Barry Goldwater

Barry Goldwater
United States Senate · Public domain · source
Name	Barry Goldwater
Caption	Goldwater in 1960
Office	United States Senator, from Arizona
Term start	January 3, 1969
Term end	January 3, 1987
Predecessor1	Carl Hayden
Successor1	John McCain
Office2	United States Senator, from Arizona
Term start2	January 3, 1953
Term end2	January 3, 1965
Predecessor2	Ernest McFarland
Successor2	Paul Fannin
Office3	Chairman of the Senate, Intelligence Committee
Term start3	1981
Term end3	1985
Predecessor3	Birch Bayh
Successor3	David Durenberger
Party	Republican
Birth name	Barry Morris Goldwater
Birth date	2 January 1909
Birth place	Phoenix, Arizona Territory
Death date	29 May 1998
Death place	Paradise Valley, Arizona
Alma mater	University of Arizona, Staunton Military Academy
Spouse	Margaret Johnson (m. 1934)
Serviceyears	1941–1945, 1951–1967
Branch	United States Army Air Forces, United States Air Force Reserve
Rank	Major General
Battles	World War II

Barry Goldwater

Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party nominee for President of the United States in the 1964 election. His political career is a significant, though complex, part of the narrative of the US Civil Rights Movement, as his staunch conservative principles of limited government, states' rights, and strict constitutionalism placed him in direct opposition to the major federal civil rights legislation of the 1960s. While personally opposed to racial segregation, his philosophical stance on federal power profoundly influenced the political realignment of the American South and the ideological foundations of the modern conservative movement.

Early Life and Political Career

Barry Goldwater was born in 1909 in Phoenix, then part of the Arizona Territory. He attended Staunton Military Academy and briefly studied at the University of Arizona before entering the family business, Goldwater's Department Store. His service as a pilot in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II cemented a lifelong commitment to a strong national defense. Entering politics as a Phoenix city councilman, he was elected to the United States Senate in 1952, defeating Senate Majority Leader Ernest McFarland. In the Senate, Goldwater quickly became a leading voice for conservatism, criticizing the domestic policies of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the foreign policy of containment. He gained national prominence with the 1960 publication of his bestselling book, The Conscience of a Conservative, which articulated a philosophy of libertarian-leaning conservatism that emphasized individual liberty, economic freedom, and a deep skepticism of federal power.

1964 Presidential Campaign

Goldwater's 1964 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination was a crusade against the New Deal coalition and the expanding welfare state. He defeated more moderate rivals like Nelson Rockefeller and secured the nomination at the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco. His acceptance speech included the famous line, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," which galvanized his conservative base but alarmed moderates. The general election campaign against incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson was defined by stark ideological contrasts. Johnson and his supporters, including the Dixiecrats who opposed civil rights, successfully portrayed Goldwater as a dangerous radical on issues like Social Security and nuclear weapons. Goldwater suffered a historic landslide defeat in the Electoral College, carrying only his home state of Arizona and five states in the Deep South.

Stance on Civil Rights Legislation

Goldwater's most consequential position regarding the Civil Rights Movement was his vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While he stated he was "unalterably opposed to discrimination of any sort," he argued that Titles II and VII of the act, which dealt with public accommodations and employment, overreached federal authority and infringed upon property rights and the liberties of individuals and business owners. He supported the 1957 and 1960 civil rights acts, which focused on voting rights, and later voted for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. However, his "nay" vote on the landmark 1964 Act was a principled, constitutional objection rooted in his belief that ending racial discrimination was a matter of moral persuasion and state law, not federal coercion. This stance made him a hero to many White Southerners opposed to integration and contributed to the political shift of the Solid South toward the Republican Party.

Views on States' Rights and Federal Power

Central to understanding Goldwater's approach to civil rights is his unwavering commitment to the doctrine of states' rights and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. He was a disciple of the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian tradition that viewed a powerful central government as the greatest threat to individual freedom. He believed the Tenth Amendment reserved most police powers, including regulating social conduct, to the states. In speeches and writings, he warned that using federal power to engineer social change, however morally justified, set a dangerous precedent for government intrusion into all aspects of life. This philosophical bedrock placed him at odds with the Warren Court and the prevailing liberal consensus that the federal government had a primary role in protecting civil rights.

Influence on Modern Conservatism

Despite his 1964 loss, Barry Goldwater is revered as the foundational figure of the modern conservative movement. His campaign provided the organizational blueprint and ideological clarity that would later propel Ronald Reagan to the presidency. The Young Americans for Freedom and other activist groups he inspired formed the grassroots base of the New Right. His emphasis on free market economics, anti-communism, and a restrained federal judiciary became core tenets of the Republican Party. The political realignment he triggered, where traditionally Democratic-voting Southern states began supporting Republican presidential candidates based on conservative principles rather than regional allegiance, reshaped the national political map for decades. Think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and publications like National Review advanced the ideas he championed.

Later Political Career and Legacy

After his presidential defeat, Goldwater returned to the Senate in 1969, where he served until 1987. His later career was marked by political independence. He was a key figure in the investigation of the Watergate scandal and was instrumental in convincing President Richard Nixon to resign. He later served as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In his final terms, he often took positions at odds with the rising Christian right wing of his party, advocating for gay rights and criticizing the influence of the Moral Majority. He supported the nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court and was a vocal proponent of a strong national defense, earning the nickname "the father of the modern Air Force." Barry Goldwater died in 1998 in Paradise Valley, Arizona. His legacy is that of a principled libertarian who prioritized constitutional order and individual liberty over federal intervention, a stance that permanently altered the trajectory of American conservatism and the political dynamics of civil rights politics.