Decline of the Second Reconstruction The Second Reconstruction is broadly defined as the period in America after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made effective transition necessary towards a racial transition. and socio-political equality. In subsequent years, this goal was not achieved and several movements were formed to try to realize this wish through enthusiastic, if unsuccessful, political, social and cultural actions. What follows is a chronological account and sociopolitical analysis of these attempts. Prelude: The Nixon Administration and the Suppression of a Revolution By the late 1960s, American politics was shifting domestically, with liberalism receiving less support because its policies were seen as flawed, both by people on the left who believed that liberalism was not as effective as more radical political endeavors and by conservatives. who believed that liberal policies were ostensibly crippling the American economy. This political shift materialized with the advent of the Southern Strategy in which Democratic President Lyndon Johnson's support for civil rights damaged his political power in the South, Nixon and the Republican Party took over. these formerly blue states and promoted conservative politics in order to gain greater electoral representation. Nixon was elected in a year marked by social and political unrest, as race riots took place in 118 American cities following the murder of Martin Luther King, as well as general bitterness in the United States. United because of the assassination of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and the great student. -led by militant opposition to the Vietnam War. The late 1960s also saw the advent of several movements promoting Black N...... middle of paper ...... which greatly affected minorities, notably African American families who grew up in poverty. line from 1.3 million to 1.5 million. Additionally, the Reagan administration devoted the historically highest amount of the national budget to military forces at that time. All of this had taken a severe turn to the far right, and the American population in general made a vast sacrifice of social reform to promote relatively significant social reforms. stable economic growth. Throughout the process of achieving these goals, the battle for racial equality was continually lost and left with it a legacy of social sentiment that would manifest itself through several sociocultural movements over the following years. Works Cited: Marable, Manning. Race, Reform, and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction and Beyond in Black America, 1945-2006. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007.