Barry Goldwater
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Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the
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who served as a
United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Republican Party's nominee for president in 1964. Goldwater was born in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, where he helped manage his family's department store. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he flew aircraft between the U.S. and India. After the war, Goldwater served in the Phoenix City Council. In 1952, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he rejected the legacy of the
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
and, along with the conservative coalition, fought against the New Deal coalition. Goldwater also challenged his party's moderate to liberal wing on policy issues. He supported the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 and the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution but opposed the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
, disagreeing with Title II and Title VII. In the 1964 U.S. presidential election, Goldwater mobilized a large conservative constituency to win the Republican nomination, but then lost the general election to incumbent Democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson in a landslide. Goldwater returned to the Senate in 1969 and specialized in defense and foreign policy. He successfully urged president
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
to resign in 1974 when evidence of a cover-up in the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
became overwhelming and impeachment was imminent. In 1986, he oversaw passage of the Goldwater–Nichols Act, which strengthened civilian authority in the U.S. Department of Defense. Near the end of his career, Goldwater's views on social and cultural issues grew increasingly libertarian. Many political pundits and historians believe he laid the foundation for the conservative revolution to follow as the grassroots organization and conservative takeover of the Republican Party began a long-term realignment in American politics, which helped to bring about the
presidency of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...
in the 1980s. He also had a substantial impact on the American libertarian movement. After leaving the Senate, Goldwater became supportive of homosexuals serving openly in the military,
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, gay rights, abortion rights, adoption rights for same-sex couples, and the legalization of
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.


Early life and education

Goldwater was born on January 2, 1909, in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, in what was then the Arizona Territory, the son of Baron M. Goldwater and his wife, Hattie Josephine "JoJo" Williams. Goldwater long believed that he was born on January 1, 1909, and thus works published during his career list this as his date of birth; however, in his later years, he discovered documentation revealing that he was actually born at 3 a.m. on January 2. His father's family founded Goldwater's Department Store, a leading upscale
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
in Phoenix. Goldwater's paternal grandfather, Michel Goldwasser, a Polish Jew, was born in 1821 in Konin, then part of
Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
. He emigrated to London following the
Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
. Soon after arriving in London, Michel anglicized his name to Michael Goldwater. Michel married Sarah Nathan, a member of an English-Jewish family, in the Great Synagogue of London. The Goldwaters later emigrated to the United States, first arriving in San Francisco, California, before finally settling in the Arizona Territory, where Michael Goldwater opened a small department store that was later taken over and expanded by his three sons, Henry, Baron, and Morris. Morris Goldwater (1852–1939) was an Arizona territorial and state legislator, mayor of
Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...
, delegate to the Arizona Constitutional Convention, and later President of the Arizona State Senate. Goldwater's father was Jewish, but Goldwater was raised in his mother's Episcopal faith. Hattie Williams came from an established
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
family that included the theologian
Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
, of
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. Goldwater's parents were married in an Episcopal church in Phoenix; for his entire life, Goldwater was an Episcopalian, though on rare occasions he referred to himself as Jewish. While he did not often attend church, he stated that "If a man acts in a religious way, an ethical way, then he's really a religious man—and it doesn't have a lot to do with how often he gets inside a church." His first cousin was Julius Goldwater, a convert to Buddhism and Jodo Shinshu priest who assisted interned Japanese Americans during World War II. After performing poorly academically as a high school freshman, Goldwater's parents sent him to Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Virginia, where he played varsity football, basketball, track, and swimming; was senior class treasurer; and attained the rank of captain. He graduated from the academy in 1928 and enrolled at the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
, but dropped out after one year. Barry Goldwater is the most recent non-college graduate to be the nominee of a major political party in a presidential election. Goldwater entered the family's business around the time of his father's death, in 1930. Six years later, he took over the department store, though he was not particularly enthused about running the business.


Career


U.S. Air Force

After the United States entered
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Goldwater received a reserve commission in the United States Army Air Force. Goldwater trained as a pilot and was assigned to the Ferry Command, a newly formed unit that flew aircraft and supplies to war zones worldwide. He spent most of the war flying between the U.S. and India, via the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
and North Africa or South America,
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, and Central Africa. Goldwater also flew "the hump", one of the most dangerous routes for supply planes during WWII. The route required aircraft to fly directly over the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
in order to deliver desperately needed supplies to the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. Following the end of World War II in 1945, Goldwater was a leading proponent of creating the
United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...
and later served on the academy's Board of Visitors. The visitor center at the academy is now named in his honor. Goldwater remained in the Army Air Reserve after the war, and in 1946, at the rank of Colonel, Goldwater founded the Arizona Air National Guard. Goldwater ordered the Arizona Air National Guard desegregated, two years before the rest of the U.S. military. In the early 1960s, while a senator, he commanded the 9999th Air Reserve Squadron as a major general. Goldwater was instrumental in pushing the Pentagon to support the desegregation of the armed services. Goldwater remained in the Arizona
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...
until 1967, retiring as a Command Pilot with the rank of major general. As a U.S. Senator, Goldwater had a sign in his office that referenced his military career and mindset: "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots."


Early political involvement

In a heavily Democratic state, Goldwater became a conservative Republican and a friend of
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
. He was outspoken against New Deal liberalism, especially its close ties to
labor unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
. A pilot, amateur radio operator, outdoorsman, and photographer, he criss-crossed Arizona and developed a deep interest in both the natural and the human history of the state. He entered Phoenix politics in 1949, when he was elected to the
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
as part of a nonpartisan team of candidates pledged to clean up widespread prostitution and gambling. The team won every mayoral and council election for the next two decades. Goldwater rebuilt the weak Republican Party, and was instrumental in electing
Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator, Painting, painter, and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life ...
as
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in 1950.


Support for civil rights

Goldwater was a supporter of racial equality. He integrated his family's business upon taking over control in the 1930s. A lifetime member of the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
, Goldwater helped found the group's Arizona chapter. He saw to it that the Arizona Air National Guard was racially integrated from its inception in 1946, two years before President Truman ordered the military as a whole be integrated (a process that was not completed until 1954). Goldwater worked with Phoenix civil rights leaders to successfully integrate public schools a year prior to ''
Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...
''. Despite this support of civil rights, he remained in objection to some major federal civil rights legislation. Civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. remarked of him, "while not himself a racist, Mr. Goldwater articulates a philosophy which gives aid and comfort to the racists." Goldwater was an early member and largely unrecognized supporter of the National Urban League's Phoenix chapter, going so far as to cover the group's early operating deficits with his personal funds.''Edwards'' Though the NAACP denounced Goldwater in the harshest of terms when he ran for president, the Urban League conferred on him the 1991 Humanitarian Award "for 50 years of loyal service to the Phoenix Urban League". In response to League members who objected, citing Goldwater's vote on the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
, the League president pointed out that he had saved the League more than once, saying he preferred to judge a person "on the basis of his daily actions rather than on his voting record".


