Phyllis Schlafly

Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016) was a St. Louis-born conservative organizer, writer and lawyer. She studied at Washington University and Radcliffe, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Illinois in 1952 and 1970, and won national attention in 1964 with A Choice Not an Echo, a self-published book backing Barry Goldwater that sold millions of copies. From 1972 she led STOP ERA against the Equal Rights Amendment and founded Eagle Forum, which she headed until her death. She earned a law degree in 1978, wrote a syndicated column and broadcast radio commentaries for decades.

Admirers credit Schlafly with stopping the Equal Rights Amendment, which stalled at 35 of the 38 states needed, and with mobilizing conservative women and grassroots activists into a lasting force in Republican politics; the Women's History Museum notes she popularized 'family values' as a political term. Feminist critics argue she worked to limit women's legal equality while herself pursuing a public career. A 2007 remark that marriage implies consent to sex drew strong objections, and in 2008 hundreds of Washington University graduates turned their backs in protest when she received an honorary degree. Her 2016 Trump endorsement split the Eagle Forum board.