Richard Nixon and the Quest for a New Majority

In recent years historians have paid substantial attention to the origins of modern political conservatism and the record of the Nixon administration in building a Republican majority in the late twentieth century. In Richard Nixon and the Quest for a New Majority, Robert Mason analyzes Nixon's response to the developing conservative climate and challenges revisionist claims about the activist nature of the Nixon administration. Nixon was an activist in intent, Mason contends, but not in deed.

Nixon's "silent majority" speech of 1969 not only undermined the growth of the antiwar movement, Mason shows, it also identified a constituency for Nixon to cultivate in order to secure reelection. However, the implementation of his new-majority project was hindered by the resort to dirty tricks against political opponents and the ineffectual pursuit of a policy agenda. Although some Nixon initiatives were enacted, says Mason, they were not substantial enough to rival the Democrats' bread-and-butter issues. While Nixon built Republican strength at the presidential level, Mason argues that he did not succeed in mobilizing popular support for broad-based political conservatism.

Mason examines the resurgence of American conservatism in the second half of the 20th century, emphasizing the significance of Richard Nixon's political machinations as president to the development of this trend. Mason shows how Nixon built Republican strength at the presidential level but did not succeed in mobilizing popular support for political conservatism.

Library Journal

Following his election in 1968, President Nixon planned to bring together lower- and middle-class Catholics, Irish, Poles, and white Southerners in a conservative majority that would end the more than 30-year reign of Democratic liberalism. Mason (history, Univ. of Edinburgh) offers a well-researched scholarly appraisal of why Nixon failed. Several reasons are given: Nixon lacked a presidential mandate for change because he was elected by less than half of the voters, his New American Revolution included social programs that appealed to Democrats more than Republicans, he promoted "peace with honor" in Vietnam while largely ignoring growing middle-class concerns about the severe recession, and he did not work well with the Democratic-controlled Congress. Although Nixon won reelection in the 1972 landslide, his coattails were too short to benefit other Republicans running for office. Watergate ended Nixon's political career, and it would take six years for Ronald Reagan to achieve the conservative realignment that had eluded Nixon, concludes Mason. This informed account is strongly recommended for academic and large public library collections.-Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Township Lib., King of Prussia, PA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.