U.S. Senator

Running as a Republican, Goldwater won a narrow upset victory seat in the 1952 Arizona Senate election against veteran Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Ernest McFarland. He won largely by defeating McFarland in his native Maricopa County by 12,600 votes, almost double the overall margin of 6,725 votes. Goldwater defeated McFarland by a larger margin when he ran again in 1958. Following his strong re-election showing, he became the first Arizona Republican to win a second term in the U.S. Senate. Goldwater's victory was all the more remarkable since it came in a year Democrats gained 13 seats in the Senate. During his Senate career, Goldwater was regarded as the "Grand Old Man of the Republican Party and one of the nation's most respected exponents of conservatism".


Criticism of Eisenhower administration

Goldwater was outspoken about the Eisenhower administration, calling some of the policies of the administration too liberal for a Republican president. "Democrats delighted in pointing out that the junior senator was so headstrong that he had gone out his way to criticize the president of his own party." There was a Democratic majority in Congress for most of Eisenhower's career, and Goldwater felt that President Dwight Eisenhower was compromising too much with Democrats in order to get legislation passed. Early on in his career as a senator for Arizona, he criticized the $71.8 billion budget that President Eisenhower sent to Congress, stating, "Now, however, I am not so sure. A $71.8 billion budget not only shocks me, but it weakens my faith." Goldwater opposed Eisenhower's pick of Earl Warren for
Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...
. "The day that Eisenhower appointed Governor Earl Warren of California as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Goldwater did not hesitate to express his misgivings." However, Goldwater was present in the United States Senate on March 1, 1954, when Warren was unanimously confirmed, voted in favor of Eisenhower's nomination of
John Marshall Harlan II John Marshall Harlan (May 20, 1899 – December 29, 1971) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. Harlan is usually called John Marshall Harlan II to distinguish hi ...
on March 16, 1955, was present for the unanimous nominations of William J. Brennan Jr. and Charles Evans Whittaker on March 19, 1957, and voted in favor of the nomination of Potter Stewart on May 5, 1959.


Stance on civil rights

In his first year in the Senate, Goldwater was responsible for the desegregation of the Senate cafeteria after he insisted that his Black legislative assistant, Katherine Maxwell, be served along with every other Senate employee.Edwards, Lee (1995) ''Goldwater: The Man Who Made a Revolution'' p. 231 Goldwater and the Eisenhower administration supported the integration of schools in the South, but Goldwater felt the states should choose how they wanted to integrate and should not be forced by the federal government. "Goldwater criticized the use of federal troops. He accused the Eisenhower administration of violating the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
by assuming powers reserved by the states. While he agreed that under the law, every state should have integrated its schools, each state should integrate in its own way." There were high-ranking government officials following Goldwater's critical stance on the Eisenhower administration, even an Army General. "Fulbright's startling revelation that military personnel were being indoctrinated with the idea that the policies of the Commander in Chief were treasonous dovetailed with the return to the news of the strange case of General Edwin Walker." In his 1960 book '' The Conscience of a Conservative'', Goldwater stated that he supported the stated objectives of the Supreme Court's decision in ''
Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...
'', but argued that the federal government had no role in ordering states to desegregate public schools. He wrote:
"I believe that it ''is'' both wise and just for negro children to attend the same schools as whites, and that to deny them this opportunity carries with it strong implications of inferiority. I am not prepared, however, to impose that judgement of mine on the people of Mississippi or South Carolina, or to tell them what methods should be adopted and what pace should be kept in striving toward that goal. That is their business, not mine. I believe that the problem of race relations, like all social and cultural problems, is best handled by the people directly concerned. Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power."
Goldwater voted in favor of both the
Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights law passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. E ...
and the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but did not vote on the Civil Rights Act of 1960 because he was absent from the chamber while Senate Minority Whip Thomas Kuchel (R–CA) announced that Goldwater would have voted in favor if present. While he did vote in favor of it while in committee, Goldwater reluctantly voted against the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
when it came to the floor. Later, Goldwater would state that he was mostly in support of the bill, but he disagreed with Titles II and VII, which both dealt with employment, making him imply that the law would end in the government dictating hiring and firing policy for millions of Americans. Congressional Republicans overwhelmingly supported the bill, with Goldwater being joined by only five other Republican senators in voting against it.Charles S Bullock III, and Mark J. Rozell, ''The Oxford Handbook of Southern Politics'' (2012) p. 303 It is likely that Goldwater significantly underestimated the effect this would have, as his vote against the bill hurt him with voters across the country, including from his own party. In the 1990s, Goldwater would call his vote on the Civil Rights Act "one of his greatest regrets." Goldwater was absent from the Senate during President John F. Kennedy's nomination of Byron White to Supreme Court on April 11, 1962, but was present when Arthur Goldberg was unanimously confirmed.


1964 presidential election

Goldwater's direct style had made him extremely popular with the Republican Party's suburban conservative voters, based in the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and the senator's native West. Following the success of '' The Conscience of a Conservative'', Goldwater became the frontrunner for the GOP Presidential nomination to run against John F. Kennedy. Despite their disagreements on politics, Goldwater and Kennedy had grown to become close friends during the eight years they served alongside each other in the Senate. With Goldwater the clear GOP frontrunner, he and Kennedy began planning to campaign together, holding Lincoln-Douglas style debates across the country and avoiding a race defined by the kind of negative attacks that were increasingly coming to define American politics.


