Impacts of James Davidson Hunter’s "Culture Wars" in Understanding History

Name Prof Course Name Date Impact of James Davidson Hunter’s Work on Understand History in the Current Course Introduction             A cultural war defines a conflict between social groups and the ensuing struggle to dominate their practices, values, and beliefs. James Davidson Hunter popularized the term culture wars with his 1991 book Culture Wars. In his work, Hunter explored the struggle to control the family, art, law, education, and politics in American society by different social groups. Hunter’s articulation of American history through the lens of cultural wars has played a significant role in the current course. It helps to understand the history covered so far. Lessons from James Davidson Hunter’s Work             Several lessons taken from Hunter’s work are vital for the current understanding of America’s history. The first lesson talks about why the United States is inherently divided into two political factions that seem to be antagonistic. Across American political history, Democrats and Republicans have wrested to occupy Washington while differing on many issues, including the aspect of morals. According to Hunter (57), the American culture wars played a role in developing the two political factions. Social conservatives, for instance, blamed the individual for being responsible for American politics problems arguing that poor morals were the root cause of American issues. On the other hand, progressives argued that the system had a lot to do with American issues like crime, moral decay, and political indiscipline. Morone (450) added that the Jeremiahs or social conservatives find moral trouble: legal abortion, the pill, welfare payment, family affairs, and sex-related issues.             Another lesson from Hunter&rsq...