Phyllis Schlafly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Phyllis Schlafly
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Schlafly in 1977 outside the White House protesting the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
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| Born |
Phyllis McAlpin Stewart
August 15, 1924 |
| Died | September 5, 2016 (aged 92) Ladue, Missouri, U.S.
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| Education | Washington University (BA, JD) Radcliffe College (MA) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
Fred Schlafly
(m. 1949; died 1993) |
| Children | 6, including Andrew |
| Relatives | Thomas Schlafly (nephew) Suzanne Venker (niece) |
Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American lawyer, writer, and activist. She was a leading voice in the conservative movement in the United States. She was known for her strong opposition to feminism and gay rights. She also successfully worked against the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution.
Schlafly wrote many books, including A Choice Not an Echo (1964). This book was a strong argument against Republican leader Nelson Rockefeller. Millions of copies were sold or given away for free. Schlafly also wrote books about national defense and was critical of agreements to control weapons with the Soviet Union. In 1972, she started the Eagle Forum, a conservative political group. She led this group until she passed away in 2016, staying active in conservative causes.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Phyllis McAlpin Stewart was born and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, her father, John Bruce Stewart, lost his job for a long time. Her mother, Odile Stewart, became a librarian and teacher to support the family. Mrs. Stewart worked hard to make sure Phyllis could continue attending a Catholic girls' school.
Phyllis went to college at Washington University in St. Louis. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1944. In 1945, she received a Master of Arts degree in government from Radcliffe College. She later earned a law degree (Juris Doctor) from the Washington University School of Law in 1978.
Political Work and Activism
In 1946, Schlafly started working as a researcher for the American Enterprise Institute. She also helped in the successful election campaign of Republican Congressman Claude I. Bakewell.
She played a big part in writing a report for the American Bar Association in 1957. This report was about communist tactics and became very widely read.
Schlafly ran for Congress as a Republican in Illinois in 1952 and 1960, but she did not win either time. She attended every Republican National Convention starting in 1952. At the 1952 convention, she supported U.S. Senator Robert A. Taft for president. In 1960, she helped lead a group of "moral conservatives" who disagreed with Richard Nixon's views on segregation.
She became well-known when her book A Choice Not an Echo was published in 1964. This book supported Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign. In the book, Schlafly criticized certain Republicans, accusing them of corruption. Some people called the book a conspiracy theory.
In 1967, Schlafly tried to become the president of the National Federation of Republican Women but lost. She ran for Congress one last time in 1970 and lost again. After this, she never sought public office.
In 1977, American feminists held a large conference in Houston. Schlafly led a very successful counter-conference to protest it. Her rally had over 15,000 people. They announced the start of a "pro-family" movement. This movement aimed to oppose politicians who supported feminism and promote "family values" in American politics. This helped move the Republican Party more to the right.
Fighting the Equal Rights Amendment
Phyllis Schlafly became a strong opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the 1970s. She organized the "STOP ERA" campaign. STOP stood for "Stop Taking Our Privileges." She argued that the ERA would remove special benefits that women currently had. These included "dependent wife" benefits under Social Security, separate restrooms, and being excused from the military draft.
Groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) opposed her. When Schlafly started her campaign in 1972, 28 out of the needed 38 states had already approved the ERA. Seven more states approved it after she began organizing. However, five states later changed their minds and took back their approval. The ERA was eventually defeated, as it only reached 35 states, not the required 38.
Critics of Schlafly found it ironic that she, a working lawyer and activist, argued against equal rights for women. They pointed out that she herself was a busy professional, a newsletter editor, and a touring speaker.
Media Appearances
Schlafly was a commentator on Chicago radio from 1973 to 1975. She also appeared on the CBS Morning News and CNN. In 1983, she started creating short daily radio commentaries. In 1989, she began hosting a weekly radio talk show called Eagle Forum Live.
Her Views
Equal Rights Amendment Views
Schlafly's main reason for opposing the ERA was to protect traditional roles for men and women. She argued that the ERA would mean women could be drafted into the military and forced to serve in combat. She believed that defending these traditional roles was a good way to gain support. In Illinois, anti-ERA activists used symbols of the American housewife. They brought homemade foods like bread and pies to state lawmakers. Their slogans included "Preserve us from a congressional jam; Vote against the ERA sham" and "I am for Mom and apple pie."
Schlafly said the ERA was mostly for young women starting careers. She warned that if men and women were treated exactly equally, it would threaten the security of middle-aged housewives who didn't have job skills. She also claimed the ERA would remove legal protections like alimony (money paid to a spouse after divorce). She also said it might change how child custody was decided. Her argument that protective laws would be lost appealed to many working-class women.
Women's Issues
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In 1978, Schlafly told Time magazine that she would cancel speeches if her husband felt she had been away from home too much.
In 2006, she said that improvements in women's lives were due to labor-saving devices. She mentioned things like indoor clothes dryers and disposable diapers.