Republican primary

Goldwater was grief-stricken by the assassination of Kennedy and was greatly disappointed that his opponent in 1964 would not be Kennedy but instead his vice president, former Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. Goldwater disliked Johnson, later telling columnist John Kolbe that Johnson had "used every dirty trick in the bag." At the time of Goldwater's presidential candidacy, the Republican Party was split between its conservative wing (based in the West and South) and moderate/liberal wing, sometimes called Rockefeller Republicans (based in the Northeast and Midwest). Goldwater alarmed even some of his fellow partisans with his brand of staunch fiscal conservatism and militant
anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...
. He was viewed by many moderate and liberal Republicans as being too far on the right wing of the political spectrum to appeal to the mainstream majority necessary to win a national election. As a result, moderate and liberal Republicans recruited a series of opponents, including New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., of
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
Governor
William Scranton William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician and diplomat. Scranton served as the 38th governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967, and as United States Am ...
, to challenge him. Goldwater received solid backing from most of the few Southern Republicans then in politics. A young
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lawyer, John Grenier, secured commitments from 271 of 279 Southern convention delegates to back Goldwater. Grenier would serve as executive director of the national GOP during the Goldwater campaign, the number two position to party chairman Dean Burch of Arizona. Goldwater fought and won a multi-candidate race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.


1964 Republican National Convention

Eisenhower gave his support to Goldwater when he told reporters, "I personally believe that Goldwater is not an extremist as some people have made him, but in any event we're all Republicans." His nomination was staunchly opposed by the so-called Liberal Republicans, who thought Goldwater's demand for active measures to defeat the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
would foment a
nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...
. In addition to Rockefeller, prominent Republican office-holders refused to endorse Goldwater's candidacy, including both Republican senators from New York Kenneth B. Keating and Jacob Javits,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
governor
William Scranton William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician and diplomat. Scranton served as the 38th governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967, and as United States Am ...
, Michigan governor George Romney and Congressman John V. Lindsay ( NY-17). Rockefeller Republican Jackie Robinson walked out of the convention in disgust over Goldwater's nomination. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who was
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
's running mate in 1960, also opposed Goldwater, calling his proposal of realigning the Democrat and Republican parties into two Liberal and Conservative parties "totally abhorrent" and thought that no one in their right mind should oppose the federal government in having a role in the future of America. In the face of such opposition, Goldwater delivered a well-received acceptance speech. According to the author Lee Edwards: " oldwaterdevoted more care o itthan to any other speech in his political career. And with good reason: he would deliver it to the largest and most attentive audience of his life." Journalist John Adams commented: "his acceptance speech was bold, reflecting his conservative views, but not irrational. Rather than shrinking from those critics who accuse him of extremism, Goldwater challenged them head-on" in his acceptance speech at the 1964 Republican Convention. In his own words: His paraphrase of
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
was included at the suggestion of Harry V. Jaffa, though the speech was primarily written by Karl Hess. Because of President Johnson's popularity, Goldwater refrained from attacking the president directly. He did not mention Johnson by name at all in his convention speech. Although raised as an Episcopalian, Goldwater was the first candidate of
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descent, through his father, to be nominated for president by a major American party.


1964 general presidential campaign

After securing the Republican presidential nomination, Goldwater chose his political ally, RNC Chairman William E. Miller to be his running mate. Goldwater joked he chose Miller because "he drives Johnson nuts". In choosing Miller, Goldwater opted for a running mate who was ideologically aligned with his own conservative wing of the Republican party. Miller balanced the ticket in other ways, being a practicing Catholic from the East Coast. Miller had low name recognition but was popular in the Republican party and viewed as a skilled political strategist. Former U.S. senator
Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush Sr. (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician. as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 ...
, a moderate Republican from
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, was a friend of Goldwater and supported him in the general election campaign. Future chief justice of the United States and fellow Arizonan William H. Rehnquist also first came to the attention of national Republicans through his work as a legal adviser to Goldwater's presidential campaign. Rehnquist had begun his law practice in 1953 in the firm of Denison Kitchel of Phoenix, Goldwater's national campaign manager and friend of nearly three decades. Goldwater's advocacy of active interventionism to prevent the spread of communism and defend American values and allies led to effective counterattacks from Lyndon B. Johnson and his supporters, who said that Goldwater's militancy would have dire consequences, possibly even nuclear war. In a May 1964 speech, Goldwater suggested that nuclear weapons should be treated more like conventional weapons and used in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, specifically that they should have been used at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 to defoliate trees. Regarding Vietnam, Goldwater charged that Johnson's policy was devoid of "goal, course, or purpose," leaving "only sudden death in the jungles and the slow strangulation of freedom". Goldwater's rhetoric on nuclear war was viewed by many as quite uncompromising, a view buttressed by off-hand comments such as, "Let's lob one into the men's room at the
Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
." He also advocated that field commanders in Vietnam and Europe should be given the authority to use tactical nuclear weapons (which he called "small conventional nuclear weapons") without presidential confirmation. Goldwater countered the Johnson attacks by criticizing the administration for its perceived ethical lapses, and stating in a commercial that "we, as a nation, are not far from the kind of moral decay that has brought on the fall of other nations and people.... I say it is time to put conscience back in government. And by good example, put it back in all walks of American life." Goldwater campaign commercials included statements of support by actor Raymond Massey and moderate Republican senator Margaret Chase Smith. Before the 1964 election, ''
Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...
'' magazine, published by Ralph Ginzburg, ran a special issue titled, "The Unconscious of a Conservative: A Special Issue on the Mind of Barry Goldwater". The two main articles contended that Goldwater was mentally unfit to be president. The magazine supported this claim with the results of a poll of board-certified psychiatrists. ''Fact'' had mailed questionnaires to 12,356 psychiatrists, receiving responses from 2,417, of whom 1,189 said Goldwater was mentally incapable of holding the office of president. Most of the other respondents declined to diagnose Goldwater because they had not clinically interviewed him but said that, although not psychologically unfit to preside, Goldwater would be negligent in the role. After the election, Goldwater sued the publisher, the editor and the magazine for libel in '' Goldwater v. Ginzburg''. "Although the jury awarded Goldwater only $1.00 in compensatory damages against all three defendants, it went on to award him punitive damages of $25,000 against Ginzburg and $50,000 against ''Fact'' magazine, Inc." According to Warren Boroson, then-managing editor of ''Fact'' and later a financial columnist, the main biography of Goldwater in the magazine was written by David Bar-Illan, the Israeli pianist.


