I think that your Rabbi may have been talking about the fact that it’s possible that the Frum world may have started having very strong opinions about certain things in reaction to the haskala. I don’t know if that is a fact, but I would imagine that may have happened. For example, in EY today, the Chareidi world tends to be more hesitant than the Chareidi world in the US is about having secular studies. This is probably due at least in part to concern about secular-zionist influence.
But being against too much secular studies out of concern of outside influence is NOT the definition of Chareidi.
The definition of Chareidi might be: Those Jews who wish to make sure that their Torah hashkafa remains untainted.
How that is expressed may vary in each generation based on what is happening in that generation (haskala, zionism, etc).
But the definition of Chareidi Judaism and the essence of what a Chareidi Jew is have not changed – it is merely being expressed differently.
It is like saying that saying that there are no Frum Jews today because Frum Jews used to ride on horses and today they don’t.