User:Gobears12/New sandbox

Postwar Era
In the early 1950s, local activist movements against liberal education reforms became an early source of organization for conservative women. As progressive school administrators attempted to desegregate public schools and implement non-traditional teaching methods, grassroots organizations run primarily by women mobilized to oppose these measures. Such organizations notably succeeded in ousting Pasadena superintendent Willard Goslin and Houston deputy superintendent George Ebey, attracting national media attention. Many conservative women were attracted to this cause, as the issue confronted several key principles for the emerging American conservative movement: traditionalism, anticommunism, and skepticism of big government. Women were well-positioned through their role as housewives to portray themselves as protectors of their local community and the principle of home rule against outsiders trying to radically transform children's education. In order to organize these local-level campaigns against education reforms, women activists created conservative political networks and study groups that would facilitate future advocacy of conservative causes.

Throughout the postwar period, women continued to be heavily involved in organizations of conservative activists. After campaigns against progressive education reform galvanized conservative women in the early 1950s, many began to join the John Birch Society and associated organizations after the JBS's formation in 1958. While the John Birch Society maintained a rigidly patriarchal structure, with many chapters only allowing women to serve coffee and food at their meetings, the organization helped to direct attention and resources toward other conservative groups predominantly run by women.

Among the conservative groups of the period, particularly in the hotbed of Southern California, conservative bookstores were a particularly effective institution for channeling the activist energies of conservative women. These stores sold polemics, novels, memoirs, and bumper stickers, all with an explicitly conservative (and anticommunist) bent. Sales served to disseminate information and bring in money for conservative organizations. Many of these stores were staffed and run primarily by women, many of whom were affiliated with the John Birch Society.

Goldwater campaign
A major source of conservative women's activism was in Southern California in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly in Orange County, California. Female conservative activists organized around their opposition to internationalism, Communism,f and the welfare state. These women mainly consisted of "suburban warriors," or middle-class housewives who feared that their Christian nation was under attack. Female conservative activists in Southern California harnessed the preexisting culture of volunteerism and civic engagement, which largely revolved around women and their schedules, to mobilize for their causes. Increasing Cold War tensions and fears of Communism allowed these women to mobilize groups such as the John Birch Society and the American Civil Liberties Union to pursue their political agendas. Many women first found political community in Republican women's clubs. The Republican party of the time emphasized inherent differences between the sexes, and its sex-segregated local organizations provided a political network for conservative suburban women.

Conservative women, particularly those in grassroots organizations, supported Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater and successfully campaigned for him to become the presidential candidate for the Republican Party in 1964. Many women were mobilized in support of Goldwater's primary campaign after reading A Choice Not an Echo, a pro-Goldwater book written by young female conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly. Grassroots activists, many of them women, were crucial to the conservative Goldwater's victory in the Republican primary over liberal Republican Nelson Rockefeller, particularly in the crucial state of California. However, Goldwater lost the national election to Lyndon Johnson in a landslide. Still, his nomination illustrated the shift from moderation to more hardline stances in many members of the Republican Party. His campaign also showcased the success of conservative grassroots organizations and mobilization.

Equal Rights Amendment
As feminist organizations, such as the National Organization for Women and ERAmerica, campaigned for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, antifeminist organizations run by conservative women mobilized to oppose the amendment. The ERA, stating that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex," passed in the House of Representatives and the Senate with overwhelming majorities in 1971 and 1972, respectively. Following congressional approval, the amendment needed to be ratified by 38 of the 50 state legislatures to be adopted. In the following year 30 states ratified, with most approving the amendment in the first three months. Given the considerable momentum behind the amendment, the ERA appeared certain to be adopted.

Soon after Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment, Phyllis Schlafly assembled a meeting of conservative women, mostly members of the National Federation of Republican Women, to form STOP ERA ("Stop Taking Our Privileges"). The organization was narrowly focused on opposing ratification of the amendment, claiming the ERA would subject women to the draft, attack the traditional family structure, and promote abortion. STOP ERA established chapters in 26 states and successfully lobbied against ratification in state legislatures that had yet to approve the amendment. The organization mobilized many conservative women, particularly religious women, who were previously uninvolved in politics.

