---
title: "Conservatives — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide"
description: "Conservatives in APUSH are 1960s-70s critics of liberal policies who pushed smaller federal government, traditional values, and tougher foreign policy. Key for Unit 8."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/conservatives"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP US History"
unit: "Unit 8"
---

# Conservatives — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide

## Definition

In APUSH, conservatives are the political actors and movements of the 1960s-1970s who challenged liberal laws and court decisions, sought to shrink the federal government's role, defended traditional social and religious values, and called for more assertive foreign policies (KC-8.2.III.C).

## What It Is

When the [APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink") CED says "conservatives" in [Unit 8](/apush/unit-8 "fv-autolink"), it means a specific historical movement, not just a vibe. In the 1960s, as Great Society liberalism expanded the federal government and the Warren Court handed down decisions on civil rights, school prayer, and the rights of the accused, a growing coalition pushed back. These conservatives believed liberalism had overreached. They wanted to limit federal power, restore what they saw as declining moral and cultural standards, and replace containment-era caution with more assertive anti-communist foreign policy. Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign and his book *The Conscience of a Conservative* gave the movement its early national voice, even though he lost badly.

By the 1970s the movement gained real traction. Economic stagnation, Watergate, and foreign policy failures like Vietnam eroded public trust in government's ability to solve problems (KC-8.2.III.E), which made the conservative case for limited government land with more voters. At the same time, [evangelical Christian churches](/apush/unit-8/society-transition/study-guide/XwxV2oK2ulyRH0YxkAZd "fv-autolink") grew rapidly, and religious conservatives became politically organized for the first time on issues like abortion, school prayer, and the Equal Rights Amendment (KC-8.3.II.C). That fusion of small-government economics, anti-communism, and religious traditionalism is what powers the conservative resurgence you'll see in Unit 9.

## Why It Matters

Conservatives sit at the center of Topic 8.14 (Society in Transition) and support two learning objectives. APUSH 8.14.A asks you to explain the causes and effects of ongoing debates over the [role of the federal government](/apush/unit-4/jackson-federal-power/study-guide/VnevAqqtpZVuKzRpBf4O "fv-autolink"), and the 1960s-70s conservative challenge to [liberalism](/apush/key-terms/liberalism "fv-autolink") is the textbook example. APUSH 8.14.B asks you to explain the effects of 20th-century religious movements, and the political activism of evangelical conservatives is the essential knowledge that answers it. The term also feeds the Politics and Power (PCE) theme, which loves long-running arguments over how big the federal government should be, a debate you can trace from Hamilton vs. Jefferson all the way to Reagan. Understanding why conservatism gained momentum in the 1970s, rather than fizzling after Goldwater's 1964 loss, is exactly the kind of causation reasoning the exam rewards.

## Connections

### New Right and the Reagan Revolution (Unit 9)

The conservatives of Topic 8.14 are the origin story for [Unit 9](/apush/unit-9 "fv-autolink"). The coalition that forms in the 1960s-70s, combining free-market advocates, Cold War hawks, and religious conservatives, elects Ronald Reagan in 1980. If you understand 8.14, the opening of Unit 9 is just the payoff.

### Great Society Liberalism (Unit 8)

Conservatives only make sense as a reaction. Johnson's [Great Society](/apush/unit-8/great-society/study-guide/5lE2fsg4BsckTqmDNJqx "fv-autolink") and the Warren Court's decisions are exactly the "liberal laws and court decisions" KC-8.2.III.C says conservatives challenged. Pairing the two gives you a ready-made federal-power debate for any 8.14.A question.

### [Feminist Movement (Unit 8)](/apush/key-terms/feminist-movement)

The 1970s clashes between liberals and conservatives were often fought over gender. Conservative activists like Phyllis Schlafly mobilized against the [Equal Rights Amendment](/apush/key-terms/equal-rights-amendment "fv-autolink") and Roe v. Wade, making the feminist movement and religious conservatism two sides of the same culture-war coin.

