write an essay responding to the “Explaining the Rise of
Conservatism” prompt. you will write an analytical essay of at least 5 pages analyzing Lisa McGirr’s
Suburban Warriors within the context of other topics discussed in the course.
Step 1: Read McGirr, Lisa. Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. This book is available for free as an E-Book via the
ASU library’s One Search system. See Final Essay Instructions Video for guidance on how to
approach this book.
Step 2: Choose either the option 1 or option 2 essay prompt
Option 1: Explaining the Rise of Conservatism
The literary critic Lionel Trilling announced in 1950 that “In the United States at this time
liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. For it is the plain fact
that nowadays there are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general circulation.” As the
aforementioned quote illustrates, conservatism seemed marginal in the very liberal environment
of mid-twentieth century America. Assumed to be an outdated ideology of the disaffected,
conservatism was associated with conspiracy theories, anti-Semitism, and preferences for social
hierarchy over equality. In the 1950s and 1960s, however, conservatism was reborn, leading to a
new era of conservative dominance in the realms of politics, culture, economics, and foreign
policy in the last few decades of the twentieth century.
Write an essay that addresses the following question: what explains the rise of conservatism in
this era? What were conservatism’s most important political, cultural, and economic
manifestations and animating forces? What were the limits of conservatism’s power, or
how did liberalism continue to exercise influence over American life in the late-twentieth
century?
Please utilize your textbook readings, primary source documents, my lectures, and, of course,
McGirr’s Suburban Warriors to answer the question. Your essay should include at least 4
distinct explanations for/factors in the rise of conservatism (hint: one could argue that McGirr’s
“kitchen-table activists” contributed significantly to conservatism’s rebirth. This could be one
explanation for the conservative renaissance). You should make use of the aforementioned
sources, cite your sources (no credit without citation), and should also include a brief summary
of the McGirr book. The best papers will not simply summarize different ideas/aspects of
conservatism’s resurgence but will also construct an argument in favor of a particular point of
view on the question (For example: “Grassroots mobilization was a less important factor in
conservatism’s late-twentieth century rise than McGirr seems to believe because… Or: “The
factor of overriding importance was liberalism’s overreach…”)
Paper should be at least 5 double-spaced pages in length, New Times Roman font, size 12, 1-
inch margins.
-All ideas/information taken from another source must be cited! Please use parenthetical
citations. I have listed below some examples of the citation formatting for the different sources
you should be utilizing in your paper:
Textbook: (Give Me Liberty, 1012)
Suburban Warriors: (McGirr, 8)
Mr. Shloss’s lectures: (Shloss lecture, insert title of lecture video here)
Primary Source Document: (Jerry Falwell, Listen, America!, 1980)
Step 3: Write the essay!
-Final Essay is due 8/8 at 11:59 PM on Canvas
To receive a grade of “A,” you must:
-Demonstrate knowledge of and engagement with textbook readings, lectures, and primary
source documents that are relevant to the question you chose, in addition to illustrating that you
have read McGirr’s Suburban Warriors and have thought carefully about how it relates to
information presented in the aforementioned sources.
-Construct a clear and convincing argument in favor of a particular point of view on either the
late-twentieth century rise of American conservatism or the nature of American populism.
-Include ample citations
-Include a brief summary of the McGirr book
-Present your ideas in clear, concise, and error-free prose
