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Conservative Resistance
When William Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1972, most Americans barely noticed. Rehnquist was the often lone conservative voice on a body comprised of New Dealers, moderates, and committed liberals. However, by the mid-1980s, the Court was drifting to the right. Rehnquist was joined by Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy. Finally, when Clarence Thomas joined the Court in 1991 the conservatives secured a clear majority.
While the conservatives on the Court differed in their approach to contentious cultural issues (like abortion or school prayer) they were fairly unified in their feeling that the federal government had exceeded its constitutional authority. As cases presented themselves, the Court would usher in a new era in federalism as it looked more cautiously at the expansion of federal power.
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