Republicans and Evangelicals I National Women's Conference Part 1

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In 1977, the Congress of the United States allotted $5 million for the National Women's Conference. The money was intended to bring together women from around the country so that they could put together recommendations for the Congress and President. It would highlight women of color, and those minorities who were sometimes overlooked like Native American women. But there was conflict from its inception.

Liberal women, some of the same who turned NOW into a liberal group, took control. They did not want the far-right to participate, women like Phyllis Schlafly who had fought so hard to stall the ERA. This only made conservative women more bitter.

There was more fuel for the fire. Gay and lesbian rights were added to the discussion topics of the convention. That was a big deal in 1977 when conservative women rallied around Anita Bryant and her fight against equal rights for homosexuals in Miami, Florida. The Bible says that homosexuality is a sin, so some conservative religious people did not want to give homosexuals rights in the US. So for liberal women to incorporate a gay and lesbian plank into the National Women's Conference was a BIG deal. And a way to pick a fight with conservatives.

The battle ultimately led to conservatives hosting their own conference a few miles away. This gathering ultimately united the Religious Right and kicked off the Pro-Life, Pro-Family movement that we know today. How did women play a role in uniting evangelicals with the Republican Party?

Our guest today is Marjoie Spruill. She is the author of the fantastic book Divided We Stand. She is a distinguished professor emerita of history at the University of South Carolina.

Sources:

• Divided We Stand by Marjorie Spruill
• Reaganland by Rick Perlstein
• The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald
• Anita Bryant's orange juice commercial
• Phyllis Schlafly on PBS video
• Former President Trump's eulogy for Phyllis Schlafly
• Andy Warhol's cover art for Time Magazine of Bella Abzug
• New York Times article about women swinging while their husbands were in Vietnam
• "Revive Us Again" by Joel Carpenter

Discussion Questions:

• What is your impression of Anita Bryant? Do you remember her?
• What rights should homosexuals have in the United States? In the last episode about Phyllis Schlafly, we looked at conflicting opinions of what equal rights look like for women. Should they be treated the same as men or have equality plus protections? Let's transfer that question to homosexuals. Should they have equal rights, fewer rights, or equal rights plus protections?
• Should women on the president's council have opened the National Women's Conference to women on the far right?
• What do you think will happen once the conference is launched?

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