Political advertising

A Democratic campaign advertisement known as Daisy showed a young girl counting daisy petals, from one to ten. Immediately following this scene, a voiceover counted down from ten to one. The child's face was shown as a still photograph followed by images of nuclear explosions and mushroom clouds. The campaign advertisement ended with a plea to vote for Johnson, implying that Goldwater (though not mentioned by name) would provoke a
nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...
if elected. The advertisement, which featured only a few spoken words and relied on imagery for its emotional impact, was one of the most provocative in American political campaign history, and many analysts credit it as being the birth of the modern style of " negative political ads" on television. The ad aired only once and was immediately pulled, but it was then shown many times by local television stations covering the controversy. Goldwater did not have ties to the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
(KKK), but he was publicly endorsed by members of the organization. Lyndon B. Johnson exploited this association during the elections, but Goldwater barred the KKK from supporting him and denounced them. Throughout the presidential campaign, Goldwater refused to appeal to racial tensions or backlash against civil rights. After the outbreak of the Harlem riot of 1964, Goldwater privately gathered news reporters on his campaign plane and said that if anyone attempted to sow racial violence on his political behalf, he would withdraw from the presidential raceeven if it was the day before the election. Past comments came back to haunt Goldwater throughout the campaign. He had once called the Eisenhower administration "a dime-store
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
", and the former president never fully forgave him. However, Eisenhower did film a television commercial with Goldwater. Eisenhower qualified his voting for Goldwater in November by remarking that he had voted not specifically for Goldwater, but for the Republican Party. In December 1961, Goldwater had told a news conference that "sometimes I think this country would be better off if we could just saw off the Eastern Seaboard and let it float out to sea." That comment boomeranged on him during the campaign in the form of a Johnson television commercial, as did remarks about making
Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
voluntary, and statements in
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
about selling the Tennessee Valley Authority, a large local New Deal employer. The Goldwater campaign spotlighted
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, who appeared in a campaign ad. In turn, Reagan gave a stirring, nationally televised speech, " A Time for Choosing", in support of Goldwater.


Results

Goldwater only won his home state of Arizona and five states in the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...
. The Southern states, traditionally Democratic up to that time, voted Republican primarily as a statement of opposition to the Civil Rights Act, which had been signed into law by Johnson earlier that year. Despite Johnson's support for the Civil Rights Act, the bill received split support from Congressional Democrats due to southerner opposition. In contrast, Congressional Republicans overwhelmingly supported the bill, with Goldwater being joined by only 5 other Republican senators in voting against it. In the end, Goldwater received 38% of the popular vote and carried just six states: Arizona (with 51% of the popular vote) and the core states of the Deep South: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. In carrying Georgia by a margin of 54–45%, Goldwater became the first Republican nominee to win the state. Goldwater's poor showing pulled down many supporters. Of the 57 Republican Congressmen who endorsed Goldwater before the convention, 20 were defeated for reelection, along with many promising young Republicans. In contrast, Republican Congressman John Lindsay ( NY-17), who refused to endorse Goldwater, was handily re-elected in a district where Democrats held a 10% overall advantage. On the other hand, the defeat of so many older politicians created openings for young conservatives to move up the ladder. While the loss of moderate Republicans was temporary—they were back by 1966—Goldwater also permanently pulled many conservative Southerners and whites out of the New Deal Coalition. According to Steve Kornacki of ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
'', "Goldwater broke through and won five outhernstates—the best showing in the region for a GOP candidate since
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
. In Mississippi—where
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
had won nearly 100 percent of the vote 28 years earlier—Goldwater claimed a staggering 87 percent." It has frequently been argued that Goldwater's strong performance in Southern states previously regarded as Democratic strongholds foreshadowed a larger shift in electoral trends in the coming decades that would make the South a Republican bastion (an end to the " Solid South")—first in presidential politics and eventually at the congressional and state levels, as well. Also, Goldwater's uncompromising promotion of freedom was the start of a continuing shift in American politics from liberalism to a conservative economic philosophy.


Return to U.S. Senate

Goldwater remained popular in Arizona, and in the 1968 Senate election he was elected to the seat of retiring Senator Carl Hayden. He was reelected in 1974 and 1980. Throughout the late 1970s, as the conservative wing under Ronald Reagan gained control of the Republican Party, Goldwater concentrated on his Senate duties, especially in military affairs. Goldwater purportedly did not like
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
on either a political or personal level, later calling the California Republican "the most dishonest individual I have ever met in my life". Accordingly, he played little part in Nixon's election or administration, but he helped force Nixon's resignation in 1974. At the height of the Watergate scandal, Goldwater met with Nixon at the White House and urged him to resign. At the time, Nixon's impeachment by the House of Representatives was imminent and Goldwater warned him that fewer than 10 Republican senators would vote against conviction. Despite being a difficult year for Republicans candidates, the 1974 election saw Goldwater easily reelected over his Democratic opponent, Jonathan Marshall, the publisher of ''The Scottsdale Progress''. At the 1976 Republican National Convention, Goldwater helped block Nelson Rockefeller's renomination as vice president. When Reagan challenged
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
for the presidential nomination in 1976, Goldwater endorsed the incumbent Ford, looking for consensus rather than conservative idealism. As one historian notes, "The Arizonan had lost much of his zest for battle." In 1979, when President Carter normalized relations with Communist China, Goldwater and some other Senators sued him in the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, arguing that the President could not terminate the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty with the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
(
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
) without the approval of
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
. The case, '' Goldwater v. Carter'' (444 U.S. 996), was dismissed by the court as a
political question In United States constitutional law, the political question Legal doctrine, doctrine holds that a constitutional dispute requiring knowledge of a non-legal character, techniques not suitable for a court, or matters explicitly assigned by the Const ...
. On June 9, 1969, Goldwater was absent during President Nixon's nomination of Warren E. Burger as
Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...
while Senate Minority Whip Hugh Scott announced that Goldwater would have voted in favor if present. Goldwater voted in favor of Nixon's failed Supreme Court nomination of Clement Haynsworth on November 21, 1969, and a few months later, Goldwater voted in favor of Nixon's failed Supreme Court nomination of Harrold Carswell on April 8, 1970. The following month, Goldwater was absent when Nixon nominee Harry Blackmun was confirmed on May 12, 1970, while Senate Minority Whip Robert P. Griffin announced that Goldwater would have voted in favor if present. On December 6, 1971, Goldwater voted in favor of Nixon's nomination of Lewis F. Powell Jr., and on December 10, Goldwater voted in favor of Nixon's nomination of William Rehnquist as Associate Justice. On December 17, 1975, Goldwater voted in favor of President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
's nomination of
John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
to the Supreme Court.


