Culture Wars in 1970s–1980s America

Instructor experienced a brief technological glitch; resumed lecture for a final ≈ $9$ – $10$ -minute wrap-up focusing on the “culture wars.”
“Culture wars” = term used by academics to describe ongoing conflicts between broadly defined left and right factions in the United States.
- Instructor explicitly avoids equating these factions with Democrats and Republicans because party ideologies have shifted over time.
- Example offered: Richard Nixon (Republican) supported robust environmental regulation, a stance that some contemporary Republicans (and even some Democrats) might resist.
Key methodological reminder: Political boundaries and coalitions are fluid across history.

Late $1960$ s– $1970$ s: Rapid social, political, and technological change.
- Ongoing Vietnam War winds down; contributes to nationwide debates on duty, patriotism, and government trust.
- Women’s labor-force participation rises dramatically, reshaping gender roles.
- Oral contraceptive pill becomes widely available (late $1960$ s), enabling a “sexual revolution.”

Landmark Supreme Court case: Legalized abortion nationwide by ruling that states could not bar women from abortion services.
Significance:
- Intertwined with the changing social position of women.
- Became an early lightning rod in the broader culture wars, pitting reproductive autonomy against traditional/religious views of life and morality.
Long-term implications: Continues to shape electoral politics, judicial nominations, and legislative battles.

First proposed $(1923)$ ; resurrected in early $1970$ s.
Core clause (Section 1): “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
Legislative path for a constitutional amendment:
1. Passage by House and Senate.
2. Presidential endorsement.
3. Ratification by $\frac{2}{3}$ of states ⇒ $38$ states (during the $1970$ s timeline).

$1972$ : ERA clears Congress; deadline set for $1982$ to secure $38$ state ratifications.
Fell short; therefore never entered the Constitution.
By $2020$ , exactly $38$ states had finally ratified, but after the official deadline—status remains legally contested.

Gloria Steinem: Journalist, feminist, New York–based; emblem of progressive push for gender equality.
Phyllis Schlafly (St Louis, conservative Roman Catholic): Led the STOP-ERA campaign.
- Framed the amendment as an assault on “natural” gender roles.
- Two primary scare-arguments:
1. Unisex restrooms—loss of separate male/female facilities.
2. Military draft for women—invoked fresh memories of Vietnam to mobilize public anxiety.
Strategy proved effective; ERA stalled, illustrating how cultural fears can override seemingly simple legal language.

Selective Service: Men still receive draft-registration cards at $18$ ; women do not—direct consequence of ERA’s failure.
Larger lesson: War experiences shape domestic policy debates (e.g., anti-draft sentiment influencing gender-equality legislation).

Late $1970$ s: Conservative Christians (Roman Catholic + Evangelical Protestant) develop new political consciousness.
Moral Majority founded under Rev. Jerry Falwell.
- Mobilized voters around abortion, feminism, school prayer, and perceived moral decline.
- Sloganized politics as a divine battle between “moral” and “secular” forces.

Coalition played pivotal role in electing Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter.
- Carter handicapped by Iran Hostage Crisis (Americans held in Tehran $1979$ – $1981$ ).
- Reagan’s landslide victory (“shellacked Carter”) credited in large part to Moral Majority turnout.

Cold War shift: By $1989$ Soviet Union disintegrates; U.S. emerges as sole superpower.
Transition period in the $1980$ s intensifies debates on America’s global role and internal identity.

Contentiousness does not arise spontaneously; it grows out of specific social, economic, and ideological changes.
Points of conflict can recede when collaborative solutions or generational shifts occur.
Instructor’s optimistic note: Many $1970$ s– $1980$ s culture-war flashpoints may lose salience as society “matures.”

ERA debate raises perennial question: “Formal equality” vs. “gender difference.”
- Do legal guarantees erase vital distinctions or remedy systemic injustice?
Roe v. Wade situates individual bodily autonomy against communal/religious moral frameworks.
Moral Majority exemplifies how religious ethics can translate into political activism, re-shaping secular governance.

Gender wage gap: Women still earn less than men on average; ERA absence cited as structural explanation.
Modern restroom & draft debates echo ERA-era fears, resurfacing around transgender rights and proposals for women in combat.
Present-day partisan alignments (e.g., pro-life conservatives, pro-choice progressives) trace lineage to $1970$ s coalitions.

Understand chronology: $1960$ s social change → $1973$ Roe → $1972$ – $1982$ ERA struggle → $1980$ Moral Majority/Reagan.
Be able to articulate why each event ignited cultural conflict (gender roles, religious values, war memories).
Recognize fluid party ideologies; avoid anachronistically mapping modern positions onto historical actors.
Apply framework: Social change → Perceived threat → Political mobilization → Policy outcome.