Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and the Twilight of American Liberalism
By the mid-1970s the liberal consensus in American politics was fraying badly. Jimmy Carter had the bad luck of rising to prominence at a time when most Americans were becoming deeply cynical about our government. The Vietnam catastrophe, followed quickly by the Watergate scandal, made it unlikely that any president of either party was going to be well-received in 1976. Carter paid the price for that erosion in confidence. Ronald Reagan offered a new beginning to American voters. The resultant victory by the California Republican ushered in a sea change in our politics which continues to reverberate today. In this course we will examine how such a dramatic shift in our thinking came to pass.
Faculty Bio
Mick Chantler has been a student of American history for over fifty years, with an emphasis on the early years of the Republic. Lately, however, he has focused on more recent figures—such as the Kennedys, Teddy Roosevelt, and now Carter/Reagan.
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Member Praise for Mick Chantler
Great presentation and discussion, chock full of interesting facts and observations. The pace was perfect.
I used to shy away from courses about areas of US history that I'd studied in college but eventually realized that no matter how much I might know about something, Mick sees it in a new a clearer light and his brilliance really makes any subject worthwhile.
Well paced, always engaging lectures.
Faculty Q&A
- Read an interview with Mick Chantler from our archive