Final campaign and U.S. Senate term

With his fourth Senate term due to end in January 1981, Goldwater seriously considered retiring from the Senate in 1980 before deciding to run for one final term. It was a surprisingly tough campaign for re-election. Goldwater was viewed by some as out of touch and vulnerable for several reasons, chiefly because he had planned to retire in 1981 and he had not visited many areas of Arizona outside of Phoenix and Tucson. Additionally, his Democratic challenger, Bill Schulz, proved to be a formidable opponent. A former Republican and a wealthy real estate developer, Schulz's campaign slogan was "Energy for the Eighties." Arizona's changing population also hurt Goldwater. The state's population had greatly increased, and a large portion of the electorate had not lived in the state at the time Goldwater was previously elected, meaning unlike most incumbents, many voters were less familiar with Goldwater's actual beliefs. Goldwater spent most of the campaign on the defensive. Although he was eventually declared as the winning candidate in the general election by a very narrow margin, receiving 49.5% of the vote to Schulz's 48.4%, early returns on election night indicated that Schulz would win. The counting of votes continued through the night and into the next morning. At around daybreak, Goldwater learned that he had been reelected thanks to absentee ballots, which were among the last to be counted. Goldwater's close victory in 1980 came despite Reagan's 61% landslide over Jimmy Carter in Arizona. Despite Goldwater's struggles, in 1980, Republicans were able to pick up 12 senate seats, regaining control of the chamber for the first time since 1955, when Goldwater was in his first term. Goldwater was now in the most powerful position he had ever been in the Senate. In October 1983, Goldwater voted against the
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. On September 21, 1981, Goldwater voted in favor of Reagan's Supreme Court nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor. Goldwater was absent during the nominations of William Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the United States and Antonin Scalia as Associate Justice on September 17, 1986. After the new Senate convened in January 1981, Goldwater became chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. In this role he clashed with the Reagan administration in April 1984 when he discovered that the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) had been mining the waters of Nicaragua since February, something that he had first denied when the matter was raised.Brogan ''The Fighting Never Stopped'', 1989 p. 449 In a note to the CIA director William Casey, Goldwater denounced what he called an "act of war", saying that "this is no way to run a railroad" as he stated crossly that only Congress had the power to declare war and accused the CIA of illegally mining Nicaraguan waters without the permission of Congress. Goldwater concluded, "The President has asked us to back his foreign policy. Bill, how can we back his foreign policy when we don't know what the hell he is doing? Lebanon, yes, we all knew that he sent troops over there. But mine the harbors in Nicaragua? This is an act violating international law. It is an act of war. For the life of me, I don't see how we are going to explain it." Goldwater felt compelled to issue an apology on the floor of the Senate because the Senate Intelligence Committee had failed in its duties to oversee the CIA as he stated, saying, "I am forced to apologize for the members of my committee because I did not know the facts on this case. And I apologize to all the members of the Senate for the same reason". Goldwater subsequently voted for a Congressional resolution condemning the mining. In his 1980 Senate reelection campaign, Goldwater won support from religious conservatives but in his final term voted consistently to uphold legal abortion and in 1981 gave a speech on how he was angry about the bullying of American politicians by religious organizations and would "fight them every step of the way". He introduced the 1984 Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act, which allowed local governments to require the transmission of public, educational, and government access (PEG) channels, barred cable operators from exercising editorial control over the content of programs carried on PEG channels and absolved them from liability for their content. On May 12, 1986, Goldwater was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Reagan. In response to Moral Majority founder
Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch ...
's opposition to the nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court, of which Falwell had said, "Every good Christian should be concerned", Goldwater retorted, "Every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass." According to John Dean, Goldwater actually suggested that good Christians ought to kick Falwell in the "nuts", but the news media "changed the anatomical reference". Goldwater also had harsh words for his one-time political protégé, President Reagan, particularly after the Iran–Contra Affair became public in 1986. Journalist Robert MacNeil, a friend of Goldwater's from the 1964 presidential campaign, recalled interviewing him in his office shortly afterward. "He was sitting in his office with his hands on his cane... and he said to me, 'Well, aren't you going to ask me about the
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
arms sales?' It had just been announced that the Reagan administration had sold arms to Iran. And I said, 'Well, if I asked you, what would you say?' He said, 'I'd say it's the god-damned stupidest foreign policy blunder this country's ever made! Aside from the Iran–Contra scandal, Goldwater thought nonetheless that Reagan was a good president.


Retirement

Goldwater said later that the close result in 1980 convinced him not to run again. He retired in 1987, serving as Chair of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees in his final term. Despite his reputation as a firebrand in the 1960s, by the end of his career, he was considered a stabilizing influence in the Senate, one of the most respected members of either major party. Although Goldwater remained staunchly anti-communist and " hawkish" on military issues, he was a key supporter of the fight for ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty in the 1970s, which would give control of the canal zone to the Republic of
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. His most important legislative achievement may have been the Goldwater–Nichols Act, which reorganized the U.S. military's senior-command structure.


Policies

Goldwater became most associated with anti-union work and anti-communism; he was a supporter of the conservative coalition in Congress. His work on labor issues led Congress to pass major anti-labor reforms in 1957, and subsequently a campaign by the AFL–CIO to challenge his 1958 reelection bid. He voted against the censure of Senator
Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...
in 1954, who had been making unfounded claims about communists infiltrating the U.S. State Department during the Red Scare, but never actually accused any individual of being a communist or Soviet agent. Goldwater emphasized his strong opposition to the worldwide spread of communism in his 1960 book '' The Conscience of a Conservative''. The book became an important reference text in conservative political circles. In 1964, Goldwater ran a conservative campaign that emphasized
states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...
. Goldwater's 1964 campaign was a magnet for conservatives since he opposed interference by the federal government in state affairs. Goldwater voted in favor of the
Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights law passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. E ...
and the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but did not vote on the Civil Rights Act of 1960 because he was absent from the chamber, with Senate Minority Whip Thomas Kuchel (R–CA) announcing that Goldwater would have voted in favor if present. Though Goldwater had supported the original Senate version of the bill, Goldwater voted against the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
. His public stance was based on his view that Article II and Article VII of the Act interfered with the rights of private persons to do or not to do business with whomever they chose and believed that the private employment provisions of the Act would lead to racial quotas. In the segregated city of Phoenix in the 1950s, he had quietly supported civil rights for blacks, but would not let his name be used. All this appealed to white Southern Democrats, and Goldwater was the first Republican to win the electoral votes of all of the Deep South states (
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
,
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
and
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
) since
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
. However, Goldwater's vote on the Civil Rights Act proved devastating to his campaign everywhere outside the South (besides Dixie, Goldwater won only in Arizona, his home state), contributing to his landslide defeat in 1964. Goldwater's campaign also included stringently fiscally conservative policies. Goldwater was strongly critical of Johnson's War on Poverty policies and argued that it might be the "attitude or the actions" of the poor that are responsible for their hardship. In his prepared speech before the Economic Club of New York, Goldwater also claimed that arguing unemployment and poverty are caused by lack of education is "like saying that people have big feet because they wear big shoes. The fact is that most people who have no skill have no education for the same reason—low intelligence or low ambition." Goldwater also called for ending agricultural subsidies, privatizing Social Security, and privatizing the Tennessee Valley Authority. While Goldwater had been depicted by his opponents in the Republican primaries as a representative of a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
philosophy that was extreme and alien, his voting records show that his positions were in generally aligned with those of other Republicans in the Congress. Goldwater fought in 1971 to stop U.S. funding of the United Nations after the People's Republic of China was admitted to the organization. He said:


