The Role of Women and Student Activists in 1960s Conservatism

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Keywords

women ; conservatism ; student activists ; 1960s ; Young Americans for Freedom ; YAF ; Goldwater

Department

History

Major

History

Abstract

The rise of conservatism in the 1960s was up until recently neglected as a topic in historical scholarship, with many historians focusing on the left. As historians now turn their attention to conservatism, they tend to take a top-down political approach, studying key conservative leaders like Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. However, historians have increasingly recognized that grassroots organizers like Southern California housewives and college student activists played an important role in championing conservative ideology. While historians have begun to study women in the domestic sphere and student activists on college campuses as separate entities, little has been said about the intersection of these two groups. Essentially, historians have not studied female youth within student organizations nor conservative housewives’ influence on student activists. Though traditionally excluded from scholarship, female student activists played an important role in the growth of conservatism through both overtly political organizations like Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), College Republicans, Young Republicans, and even non-political student organizations like sororities. This paper will seek to understand what factors drove female involvement in the conservative movement, how female students contributed to the movement, and how conservative mothers and housewives influenced student groups. By exploring questions about the role of women in conservatism, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of a ground-shaking movement that continues to influence American politics today, as well as an understanding of the role of women in American society in the years leading up to the second wave of feminism.

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Darlene S. Rivas

Funding Source or Research Program

Keck Scholars Program

Presentation Session

Session B

Location

Plaza Classroom 188

Start Date

3-4-2015 3:30 PM

End Date

3-4-2015 3:45 PM

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Apr 3rd, 3:30 PM Apr 3rd, 3:45 PM

The Role of Women and Student Activists in 1960s Conservatism

Plaza Classroom 188

The rise of conservatism in the 1960s was up until recently neglected as a topic in historical scholarship, with many historians focusing on the left. As historians now turn their attention to conservatism, they tend to take a top-down political approach, studying key conservative leaders like Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. However, historians have increasingly recognized that grassroots organizers like Southern California housewives and college student activists played an important role in championing conservative ideology. While historians have begun to study women in the domestic sphere and student activists on college campuses as separate entities, little has been said about the intersection of these two groups. Essentially, historians have not studied female youth within student organizations nor conservative housewives’ influence on student activists. Though traditionally excluded from scholarship, female student activists played an important role in the growth of conservatism through both overtly political organizations like Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), College Republicans, Young Republicans, and even non-political student organizations like sororities. This paper will seek to understand what factors drove female involvement in the conservative movement, how female students contributed to the movement, and how conservative mothers and housewives influenced student groups. By exploring questions about the role of women in conservatism, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of a ground-shaking movement that continues to influence American politics today, as well as an understanding of the role of women in American society in the years leading up to the second wave of feminism.