In 2007, while working against a new version of the Equal Rights Amendment, Schlafly warned it would force courts to approve same-sex marriage and deny Social Security benefits to housewives and widows.
International Relations
Schlafly often criticized the United Nations. In 1995, on the UN's 50th anniversary, she called it "a cause for mourning, not celebration." She believed it was a "Trojan Horse" that brought enemies into the U.S. and made Americans fight in faraway lands. She opposed President Bill Clinton's decision to send U.S. troops to Bosnia in 1996. Schlafly argued that the U.S. military should not be "policemen" for world problems.
Before the 1994 elections, Schlafly spoke out against globalization through the World Trade Organization. She called it a "direct attack on American sovereignty, independence, jobs, and economy." She believed that any country that had to change its laws to obey a world organization had lost its independence.
During the Cold War, Schlafly was against agreements to control weapons with the Soviet Union.
Judicial System
Schlafly was a strong critic of what she called "activist judges." She especially criticized the Supreme Court. In 2005, she suggested that Congress should consider removing Justice Anthony Kennedy from his position. She cited his vote to end the death penalty for minors as a reason.
In 2010, after Justice John Paul Stevens retired, Schlafly called for a military veteran to be appointed to the Supreme Court. She noted that without him, the court might not have any military veterans.
Presidential Elections
Schlafly did not support a specific candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination at first. However, she spoke against Mike Huckabee. She said he left the Republican Party in Arkansas "in shambles." She later endorsed John McCain for president.
In 2011, she supported Michele Bachmann for the 2012 Republican primaries. She praised Bachmann's work against "ObamaCare" and her support for "traditional values."
In 2012, Schlafly announced she would vote for Rick Santorum in the Missouri Republican primary. In 2016, she supported Donald Trump for president. This decision caused some disagreement within the Eagle Forum board. Schlafly disagreed with six members, including her own daughter, Anne Cori.
Schlafly's last book, The Conservative Case for Trump, was published the day after she died.
Same-Sex Marriage
Schlafly was against same-sex marriage and civil unions. She believed that "attacks on the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman come from the gay lobby seeking social recognition of their lifestyle." Her opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment was partly linked to her views on LGBT rights and same-sex marriage.
Immigration Views
Schlafly believed the Republican Party should not support immigration reform proposals. She said it was a "great myth" that the Republican Party needed to reach out to Latino voters. She argued that Republicans should focus on white voters who did not vote in the last election.
Honorary Degree and Protests
On May 1, 2008, Washington University in St. Louis announced that Schlafly would receive an honorary degree. This news caused objections from some students and teachers. They complained that she was anti-feminist and criticized her work against the Equal Rights Amendment.
At the graduation ceremony on May 16, 2008, Schlafly received an honorary degree. However, hundreds of people, including many graduates and some teachers, silently stood and turned their backs to her in protest. Before the ceremony, Schlafly called the protesters "a bunch of losers." After the ceremony, she said the protesters were "juvenile" and "I'm not sure they're mature enough to graduate."
Personal Life
On October 20, 1949, Phyllis married attorney John Fred Schlafly Jr. He came from a wealthy family in St. Louis and passed away in 1993. Both Fred and Phyllis Schlafly were active Catholics. They often encouraged Catholics to join the anti-communist movement.
Fred and Phyllis Schlafly lived in Alton, Illinois, and had six children: John, Bruce, Roger, Liza, Andrew, and Anne. After her husband died in 1993, she moved to Ladue, Missouri. Their son Andrew, also a lawyer and activist, created the wiki-based Conservapedia. Their daughter Anne Schlafly Cori is the chairman and treasurer of Eagle Forum.
Schlafly was the aunt of conservative writer Suzanne Venker. They wrote a book together called The Flipside of Feminism: What Conservative Women Know — and Men Can't Say.
Death
Phyllis Schlafly passed away from cancer on September 5, 2016, at her home in Ladue, Missouri. She was 92 years old.
Published Works
Schlafly wrote 26 books on various topics, from child care to reading education. She also wrote a weekly newspaper column.
Some of her published books include:
- A Choice Not an Echo (1964)
- Strike from Space: A Megadeath Mystery (1965)
- The Power of the Positive Woman (1977)
- Feminist Fantasies (2003)
- The Supremacists: The Tyranny of Judges And How to Stop It (2004)
- The Flipside of Feminism: What Conservative Women Know—and Men Can't Say (2011)
- The Conservative Case for Trump (published after her death, 2016)
Images for kids
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Schlafly speaking at CPAC 2011
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Schlafly at a gathering of conservatives in Des Moines, Iowa, in March 2011
See also
In Spanish: Phyllis Schlafly para niños
- 1964 (film)
- Mrs. America, a TV miniseries based on Schlafly and her role on the Equal Rights Amendment; Schlafly is played by Cate Blanchett.
- Mary Whitehouse, British conservative activist