Goldwater and revival of American conservatism

Although Goldwater was not as important in the American conservative movement as Ronald Reagan after 1965, he shaped and redefined the movement from the late 1950s to 1964. Arizona Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
, who succeeded Goldwater in the Senate in 1987, said of Goldwater's legacy, "He transformed the Republican Party from an Eastern elitist organization to the breeding ground for the election of Ronald Reagan." Columnist George Will remarked that Reagan's victory in the 1980 presidential election was the metaphoric culmination of 16 years of counting the votes for Goldwater from the 1964 presidential race. The Republican Party recovered from the 1964 election debacle, acquiring 47 seats in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
in the 1966 mid-term election. In January 1969, after Goldwater had been re-elected to the Senate, he wrote an article in the ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' "affirming that he asnot against liberals, that liberals are needed as a counterweight to conservatism, and that he had in mind a fine liberal like Max Lerner." Goldwater was a strong supporter of environmental protection, saying in 1965:


Later life

By the 1980s, with Ronald Reagan as president and the growing involvement of the religious right in conservative politics, Goldwater's libertarian views on personal issues were revealed; he believed that they were an integral part of true conservatism. Goldwater viewed abortion as a matter of personal choice and as such supported abortion rights. As a passionate defender of personal liberty, he saw the religious right's views as an encroachment on personal privacy and individual liberties. Although he voted against making Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday in his last term as senator, Goldwater later expressed support for it. In 1987, he received the Langley Gold Medal from the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. In 1988,
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
's
American Whig-Cliosophic Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...
awarded Goldwater the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service in recognition of his career. After his retirement in 1987, Goldwater described Arizona Governor
Evan Mecham Evan Mecham ( ; May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008) was an American businessman and the List of governors of Arizona, 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his Impeachment by state and territorial governments of the United ...
as "hardheaded" and called on him to resign, and two years later stated that the Republican party had been taken over by a "bunch of kooks". During the 1988 presidential campaign, he told vice-presidential nominee
Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
at a campaign event in Arizona, "I want you to go back and tell George Bush to start talking about the issues." Some of Goldwater's statements in the 1990s alienated many social conservatives. He endorsed Democrat Karan English in an Arizona congressional race, urged Republicans to lay off
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
over the Whitewater scandal, and criticized the military's ban on homosexuals, saying, "Everyone knows that gays have served honorably in the military since at least the time of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
", and, "You don't need to be 'straight' to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight." A few years before his death, he addressed establishment Republicans by saying, "Do not associate my name with anything you do. You are extremists, and you've hurt the Republican party much more than the Democrats have." In a 1994 interview with ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', Goldwater said: Also in November 1994, he repeated his concerns about religious groups attempting to gain control of the Republican party, saying, In 1996, he told
Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...
, whose own presidential campaign received lukewarm support from conservative Republicans, "We're the new liberals of the Republican party. Can you imagine that?" In that same year, with Senator Dennis DeConcini, Goldwater endorsed an
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
initiative to legalize
medical marijuana Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to Cannabis (drug), cannabis products and cannabinoid, cannabinoid molecules that are prescription drug, prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabi ...
against the countervailing opinion of social conservatives.


Personal life

In 1934, Goldwater married Margaret "Peggy" Johnson, daughter of a prominent industrialist from
Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...
. The couple had four children: Joanne (born January 18, 1936), Barry (born July 15, 1938), Michael (born March 15, 1940), and Peggy (born July 27, 1944). Goldwater became a widower in 1985 and, in 1992, he married Susan Wechsler, a nurse 32 years his junior. Goldwater's son Barry Goldwater Jr. served as a Republican Congressman, representing California from 1969 to 1983. Goldwater's grandson, Ty Ross, is an interior designer and former Zoli model. Ross, who is openly gay and
HIV positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of th ...
, has been credited as inspiring the elder Goldwater "to become an octogenarian proponent of gay civil rights". Goldwater ran track and cross country in high school, where he specialized in the 880 yard run. In 1940, he became one of the first to run the
Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
recreationally through the
Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...
, participating as an oarsman on Norman Nevills' second commercial river trip. Goldwater joined them in Green River, Utah, and rowed his own boat down to Lake Mead. In 1970, the Arizona Historical Foundation published the daily journal Goldwater had maintained on the Grand Canyon journey, including his photographs, in a 209-page volume titled ''Delightful Journey''. In 1963, he joined the Arizona Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was also a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the
American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...
, and Sigma Chi fraternity. He belonged to both the York Rite and Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and was awarded the 33rd degree in the Scottish Rite.


Hobbies and interests


Amateur radio

Goldwater was an avid
amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...
operator from the early 1920s, with the
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...
s 6BPI, K3UIG and K7UGA. The last one is used by an Arizona club honoring him as a commemorative call. During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
he was a Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) operator. Goldwater was a spokesman for amateur radio and its enthusiasts. Beginning in 1969 and for the rest of his life, he appeared in many educational and promotional films (and later videos) about the hobby, produced for the American Radio Relay League (the national society representing the interests of radio amateurs) by such producers as Dave Bell (W6AQ), ARRL Southwest Director John R. Griggs (W6KW), Alan Kaul (W6RCL), Forrest Oden (N6ENV), and Roy Neal (K6DUE). His first appearance was in Dave Bell's ''The World of Amateur Radio'' where Goldwater discussed the history of the hobby and demonstrated a live contact with Antarctica. His last on-screen appearance dealing with "ham radio" was in 1994, explaining an upcoming Earth-orbiting ham radio relay satellite. Electronics was a hobby for Goldwater beyond amateur radio. He enjoyed assembling Heathkits, completing more than 100 and often visiting their maker in
Benton Harbor, Michigan Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County, Michigan, Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 2 ...
, to buy more, before the company exited the kit business in 1992.Fisher, Lawrence M.
Plug Is Pulled on Heathkits, Ending a Do-It-Yourself Era
" ''The New York Times'', March 30, 1992.


