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Essay On Political Realignments

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The twentieth century witnessed two significant political realignments that fundamentally transformed the Democratic and Republican parties. These political realignments were attributable to a collection of events with dates ranging from 1932 to 1988. Starting from the beginning, in the 1930s, the Democratic Party took a turn when they endorsed the future president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). FDR was famously known for his “New Deal” policies. The New Deal was crafted to address challenges that arose from The Great Depression. Since The Great Depression crashed the United States economy, FDR aimed to emphasize the government’s role in economic regulation from the government. In addition to regulation, the New Deal aimed to provide social welfare and improve …show more content…

This second realignment was led by Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. They focused on limiting the governments’ role in commerce. They pushed for a strong military and a heavy emphasis on free-market capitalism. This shift essentially crafted the idea of modern-day conservatism, with a religious and anti-government stance. Even though there were only two major party realignments, there were many small changes that shaped politics into what it is today. For example, Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist crusades and the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings helped to create a political climate of fear and suspicion that shaped American politics for decades. In the primary source, Joseph McCarthy on Communism (1950), McCarthy states, “At war’s end we were physically the strongest nation on Earth and, at least potentially, the most powerful intellectually and morally. Ours could have been the honor of being a beacon in the desert of destruction, a shining, living proof that civilization was not yet ready to destroy

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