and 1970s still support various humanistic programs of the Progressive movement. Their deviation from the more traditional values of the older paleo conservatives serve as a reason for a lack of a unified conservative voice. The compassionate conservatives still retain a portion of the social welfare state of FDR in their makeup. Unfortunately, the social welfare state has become a self-sustaining organism requiring an ever larger government and increased funding. This has created an ever widening gap between what some conservatives view as a breakdown in the roles of the state versus social power. Once must ask themselves has the welfare state and the caring of those that have fallen out of the safety net, a traditional response of the power of the state or the