Kachina dolls

In 1916, Goldwater visited the
Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...
reservation with Phoenix architect John Rinker Kibby and obtained his first kachina doll. Eventually his collection had 437 dolls and was presented in 1969 to the
Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...
in Phoenix.


Photography

Goldwater was an amateur photographer and, in his estate, left some 15,000 of his images to three Arizona institutions. He was keen on candid photography. He became interested in the hobby after receiving a camera as a gift from his wife on their first Christmas. He used a 4×5 Graflex, Rolleiflex, 16 mm Bell and Howell motion picture camera, and 35 mm Nikkormat FT. He was a member of the
Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...
from 1941, becoming a Life Member in 1948. For decades, he contributed photographs of his home state to '' Arizona Highways'' and was recognized for his Western landscapes and pictures of
native Americans in the United States Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the Contiguous United States, lower 48 states and A ...
. Three books with his photographs are ''People and Places'' (1967); ''Barry Goldwater and the Southwest'' (1976); and ''Delightful Journey'', (1940, reprinted 1970).
Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...
wrote a foreword to the 1976 book. Goldwater's photography interest occasionally crossed into his political career. John F. Kennedy, as president, would sometimes invite former congressional colleagues to the White House for a drink. On one occasion, Goldwater brought his camera and photographed President Kennedy. When Kennedy received the photo, he returned it to Goldwater with the inscription: "For Barry Goldwater—Whom I urge to follow the career for which he has shown such talent—photography!—from his friend—John Kennedy." This quip became a classic of American political humor after it was relayed by humorist Bennett Cerf. The photo was prized by Goldwater for the rest of his life and sold for $17,925 in a 2010
Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...
auction. Son Michael Prescott Goldwater formed the Goldwater Family Foundation with the goal of making his father's photography available via the internet. (''Barry Goldwater Photographs'') was launched in September 2006 to coincide with the HBO documentary ''Mr. Conservative'', produced by granddaughter CC Goldwater.


UFOs

On March 28, 1975, Goldwater wrote to Shlomo Arnon: "The subject of UFOs has interested me for some long time. About ten or twelve years ago I made an effort to find out what was in the building at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...
where the information has been stored that has been collected by the Air Force, and I was understandably denied this request. It is still classified above Top Secret." Goldwater further wrote that there were rumors the evidence would be released, and that he was "just as anxious to see this material as you are, and I hope we will not have to wait much longer". The April 25, 1988, issue of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' carried an interview with Goldwater in which he recounted efforts to gain access to the room. He did so again in a 1994 ''
Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...
'' interview, saying:


Death

Goldwater's public appearances ended in late 1996 after he had a massive
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
. Family members disclosed he was also in the early stages of
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
. He died on May 29, 1998, at the age of 89, at his long-time home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, of complications from the stroke. His funeral was officiated by both a Christian minister and a
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
. His ashes were buried at Episcopal Christ Church of the Ascension in Paradise Valley. A memorial statue was erected in a small park in Paradise Valley near his home and resting place, honoring his memory.


Legacy


Buildings and monuments

Among the buildings and monuments named after Barry Goldwater are the Barry M. Goldwater Terminal at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Goldwater Memorial Park in Paradise Valley, Arizona, the Barry Goldwater Air Force Academy Visitor Center at the
United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...
, and Barry Goldwater High School in northern Phoenix. In 2010, former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, himself a Goldwater scholar and supporter, founded the Goldwater Women's Tennis Classic Tournament to be held annually at the Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix. On February 11, 2015, a statue of Goldwater by Deborah Copenhaver Fellows was unveiled by U.S. House and Senate leaders at a dedication ceremony in National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Barry Goldwater Peak is the highest peak in the
White Tank Mountains The White Tank Mountains are a mountain range in Maricopa County, Arizona. The mountains are on the western periphery of the Phoenix metropolitan area, primarily flanked by the suburban cities of Buckeye to the southwest, and Surprise to the n ...
.


Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

The
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by the United States Congress in 1986 in honor of former United States Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater ...
and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986. Its goal is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields. The Scholarship is widely considered the most prestigious award in the U.S. conferred upon undergraduates studying the sciences. It is awarded to about 400 students (college sophomores and juniors) nationwide in the amount of $7,500 per academic year (for their senior year, or junior and senior years). It honors Goldwater's keen interest in science and technology.


Documentary

Goldwater's granddaughter, CC Goldwater, has co-produced with longtime friend and
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
producer Tani L. Cohen a documentary on Goldwater's life, ''Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater'', first shown on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
on September 18, 2006.


In popular culture

In his song " I Shall Be Free No. 10",
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
refers to Goldwater: "I'm liberal to a degree, I want everybody to be free. But if you think I'll let Barry Goldwater move in next door and marry my daughter, you must think I'm crazy." In the 1965 film '' The Bedford Incident'', the actor Richard Widmark playing the film's antagonist, Captain Eric Finlander of the fictional destroyer USS ''Bedford'', modelled his character's mannerisms and rhetorical style after Goldwater.


