Antonin Scalia and the Rise of Modern Conservatism

The Civil Rights Movements that took place during the 1950’s, the 1960’s, and the

1970’s served as big blows towards the Republican party and their conservative ideology. The 1960’s in particular witnessed a tremendous fall in popularity for the Republican party, which can easily be seen in the presidential elections of 1964. Lyndon B. Johnson, the former vice-president of John F. Kennedy. Had no problem in beating Barry Goldwater. Johnson had been able to associate himself with the popularity of President Kennedy, and his ideas for the Great Society appealed to many underrepresented groups that wanted different forms of assistance. Lyndon Johnson was also a big supporter of the Civil Rights Movements that were taking place at the time. Barry Goldwater, on the other hand, could not see eye-to-eye with the general public on many issues. He rejected Johnson’s ideas for a Great Society just like he rejected the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. Goldwater was also not a big supporter of the Civil Rights Movements. His ideas and his tendencies made him an easy target for Lyndon Johnson. President Johnson repeatedly portrayed Goldwater as a dangerous right-wing extremist that did not care about civil rights nor the well-being of others. As a result, Johnson won by one of the biggest landslides that has ever been seen in the history of American presidential elections.

Despite Goldwater’s inability to wage a successful presidential campaign many

political analysts would say that ultimately Goldwater won something much more valuable than a presidential election. His ideas served as the basis for modern right-wing conservatism, a response to the liberal tendencies of the Democrat party and the actions of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movements. While liberals and progressives were fighting for new laws and new measures the new wave of conservatism would look to return to some of the old ways that the country used to live by. Thus Goldwater became known as the father of modern conservatism. The effects of his actions were visible with the election of President Nixon and President Reagan, both of whom were conservatives and somewhat strict interpreters of the Constitution. It was indeed President Reagan that would appoint Antonin Scalia, one of the greatest justices of the Supreme Court in the history of our country. Scalia would go one to become instrumental in the rise of conservatism. His opposition to affirmative action and his advocation for originalism in constitutional interpretation would lead him to make important decisions that would only cause a new conservatism movement to grow even more.

Antonin Scalia

One of these decisions was the decision in the case of District of Columbia v.

Heller, in which Antonin Scalia would become one of the first judges ever to grant an individual the right to bear arms based on the Second Amendment. Some of his other decisions would not be so popular, however. Towards the end more and more women were demanding their right to abortion. The decision in the case of Roe v. Wade marked a huge step in the right direction for many of these female activists. However, Scalia would then try to overturn the decision on the case of Roe v. Wade, arguing that anti-sodomy laws were unconstitutional. Scalia always dissented on decisions that it was unconstitutional to execute mentally disabled or teenage

prisoners. He also disapproved of the Miranda decision, the decision that required police officers to read prisoners their rights.

Antonin Scalia had a legacy that was very different to the legacies that were

left behind by other judges. Scalia was a conservative at a time where it was not normal to be a conservative. He protected conservative values at a time were progressive movements were gaining more and more momentum. It is figures like him that make us ask ourselves what would happen to our country in the next few years. Will our country continue on its progressive path, or will more and more people go back to promote the conservative values that have existed in our country for a long time?