The debates involved in the post-World War II period concerning the growth of the conservative movement center on factors such as race, a shift in public thinking to the right, a divided Democratic party, demographics, and cultural issues as a way to explain the success of conservatism in the latter half of the twentieth century. Some historians credit grassroots movements for their impact on conservatism, while others believe that influential intellectuals and conservative leaders changed the perception of the Republican brand.
This dissertation examines the contentious relationship between the New Right and the Ronald Reagan's first presidential administration. Led by Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich, Terry Dolan, and Howard Phillips, the New Right arose during the 1970s as an insurgent movement within the Republican Party that had become disillusioned with party elites and its moderate positions. Together, these men sought to move the Republican Party further to the right. They led fundraising groups for congressional candidates and used direct mail as a way to mobilize grassroots support for conservative political and social positions.
The New Right met with some success in the late 1970s over the Panama Canal and other \"hot button\" social issues such as abortion and school prayer. Along with the Moral Majority, they were instrumental in attaching social and cultural issues to the Republican Party platform. Despite Reagan's support for many of the issues on the New Right's social agenda, this work demonstrates that their relationship was fraught with contention, disappointment and distrust. Rather, diverse conservative constituencies within the Republican Party vied with each other for the president's attention. This dissertation challenges the notion that Reagan came to office with a unified conservative movement behind him; and draws on archival research, special collections, news coverage and interviews to reassess the importance of the New Right to the larger conservative movement. Perhaps most importantly, this work will demonstrate that the long-term legacy of the New Right was to change the Republican Party into a more culturally conservative institution than it had been in the 1960s and 1970s.
","abstract_html":"<p>The debates involved in the post-World War II period concerning the growth of the conservative movement center on factors such as race, a shift in public thinking to the right, a divided Democratic party, demographics, and cultural issues as a way to explain the success of conservatism in the latter half of the twentieth century. Some historians credit grassroots movements for their impact on conservatism, while others believe that influential intellectuals and conservative leaders changed the perception of the Republican brand.</p><p>This dissertation examines the contentious relationship between the New Right and the Ronald Reagan's first presidential administration. Led by Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich, Terry Dolan, and Howard Phillips, the New Right arose during the 1970s as an insurgent movement within the Republican Party that had become disillusioned with party elites and its moderate positions. Together, these men sought to move the Republican Party further to the right. They led fundraising groups for congressional candidates and used direct mail as a way to mobilize grassroots support for conservative political and social positions.</p><p>The New Right met with some success in the late 1970s over the Panama Canal and other "hot button" social issues such as abortion and school prayer. Along with the Moral Majority, they were instrumental in attaching social and cultural issues to the Republican Party platform. Despite Reagan's support for many of the issues on the New Right's social agenda, this work demonstrates that their relationship was fraught with contention, disappointment and distrust. Rather, diverse conservative constituencies within the Republican Party vied with each other for the president's attention. This dissertation challenges the notion that Reagan came to office with a unified conservative movement behind him; and draws on archival research, special collections, news coverage and interviews to reassess the importance of the New Right to the larger conservative movement. Perhaps most importantly, this work will demonstrate that the long-term legacy of the New Right was to change the Republican Party into a more culturally conservative institution than it had been in the 1960s and 1970s.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pfeffer, Stephen T."],"institution":"Ohio University","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"History (Arts and Sciences)","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Pach, Chester"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012","date_published":"2012","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:35:52Z","subjects":["History","The New Right","Richard Viguerie","Ronald Reagan"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1345147645","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Pach, Chester"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pfeffer, Stephen T."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2012"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Ohio University / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History (Arts and Sciences)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Ohio University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["History","The New Right","Richard Viguerie","Ronald Reagan"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. 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This dissertation examines the contentious relationship between the New Right and the Ronald Reagan's first presidential administration. Led by Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich, Terry Dolan, and Howard Phillips, the New Right arose during the 1970s as an insurgent movement within the Republican Party that had become disillusioned with party elites and its moderate positions. Together, these men sought to move the Republican Party further to the right. They led fundraising groups for congressional candidates and used direct mail as a way to mobilize grassroots support for conservative political and social positions.
The New Right met with some success in the late 1970s over the Panama Canal and other \"hot button\" social issues such as abortion and school prayer. Along with the Moral Majority, they were instrumental in attaching social and cultural issues to the Republican Party platform. Despite Reagan's support for many of the issues on the New Right's social agenda, this work demonstrates that their relationship was fraught with contention, disappointment and distrust. Rather, diverse conservative constituencies within the Republican Party vied with each other for the president's attention. This dissertation challenges the notion that Reagan came to office with a unified conservative movement behind him; and draws on archival research, special collections, news coverage and interviews to reassess the importance of the New Right to the larger conservative movement. Perhaps most importantly, this work will demonstrate that the long-term legacy of the New Right was to change the Republican Party into a more culturally conservative institution than it had been in the 1960s and 1970s.
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This dissertation examines the contentious relationship between the New Right and the Ronald Reagan's first presidential administration. Led by Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich, Terry Dolan, and Howard Phillips, the New Right arose during the 1970s as an insurgent movement within the Republican Party that had become disillusioned with party elites and its moderate positions. Together, these men sought to move the Republican Party further to the right. They led fundraising groups for congressional candidates and used direct mail as a way to mobilize grassroots support for conservative political and social positions.
The New Right met with some success in the late 1970s over the Panama Canal and other \"hot button\" social issues such as abortion and school prayer. Along with the Moral Majority, they were instrumental in attaching social and cultural issues to the Republican Party platform. Despite Reagan's support for many of the issues on the New Right's social agenda, this work demonstrates that their relationship was fraught with contention, disappointment and distrust. Rather, diverse conservative constituencies within the Republican Party vied with each other for the president's attention. This dissertation challenges the notion that Reagan came to office with a unified conservative movement behind him; and draws on archival research, special collections, news coverage and interviews to reassess the importance of the New Right to the larger conservative movement. Perhaps most importantly, this work will demonstrate that the long-term legacy of the New Right was to change the Republican Party into a more culturally conservative institution than it had been in the 1960s and 1970s.
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