Military awards

* Air Medal * American Campaign Medal * American Defense Service Medal *
Armed Forces Reserve Medal The Armed Forces Reserve Medal (AFRM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, service medal of the United States Armed Forces that has existed since 1958. The medal recognizes service performed by members of the reserve com ...
with three bronze hourglasses *
Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...
* Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with campaign star * Command Pilot Badge * European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal * Legion of Merit * Service Pilot Badge (former U.S. Army Air Forces rating) * World War II Victory Medal


Other awards

* Presidential Medal of Freedom (1986) *
American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...
Distinguished Service Medal * Marconi Gold Medal, Veteran Wireless Operators Association (1968) * Marconi Medal of Achievement (1968) * Bob Hope Five Star Civilian Award (1976) * Good Citizenship Award, Daughters of the American Revolution * 33rd Degree Mason * The
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
Memorial Award * Top Gun Award,
Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...
* Order of Fifinella Award – Champion of the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) (1978) * Thomas D. White National Defense Award 1978 * Conservative Digest Award (1980) * Senator John Warner Award for Public Service in the field of Nuclear Disarmament (1983) * Alexander M. Haig, Jr. Memorial Award (1983) * National Congress of American Indians Congressional Award (1985) * Space Pioneer Award, Sixth Space Development Conference (1987) * James Madison Award,
American Whig-Cliosophic Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...
(1988) * National Aviation Hall of Fame (1982)


Books

* '' The Conscience of a Conservative'' (1960)
''Why Not Victory? A Fresh Look at American Policy''
(1963) * ''Where I Stand'' (1964) * ''Conscience of a Majority'' (1971) * ''The Coming Breakpoint'' (1976) * ''Arizona'' (1977) * ''With No Apologies: The Personal and Political Memoirs of Senator Barry M. Goldwater'' (1980) * ''Goldwater'' (1988)


Relatives

Goldwater's son Barry Goldwater Jr. served as a Congressman from California from 1969 to 1983. He was the first Congressman to serve while having a father in the Senate. Goldwater's uncle Morris Goldwater served in the Arizona territorial and state legislatures and as mayor of
Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...
. Goldwater's nephew Don Goldwater sought the Republican nomination for governor of Arizona in 2006, but he was defeated by Len Munsil.


See also

* Electoral history of Barry Goldwater * Goldwater Institute * Goldwater rule *
Libertarianism in the United States In the United States, libertarianism is a political philosophy promoting individual liberty. According to common meanings of Conservatism in the United States, conservatism and Modern liberalism in the United States, liberalism in the United S ...


Notes


References


Primary

* * Goldwater, Barry M. with Jack Casserly. ''Goldwater'' (Doubleday, 1988), autobiography. * * by Goldwater's speechwriter * Shadegg, Stephen. ''What Happened to Goldwater? The Inside Story of the 1964 Republican Campaign'' (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965). * White, F. Clifton. ''Suite 3505: The Story of the Draft Goldwater Movement'' (Arlington House, 1967).


Secondary

* Annunziata, Frank. "The Revolt Against the Welfare State: Goldwater Conservatism and the Election of 1964." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 10.2 (1980): 254–265
online
* * * Conley, Brian M. ''The Rise of the Republican Right: From Goldwater to Reagan'' (Routledge, 2019). * Conley, Brian M. "The Politics of Party Renewal: The 'Service Party' and the Origins of the Post-Goldwater Republican Right." ''Studies in American Political Development'' 27.1 (2013): 51
online
* Crespi, Irving. "The Structural Basis for Right-Wing Conservatism: The Goldwater Case," ''Public Opinion Quarterly'' 29#4 (Winter, 1965–66): 523–543. * Cunningham, Sean P. "Man of the West: Goldwater's Reflection in the Oasis of Frontier Conservatism." ''Journal of Arizona History'' 61.1 (2020): 79–88. * * * * , the standard scholarly biography * * Jurdem, Laurence R. "'The Media Were Not Completely Fair to You': Foreign Policy, the Press and the 1964 Goldwater Campaign." ''Journal of Arizona History'' 61.1 (2020): 161–180. * Mann, Robert. ''Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds: LBJ, Barry Goldwater and the Ad That Changed American Politics'' (Louisiana State UP, 2011). * * Middendorf, J. William. ''A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater's Presidential Campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement'' (Basic Books, 2006). * * Schuparra, Kurt. "Barry Goldwater and Southern California Conservatism: Ideology, Image and Myth in the 1964 California Republican Presidential Primary." ''Southern California Quarterly'' 74.3 (1992): 277–298
online
* Shepard, Christopher. "A True Jeffersonian: The Western Conservative Principles of Barry Goldwater and His Vote Against the Civil Rights Act of 1964." ''Journal of the West''. 49, no. 1, (2010): 34–40 * Shermer, Elizabeth Tandy (ed.) (2013). ''Barry Goldwater and the Remaking of the American Political Landscape.'' Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2013. * Smith, Dean (1986). ''The Goldwaters of Arizona'', includes brief coverage of the parents. * Taylor, Andrew. "Barry Goldwater: insurgent conservatism as constitutive rhetoric." ''Journal of Political Ideologies'' 21, no. 3 (2016): 242–260
online
* Taylor, Andrew (2018). "The Oratory of Barry Goldwater." in ''Republican Orators from Eisenhower to Trump''. Palgrave Macmillan. 41–66. * Thorburn, Wayne. "Barry's Boys and Goldwater Girls: Barry Goldwater and the Mobilization of Young Conservatives in the Early 1960s." ''Journal of Arizona History'' 61.1 (2020): 89–107
excerpt
* Tønnessen, Alf Tomas. "Goldwater, Bush, Ryan and the Failed Attempts by Conservative Republicans to Reform Federal Entitlement Programs." ''American Studies in Scandinavia'' 47.2 (2015): 47–6
online
* * Young, Nancy Beck (2019). ''Two Suns of the Southwest: Lyndon Johnson, Barry Goldwater, and the 1964 Battle between Liberalism and Conservatism''. UP of Kansas
online


Further reading

* Flynn, John T. ''Goldwater Either/or: A Self-portrait Based Upon His Own Words.'' Public Affairs Press, 1949. *
online


External links

* * *
"Barry Goldwater, Presidential Contender"
from
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...
's '' The Contenders''
The Goldwater Institute
* Speech delivered by Barry Goldwater to the Comstock Club of Sacramento, California on June 22, 1966 , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldwater, Barry * 1909 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century United States senators Amateur radio people American Episcopalians American abortion-rights activists American anti-communists American aviators American collectors American LGBTQ rights activists American libertarians American Freemasons American male non-fiction writers American people of English-Jewish descent American people of Polish-Jewish descent American political writers Arizona National Guard personnel Arizona Republicans Articles containing video clips Candidates in the 1960 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election Christian libertarians Jewish candidates for President of the United States Jewish American people in Arizona politics Jewish United States senators Jewish American activists Military personnel from Arizona New Right (United States) People with Alzheimer's disease Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Recipients of the Legion of Merit Republican Party (United States) presidential nominees Republican Party United States senators from Arizona Staunton Military Academy alumni United States Air Force generals United States Air Force reservists United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II University of Arizona alumni Writers from Phoenix, Arizona