SUMMARY
Jerry Falwell was a fundamentalist Christian pastor and the founder of the Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Best known for his key role in mobilizing the Christian Right into a formidable power in United States politics, Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979, a national political organization that emphasized a commitment to a “pro-family” agenda. The Moral Majority achieved prominence very quickly when in 1980 there was a significant surge in evangelical conservative support for the Republican Party nominee for U.S. president, Ronald Reagan, and for Republican, or GOP (Grand Old Party) candidates for the U.S. Congress. Many observers credited Falwell with having played the leading role in energizing these voters to support Reagan and the GOP. After Reagan’s landslide win and the Republican successes in the congressional races as well, Falwell and the Moral Majority became prominent, though controversial, fixtures on the U.S
The Liberty Champion
Jerry Prevo was “the guy next door,” but Carol Sherwood, at the time, was dating another guy up the hill.
“I didn’t know this,” Carol Prevo said. “He tells me that the guy on the hill came down and told him, ‘You better leave my girlfriend alone,’ and that was a challenge to him, and you know who won.”
After 56 years of marriage, it takes both of them to tell the story of their first date.
“It was the last day of (freshman year), and we were all going to a park to celebrate the end of school. Me and my buddy were sitting there… that doesn’t sound right,” Jerry Prevo said.