9 /10 1 Votes
Initial release 2008 Editor Richard Riggs Hall | 4.5/5 Amazon Director Richard Riggs Hall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cinematography Simone Fary, Richard Riggs Hall Cast Noam Chomsky, Donna Brazile, G Gordon Liddy, Howard Zinn, Michael Barone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
American Feud: A History of Conservatives and Liberals is a 2008 documentary DVD by Richard Hall and Simone Fary. The documentary takes a non partisan look at the history of liberalism and conservatism in the United States since the 1890s progressive era.
Contents
Synopsis
Participants in the documentary argue that modern liberalism began as a result of 19th century industrialism and as a reaction against the negative aspects of the new condition. Modern conservatism is said to begin as an argument against the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt, and it slowly grew after World War II, as it opposed the expanding role of the federal government.
The political and intellectual history of modern liberalism and modern conservatism are presented after the 2006 midterm elections in which Democrats recaptured both House and Senate majorities. Modern conservatism became a national political movement through the failed 1964 presidential candidacy of Republican Senator Barry Goldwater, and modern liberalism reached a peak but began to decline with the perceived failure of the Great Society programs and the prolonged Vietnam War under president Lyndon Johnson.
The opinions of scholars, authors, historians, and partisan activists from left, right and center are presented. Archival film, photographs and electoral maps help to trace the history, influence and shifting meaning of these two terms over the past 120 years. It also makes a critical evaluation of the concept of "red states" and "blue states".