The rise of Conservatism in the 1970s might have been in response to the chaos and perceived disorder that was present.  The Vietnam War ended in a lack of clear resolution, meaning it represented one of the first times where the United States failed to achieve a clear military victory.  The Cold War tensions were still present, but it seemed like the Soviet Union had it more composed than America did.  This might have been the illusion that Russia sought to give to the world, but in such an unstable setting as America of the 1970s, illusions were able to pass off as fact.  The Energy Crisis and the complementing economic challenges of the 1970s helped to enhance the idea that America was a nation that lacked order and focus.  These ambiguities might have been causes for the rise of Conservatism out of the 1970s.

The Cold War and the Vietnam War had a lot to do with the politics of the 1970s. For example, it was the Vietnam War that helped Nixon win reelection in 1972.  People felt that Nixon was the man to end the war and to help crack down on the disorder that the war had helped to cause in the US.

This disorder, added to the energy crises of the decade, helped to bring on the conservatism that would dominate the 1980s.  People felt that the US had gotten too weak militarily and had been humbled by the OPEC countries.  They wanted a stronger America and the conservatives promised them an America that would be stronger militarily and politically.