New Right, grassroots coalition of American conservatives that collectively led what scholars often refer to as the “conservative ascendancy” or “Republican ascendancy” of the late 20th century. Dubbed the New Right partly in contrast to the New Left counterculture of the 1960s, the New Right consisted of conservative activists who voiced opposition on a variety of issues, including abortion, homosexuality, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), the Panama Canal Treaty, affirmative action, and most forms of taxation.