ABSTRACT
This Introduction helps explain the relationship between the Vietnam War and the conservative movement in American history. During the Cold War, the right led the anti-communist charge in the United States as it was among the most ardent pro-war groups in the nation. In domestic politics, the right supported libertarian policies and religious political culture. As this book explores, support for the Vietnam War helped change the nature and ideology of the conservative movement. This chapter briefly explains how the Vietnam War helped change the conservative movement’s ideology. By the end of the war, Christian evangelicals and religious conservatives began playing a greater role in the conservative movement. These religious conservatives played a greater role in the newly formed New Right movement, which eventually elected Ronald Reagan as president and redefined late-twentieth century U.S. politics.
