Barry Goldwater

Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was a conservative politician from the United States. He represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate.

Goldwater was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He became a U.S. Senator from Arizona for the Republican Party in 1953 and ran for president of the United States in 1964 against President Lyndon B. Johnson, but Johnson easily won since voters considered Goldwater too conservative.

Goldwater was a Freemason and the official author of the bestseller The Conscience of a Conservative (1960), but it was ghostwritten by his speechwriter L. Brent Bozell Jr. He was also a commentator on the CNN (Cable News Network) in its early years.^[1]

After he retired from the Sentate, Goldwater died from a stroke in Paradise Valley, Arizona, aged 89. He was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Goldwater was called "Mr. Conservative" during his political career. He became a U.S. Senator from Arizona in 1953 and replaced Ernest McFarland. In 1960, the bestsellerThe Conscience of a Conservative listed him as author, but it was ghostwritten by his speechwriter L. Brent Bozell Jr. Goldwater made his most famous quote in July 1964 at the Republican Party's convention in San Francisco: "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." He meant that people should always do what was necessary to make the world freer and more just even if that was difficult or made them unpopular.

The speech helped him become the Republican Party's candidate for president, and he ran against the Democratic Party's candidate, President Lyndon B. Johnson. Goldwater lost to Johnson by a large margin since voters considered Goldwater too conservative.

Goldwater remained in the Senate after Johnson easily won the election. His run for president helped today's conservative movement, which agrees with many of Goldwater's ideas. Hovever, he supported the separation of church and state, legal abortion, and gay rights despite social conservatives opposing them.

Goldwater stayed in the Senate until 1987. He helped Sandra Day O'Connor get on the Supreme Court. He passed a military reform law. Goldwater retired to Arizona after he left the Senate. He died in Paradise Valley, Arizona, in 1998.

Goldwater enjoyed photography, airplanes, and radio. He collected Kachina Dolls, which are made by the Hopi, Native Americans of Arizona. He donated his collection to a museum. He had four children.

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