I've decided to start a new series on this blog: The Age of Restoration, 1976-2001. I have spent a lot of time thinking about contemporary history, and I want to put some of my thoughts down on cyberpaper.
I have long thought of the mid-1970s as a secret turning point in American history, but enough time has passed now that I am more certain of what changed and our current relationship to those changes. To start with, I think I should explain my periodization, as well as why I am using the phrase Restoration.
In the first place, the term is meant to be somewhat ironic. Political conservatives started their ascent in the late 1970s, and they promised to bring back an America defeated by Vietnam, divided by the 60s, and enduring economic crisis. The military, shaken by its failures, would be rehabilitated to the point that the public would willingly acquiesce to endless war. The culture wars and backlash against the 1960s would first be exploited in the 1970s, and would give a crucial advantage to conservatives into the 21st century. The mass incarceration that began in the mid-1970s kept growing and growing in power and legitimacy. That mass incarceration was part and parcel of a racist backlash against the changes wrought by the civil rights and black power movements. During that whole period, no progressive Democrat would ever be president. It appeared that conservatives had won.
That "Restoration" was ironic because the election of 2000 exposed the deep political divisions that had supposedly been solved. The dot.com bust of 2001 put lie to the promises of endless economic expansion. The 9/11 attacks caused a massive rupture that actually gave the rising restoration of faith in the American military a massive boost, but also showed the dreams of international stability that the Restoration promised were meaningless.
The neoliberal economic model fully took over in this period, and in that respect too it was a restoration of a pre-New Deal mindset. In the late 1990s, as the economy truly boomed in a way that seemed to lift all boats for the first time since the golden age of 1947-1974, this model seemed to have succeeded. The stagnant economy from 2001-2008 ended with an outright crash. The signs were pretty obvious in 2001.
So I guess it's obvious why I end in 2001, but why start in 1976? I see it as the start of Restoration after a period of extreme upheaval in the mid 1970s. 1973 saw an oil crisis that plunged the nation into recession. 1974 brought the resignation of Richard Nixon. In 1975 came the fall of Saigon. 1976 however brought the Bicentennial, which I will argue was an important point in creating the Restoration narrative. That year also put Jimmy Carter in office while showing the rise of Reagan. Both would establish the template for their respective political parties for the next 25 years.
I hope you can come along with me on this journey, and who knows, perhaps it will turn into something bigger.