The movement to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment is credited with reviving the Republican Party after the Watergate scandal. Following Nixon's resignation, only 18 percent of voters identified as Republicans. As conservative women mobilized against the ERA, however, the Republican party was able to tap into popular discontent with feminism, abortion rights, and secularism by tying these issues to the movement to pass the amendment. The GOP and the conservative movement made inroads with evangelical Protestants, Roman Catholics, Orthodox Jews, and Mormons through the anti-ratification movement. The campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment, mobilizing women on the basis of their gender, brought new women into the conservative movement based on the social issues of the 1970s, rather than the anticommunist fervor of the early postwar era.

The anti-ERA movement was successful in defeating the amendment, changing the Republican party platform, and shifting public opinion. STOP ERA and its allies ran strong state-level campaigns in battleground states, while pro-ERA groups focused on a national strategy that proved ineffective at winning over state legislators. Conservative women focused on states with traditionalist public sentiments, such as heavily Mormon and Southern states, to prevent the ERA from passing, ensuring the ERA could not reach 38 ratifying states. By 1976, the Republican party abandoned its support of the Equal Rights Amendment, and by 1980 conservative anti-ERA women had succeeded in other goals, securing an anti-abortion plank in the GOP platform and helping nominate Ronald Reagan for president. At the end of the 1970s, less than half of women supported the ERA, and the effort to ratify the amendment was largely abandoned.

Mama grizzlies
The term "mama grizzlies" originated from Sarah Palin's endorsement of female candidates in the 2010 primaries, whom she gave this title to. "Mama grizzly" was officially coined in Palin's May 2010 speech for the Susan B. Anthony List Pro-Life group, and it was later used in Palin's own advertisements. This description is used to describe conservative women who wish to play an active role in politics, whether it be through running for office or through campaigning for conservative ideas and topics. These women also refer to themselves as Susan B. Anthony feminists, agreeing with the ideas that Anthony argued for such as political activism but not the feminist ideas more modern than those, such as the pro-choice movement. Because this term originated from Palin's endorsement and was used in Palin's advertisements, it has been linked to her and the Tea Party, which she has affiliated with. These "mama grizzlies" are self-proclaimed conservative feminists, with Palin herself publicly identifying as a feminist in 2008. In the spread of this new classification for women, where women's advocacy took on a unique form, Palin called for a rise of a new breed of feminism, and this idea quickly came to popularity among right-wing women.

Conservative women played a key role in the Tea Party movement, often adopting populist rhetoric reminiscent of the "housewife populism" of the 1950s and 1960s. These women, most notably Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, attacked Barack Obama as an outsider and claimed to represent the interests of "Joe Six Pack." This brand of populism rose to prominence in the first two years of Obama's presidency, from 2008 to 2010, culminating in the Tea Party. Women were integral to the movement, as they represented 45 to 55 percent of the members of Tea Party organizations and held a majority of leadership positions.

Concerned Women for America
Concerned Women for America is a religious organization that seeks to promote Christian values. The group was founded in 1979 by Beverly LaHaye, wife of prominent evangelical Christian minister Tim LaHaye, as part of the movement to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment. CWA's ideology is social conservatism, and the group has been labelled as antifeminist. LaHaye founded the group, in part, to contest the claims of feminists to represent all women. Their agenda includes stopping the "decline in moral values of our nation," restricting access to pornography, defunding the United Nations, defining the family as heterosexually led, opposing abortion, and advocating for prayer in schools.

Concerned Women for America primarily operates as a grassroots organization, with a membership of approximately 500,000. The group organizes prayer groups for women across the country, and encourages members to contact their representatives to advocate for conservative causes. The group also uses the revenue it generates from membership fees to operate an office in Washington, D.C., which serves as a headquarters for the group's lobbying and research operations.

Independent Women's Forum
The Independent Women's Forum is an organization based more in fiscal conservatism. The IWF was formed in 1992 by members of Women for Judge Thomas, a group dedicated to supporting Clarence Thomas' confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice, and the Women's Information Network. The IWF was organized explicitly to prevent left-wing women from speaking on behalf of their sex, particularly in the wake of the Clarence Thomas hearings and the Year of the Woman. Its agenda includes opposition to the Violence Against Women Act, supporting the war in Iraq and women's rights there, challenging feminist professors on college campuses, opposing affirmative action, and promoting fiscal conservatism.

As of 2003, the IWF had approximately 1,600 members. Composed primarily of female political professionals, the group focuses on media appearances, publishing research reports, and helping female members earn Cabinet positions. However, the IWF does not promote female candidates for elected office, claiming these efforts are a form of identity politics.