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Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative icon, at the Washington, DC Values Voters Conference in 2007

Women in conservatism in the United States[edit]

Things to add[edit]

  • History and significance of organizations like CWA and IWF
  • Information on other significant figures like Phyllis Schafly
  • Add women such as Michele Bachmann and Carly Fiorina to "in politics today" subsection
  • Add section on the women of Orange County
  • Add section summarizing and detailing the main ideas of conservative women's beliefs, especially re: identity politics
  • Add section on how conservatism intersects with feminism
  • Fix grammatical mistakes and rephrase original article

Possible sources[edit]

  • Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right by Lisa McGirr[1]
  • Feminist Fantasies by Phyllis Schafly[2]
  • Righting Feminism: Conservative Women and American Politics by Ronnee Schreiber[3]
  • "Red Scare Politics: California's Campaign Against Un-American Activities, 1940-1970" by M.J. Heale[4]

Lead paragraph[edit]

Women in conservatism in the United States have advocated for social, political, economic, and cultural conservative policies since Anti-suffragism. Leading conservatism women such as Phyllis Schlafly have expressed that women should embrace their privileged essential nature. This thread of belief can be traced through the Anti-Suffrage movement, the Red Scare, and the Reagan Era, and is still very much present today, especially in several notable conservative women's organizations such as Concerned Women for America and the Independent Women's Forum. [1]

Stuff[edit]

anti-suffragism[edit]

Women first began to oppose suffrage in Massachusetts in 1868. They succeeded in blocking the proposal, and this caused the movement to gain momentum.[5] The National Association Opposed to Women Suffrage (NAOWS) was thus formed by Josephine Dodge in 1911 with approximately 350,000 members. This organization mostly consisted of wealthy women who were often wives of politicians.[6] These women helped defeat nearly 40 suffrage proposals, and published the Women's Protest in order to voice their agenda nationwide.[7] Dodge and the organization argued that women should stay out of politics in order to be more efficient and diligent in "work for which her nature and her training fit her."[8] These anti-feminist beliefs are what shaped the anti-suffrage crusade.[6]

goldwater[edit]

A major source of conservative women's activism was in Southern California in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly in Orange County. These women mainly consisted of "suburban warriors," or middle class housewives who feared that their Christian nation was under attack. Increasing Cold War tensions and fears of Communism allowed for these women to mobilize groups such as the John Birch Society and the American Civil Liberties Union to pursue their political agendas.[9] They eventually backed politician Barry Goldwater and successfully campaigned for him to become the presidential candidate for the Republican Party in 1964. However, Goldwater lost the national election in a landslide.[9] Still, his nomination illustrated the shift from moderation to extremism in the Republican Party. His campaign also showcased the success of conservative grassroots organizations and mobilization.[10]

reagan[edit]

After Goldwater's defeat, grassroots conservatives had to rethink their strategy. Thus, conservative women soon turned to Ronald Reagan. He won over the support of the women of Orange County and successfully unified the party when he was elected Governor of California in the 1966 election. However, there were some women that opposed him due to his more mainstream views. Cyril Stevenson, a prominent leader of the California Republican Assembly, sought to undermine his candidacy. These attempts failed, nevertheless, as Reagan was elected.[11] However, a significantly lower amount of women than men voted for Reagan when he was eventually elected President of the United States. Reagan gained the support of more conservative women by attempting to close this "gender gap." He enacted equal rights policies attempting to end discrimination laws.[12] Still, Reagan's election showed that the new Republican majority, although still coined "mainstream," was now built on anti-liberalism and contained more conservative views, and conservative women activists like the women of Orange County played a very important role in that shift.[11]

  1. ^ a b McGirr, Lisa (2001). Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right. Princeton University Press.
  2. ^ Schlafly, Phyllis (2003). Feminist Fantasies. Spence Publishing Company.
  3. ^ Schreiber, Ronnee (2008). Righting Feminism: Conservative Women and American Politics. Oxford University Press.
  4. ^ Heale, M.J. (1986). "Red Scare Politics: California's Campaign Against Un-American Activities, 1940-1970". Journal of American Studies. 20 (1). Cambridge University Press for the British Association for American Studies.
  5. ^ Jablonsky, Thomas (2002). "Female Opposition: The Anti-Suffrage Campaign". Votes for Women. Oxford University Press: 118–129.
  6. ^ a b "Righting Feminism: Conservative Women and American Politics (9780195331813): Ronnee Schreiber: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  7. ^ Marshall, Susan (1997). Splinted Sisterhood: Gender and Class in the Campaign against Woman Suffrage. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
  8. ^ Dodge, Arthur (1914). "Woman Suffrage Opposed to Women's Rights". American Academy of Political and Social Science. 56: 104.
  9. ^ a b McGirr, Lisa (2001). Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press.
  10. ^ Mulloy, D (2014). The World of the John Birch Society : Conspiracy, Conservatism, and the Cold War. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.
  11. ^ a b McGirr, Lisa (2001). Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press.
  12. ^ Chappell, Marissa (2012). "Reagan's "Gender Gap" Strategy and the Limitations of Free-Market Feminism". Journal of Policy History. 24. Cambridge University Press: 115–134.
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