Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism POLITICS AND SOCIETYIN TWENTIETH-CENTURYAMERICA SERIES EDITORS William Chafe, Gary Gerstle, Linda Gordon, and Julian Zelizer Alist of titles in this series appears at the back of the book Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism A WOMAN’S CRUSADE Donald T. Critchlow princeton university press princeton and oxford Copyright © 2005 by Donald T. Critchlow Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1SY All Rights Reserved Second printing, and first paperback printing, 2008 Paperback ISBN: 978-0-691-13624-0 The Library of Congress has cataloged the cloth edition of this book as follows Critchlow, Donald T., 1948– Phyllis Schlafly and grassroots conservatism : a woman’s crusade / Donald T. Critchlow. p.cm.—(Politics and society in twentieth-century America) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-691-07002-5 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-691-07002-4 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Schlafly, Phyllis. 2. Conservatives—United States—Biography. 3. Conservatism—United States. 4. Republican Party (U.S. : 1854– ) 5. Women political activists—UnitedStates—Biography. 6. Political activists—United States. I. Title. II. Series. JC573.2.U6C75 2005 320.52'092—dc22 [B] 2004062469 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Palatino Printed on acid-free paper. ∞ press.princeton.edu Printed in the United States of America 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 To those I owe so much, my wife Patricia, my uncle Tom Critchlow, and three friends Bill Rorabaugh, Tom Shippey, and John Garrison Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter One The Making of a Grassroots Conservative 12 Chapter Two Ideology and Politics in 1952 37 Chapter Three Anticommunism: AYoung Woman’s Crusade 62 Chapter Four The Republican Right Under Attack 89 Chapter Five The Goldwater Campaign 109 Chapter Six The Establishment Purges Schlafly 137 Chapter Seven Confronting the Soviets in a Nuclear Age 163 Chapter Eight Nixon Betrays the Right 183 Chapter Nine The ERABattle Revives the Right 212 Chapter Ten The Triumph of the Right 243 Chapter Eleven Ideology and Power in a Divided Nation 270 Manuscript Collections 305 Notes 309 Index 403 Acknowledgments In researching myprevious book, Intended Consequences: Birth Control, Abortion, and the Federal Government (1999), I became keenly aware of the political influence exerted by grassroots conservatives on public policy in the United States. This awareness aroused my interest in the history of grassroots conservatism. The political career of Phyllis Schlafly, which began in the late 1940s and continues today, provided a conduit to understanding the methods and ideology of a movement that has transformed American politics. In the process of writing this book, I re- lied on a number of people whom I would like to thank. This book would not have been possible without Phyllis Schlafly’s granting me complete and unrestricted access without editorial control to her extensive personal files, as well as the exceedingly rich records of the Eagle Forum. She provided me a desk for work at Eagle Forum while I conducted research in what turned out to be unprocessed, but well- organized, archival collections that extended over 175 linear feet. What was remarkable about this access is that I had never met Phyllis Schlafly until I approached her about writing a political biography of her. Her decision was based only on reading the book proposal, which I told her my agent had submitted to Princeton University Press. Although she sometimes expressed wonder at the amount of time I spent researching the book and occasionally asked me what files I was looking at, she never sought to impose her perspective on my work. Although I pursued this project as a scholar and never as a partisan, I suspect that there is much she will like about this book, but also parts that she will disagree with. Phyllis Schlafly is a woman of strong views, but I have also learned that she is a gracious woman with a good sense of humor. This explains much about her political fortitude and my relationship with her. This book is based on my original research in archival materials, however, not on personal interviews with Phyllis Schlafly or other prominent conservatives who appear in this book, except for a handful duly noted in the footnotes. I reinforced my research in Mrs. Schlafly’s papers with research in more than 50 other archival collections. In the process, I incurred other debts of thanks to many archivists across the country. I especially want to thank David Wigdor and John Earl Haynes at the Library of Congress x • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Manuscript Division who directed me, respectively, to the ERAmerica Papers and the newly acquired Herbert Philbrick Papers, as well as other important collections there. Also, I want to thank the archivists at the Bentley Library at the University of Michigan and the Gerald Ford Presidential Library who arranged for me to see the Elly Peterson papers while the Bentley was undergoing renovation. The many archivists I worked with at the Ronald Reagan Library and the John F. Kennedy Li- brary deserve acknowledgment. Archivists at the University of Oregon, the University of Arkansas, and the Chicago Historical Society were also extremely helpful in directing me to the right spots in their collections. I want to thank my long and dear friends Elizabeth and James Mohr of the University of Oregon for their hospitality while I worked in Eugene. Research assistance was provided by John Korasick, Andrew Ayers, and Matthew Sherman. Mr. Sherman assisted in reproducing the illustra- tions and he indexed the book. Staff members at the Eagle Forum—Julia Algya, Gwen Kelley, and Patrick Ertmann—helped me find library ma- terials, while providing conversation during my escape from the lower depths of the archives in the basement. Saint Louis University provided me with a year’s sabbatical leave to write this book. Anumber of people read the manuscript in its various drafts. When Thomas LeBien left Princeton University Press, Brigitta von Rhineberg took over editorial oversight of this book. If this book enjoys success, it will be largely due to her splendid editorial hand. She insisted on read- ing early drafts of chapters, gently prodding me to set a judicious tone for a controversial subject, while keeping the general reader in mind. Brigitta’s editorial assistant, Alison Kallet, kept the production process on schedule and gave me good advice on photographs for the book. Early drafts of this book were read by Christopher Gray, John Earl Haynes, and Gregory Schneider, who brought their extensive knowl- edge of conservatism and communism to the manuscript. Alater and completed draft of the manuscript was read by my friend William Rorabaugh and by William Rusher. Mr. Rusher, long-time publisher of the National Review, was especially important in developing my think- ing about the relationship between conservative intellectuals and grassroots conservatives. Readers for the Princeton University Press, Paula Baker and Leo Ribuffo, who both identified themselves in their reports, led me to trim and tighten the focus of the book. Julian Zelizer read the revised manuscript and his comments provided opportunities for final polishing. After discussing the manuscript with other editors