### Gerald Ford and the Crisis of Confidence (Unit 8)

Watergate, stagflation, and the fall of Saigon during the Nixon-Ford years cratered public trust in government (KC-8.2.III.E). That collapse is the cause; the conservative argument that government was the problem, not the solution, is the effect.

## On the AP Exam

Conservatives showed up on the 2024 exam in SAQ Q4, and the term is a regular in Unit 8 multiple choice. MCQ stems typically give you a 1960s-70s excerpt (Goldwater's *The Conscience of a Conservative* is a favorite source) and ask what development it reflects or what caused the movement's growth. Practice questions also probe timing, like why evangelical political activism took off in the 1970s instead of earlier, so be ready to do causation, not just identification. For SAQs and LEQs, you need to name a specific conservative cause (backlash against Warren Court decisions, perceived moral decline, distrust after Watergate) and a specific effect (mobilized religious conservatives, momentum toward the 1980 election). "Conservatives opposed liberals" with no specifics earns nothing.

## conservatives vs New Right

The terms overlap but aren't identical in APUSH. "Conservatives" in Topic 8.14 covers the broad 1960s-70s pushback against liberalism, including Goldwater-era anti-communists and small-government advocates. The "New Right" usually refers to the more organized coalition of the late 1970s, especially politically mobilized evangelicals like the Moral Majority, that powers Reagan's 1980 win in Unit 9. Think of the New Right as the late-stage, battle-ready version of the conservatives you meet in Unit 8.

## Key Takeaways

- In the 1960s, conservatives challenged liberal laws and Warren Court decisions, seeking to limit the federal government and pursue more assertive foreign policies (KC-8.2.III.C).
- Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign and The Conscience of a Conservative gave the movement national visibility even though he lost the election by a landslide.
- Declining public trust in government during the 1970s, driven by stagflation, Watergate, and Vietnam, helped conservative arguments gain traction (KC-8.2.III.E).
- The rapid growth of evangelical Christian churches brought religious conservatives into political activism on issues like abortion, school prayer, and the ERA (KC-8.3.II.C).
- The conservative movement of Topic 8.14 directly sets up the New Right and Reagan's 1980 victory in Unit 9, making it a classic continuity-and-change link across periods.
- On the exam, you need specific causes and effects of conservative growth, not just the label, since this term appeared on the 2024 SAQ.

## FAQs

### What did conservatives believe in the 1960s and 1970s in APUSH?

They believed liberalism had gone too far. They wanted to limit federal government power, reverse or resist liberal court decisions, restore traditional moral and cultural values, and take a more assertive anti-communist stance in foreign policy (KC-8.2.III.C).

### Did conservatives lose influence after Goldwater's 1964 defeat?

No. Goldwater lost the election badly, but his campaign and The Conscience of a Conservative built the movement's ideas and grassroots network. By the 1970s, economic troubles and Watergate made those ideas mainstream, leading to Reagan's win in 1980.

### How are 1960s-70s conservatives different from the New Right?

Conservatives is the broader Unit 8 term for the whole anti-liberal pushback starting in the 1960s. The New Right is the more organized late-1970s coalition, anchored by politically mobilized evangelicals, that you study in Unit 9 as the force behind the Reagan Revolution.

### Why did religious conservatives become politically active in the 1970s?

Evangelical Christian churches grew rapidly during the 20th century, and by the 1970s court decisions and cultural changes (like Roe v. Wade in 1973 and debates over the ERA) pushed religious conservatives into organized political activism (KC-8.3.II.C).

### Are conservatives on the AP US History exam?

Yes. The term is essential knowledge in Topic 8.14 under learning objectives APUSH 8.14.A and 8.14.B, and it appeared on the 2024 exam in SAQ Q4. Expect questions on the causes and effects of conservative growth in the 1960s-70s.

## Related Study Guides

- [8.14 Society in Transition](/apush/unit-8/society-transition/study-guide/XwxV2oK2ulyRH0YxkAZd)

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