Political Theory

“The Conscience of a Conservative” and the 1964 Election

ABSTRACT

This conference revisited the issues raised by Barry Goldwater's best-seller The Conscience of a Conservative and his 1964 campaign for the presidency, as well as liberals’ response to his claims.

READING LIST

Conference Readings

Critchlow, Donald T. and Nancy MacLean, eds. Debating the American Conservative Movement: 1945 to the Present. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009.

Goldwater, Barry. “Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, July 16, 1964.” The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/216657 (October 21, 2017).

Goldwater, Barry. The Conscience of a Conservative. Edited by C. C. Goldwater. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007 [1960].

Jaffa, Harry V., “The Case for a Stronger National Government” In A Nation of States: Essays on the American Federal System, edited by Robert A. Goldwin, 106-125. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 1961.

Johnson, Lyndon B. “Remarks Before the National Convention Upon Accepting the Nomination, August 27, 1964.” The American Presidency Project. http://www/presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=26467 (January 2, 2018).

Johnson, Lyndon Baines. “President Johnson’s Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise, March 15, 1965.” www.lbjlibrary.org. http://www.lbjlibrary.org/lyndon-baines-johnson/speeches-films/president-johnsons-special-message-to-the-congress-the-american-promise (October 21, 2017).

Malik, Charles, “The Challenge to Western Civilization” In The Conservative Papers, edited by Melvin R. Laird, 1-17. Garden City, New York: Anchor Books, 1964.

McCarthy, Eugene J. A Liberal Answer to the Conservative Challenge. New York: Macfadden Books, 1964.

McCulloch, William M., “Man Was Born to be Free: Toward Fulfillment of the Dream” In Republican Papers, edited by Melvin R. Laird, 227-244. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968.

Millis, Walter, “A Liberal Military-Defense Policy” In The Liberal Papers, edited by James Roosevelt, 97-119. Garden City, New York: Anchor Books, 1962.

Perlstein, Rick. Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus. New York: Hill and Wang, 2001.

Reagan, Ronald. “A Time for Choosing, October 27, 1964.” AmericanRhetoric.com. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganatimeforchoosing.htm (January 2, 2018).