Background

Barry Morris Goldwater was born on January 2, 1909 in Phoenix, Arizona. His paternal ancestors were Orthodox Jewish innkeepers who emigrated from Poland in the mid-1800s to join the California gold rush. Goldwater's father, Baron Goldwater, managed the family's general store in Phoenix. This store was the humble beginning of what would become an enormously profitable chain, Goldwater's Department Stores. Goldwater's mother, Josephine Williams, was a nurse who raised Goldwater and his siblings in her Episcopalian faith. A woman who loved out-door activities, she took her children hiking and camping throughout Arizona and taught them the colorful history of the region. From her, Goldwater acquired an abiding love of the Southwest and a deep appreciation of its people and its beauty.

Education

Goldwater was a mediocre student who preferred sports and socializing to studying. At Phoenix Union High School, he was elected president of his first-year class, but the principal advised his father that Goldwater should probably attend school elsewhere the following year. Against his strenuous objections, his parents sent him to Staunton Military Academy, in Virginia. There, he excelled at athletics and did better academically than anyone expected, being named best all-around cadet in 1928.

Goldwater loved the military and dreamed of attending West Point. But when he graduated from Staunton, his father was in ill health, and Goldwater instead enrolled at the University of Arizona, at Tucson, to be near his home. His father died before he had finished his first year in college. Goldwater left school a year later to enter the family business.

Career

During the Great Depression, while he was still a clerk in his family’s mercantile store in Phoenix, Barry Goldwater started to take flying lessons, earning his pilot license in 1930. At Christmas of 1934, Goldwater received a gift of a fine camera from his beautiful new wife, Margaret Johnson. This gift turned Goldwater toward what would become his most rewarding hobby. By 1940 Goldwater had taken enough outstanding photos to publish his first book, "Arizona Portraits."

In 1939, when World War II erupted in Europe, Barry was not only president of Goldwater’s (the family store), but also a first lieutenant in the Army Reserves. Meanwhile, a great buildup of American airpower was underway and a flight training school opened at Luke field near Phoenix. When its commander discovered that Goldwater was both an Arizonan and a reserve officer, he quickly signed him up for a one-year tour of active duty with the Air Corps. The commander desperately needed someone who knew his way around the state.

Reporting to Luke in August 1941, Goldwater was quickly disappointed to find that his vision deficiencies and age disqualified him from pilot training. Instead, he became a public relations officer and also attended the Air Corps Supply School at Patterson Field. However, Goldwater’s camera was what finally opened the door to flying, for when he returned, he found that every new pilot wanted to be photographed flying his plane. Aloft in an accompanying plane, Goldwater took a photo of a pilot. Then his own pilot allowed him assume the controls and log the flight time.

Soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Goldwater oversaw the building of an advanced flying school at Yuma, Arizona, where he earned his wings in 1942. As its director of gunnery, he helped to develop the vastly superior “curve of pursuit” training method, which revolutionized gunnery results and which the Army Air Forces adopted. In 1943, Goldwater transferred to the air transport command, ferrying warplanes and supplies to overseas war zones. Soon afterwards, he experienced his most famous war duty while serving as operations officer of the 27th Ferry Squadron. Goldwater volunteered to participate in the first and only attempt to ferry fighter planes to Europe. Taking off from New York in P-47 Thunderbolts equipped with extra fuel tanks, he and nine other pilots flew to Newfoundland. After reaching Greenland, they headed for Iceland, knowing that a forced landing in the frigid Atlantic meant certain death. Fortunately, they arrived safely in Scotland. It was an epic adventure for which Goldwater received the coveted Air Medal.

Goldwater’s next assignment was as chief pilot of the “Crescent” supply route. Operating out of La Guardia, its C-54 transports carried vital supplies across the Atlantic to the Azores, then skipped across North Africa, and ended up in India, where America’s first B-29 bombers were based. Later Goldwater became chief pilot of the “Fireball” route operating out of Miami to Brazil, then across the South Atlantic to Africa and on to India.

Now fully qualified to fly four-engine aircraft, Goldwater repeatedly requested to be transferred to the bomber command. Instead, he received orders back to the U.S. to serve as Deputy Director of Operations with the 402nd Air Base Unit at Glendale, California, later to be redesignated as the 318th Fighter Wing and moved to Van Nuys. Upon the conclusion of the war, Goldwater left the service as a lieutenant colonel with four and a half years of active duty.

When Goldwater returned to Phoenix and took up management of Goldwater’s, he also purchased a Piper Cub and formed a flying club for store employees. Before he finished, 24 members became licensed pilots. He proceeded to use his new Navion during the “Big Snow” of 1947 to airlift in food and medicine to marooned Hopi Indians, an act that earned support for him from the Hopis. Not long afterwards, the governor of Arizona requested that Goldwater assist to establish an Arizona Air National Guard. The result was the 197th Fighter Squadron, of which he later became chief of staff.

Meanwhile, Goldwater began his involvement in politics when he served on a commission seeking Congressional approval of a project to divert Colorado River water into central Arizona. He proceeded to serve on the Phoenix Charter Movement Committee which successfully sponsored a new city chapter. Elected to the Phoenix City Council in 1949, he served as its vice chairman and helped the city become widely respected for its management excellence.

Goldwater’s Uncle Morris had the greatest influence on Goldwater’s thinking by lecturing him for hours about abiding by his convictions. His involvement in state politics continued when he supported Howard Pyle, the Republican candidate for governor, and flew him all over the state in his new Beech Bonanza.

When Goldwater became dissatisfied with the domestic policies of domestic policies and their unwillingness to assure victory in Korea, Barry decided to run for the Senate. Despite a lop-sided Democratic registration in Arizona, Goldwater won. After taking the oath of office, Goldwater joined the Senate committees in banking, commerce, labor and public welfare. He kept his silence until debate began on price control legislation. At that point Goldwater spoke his mind, proclaiming that a day of reckoning would arrive when government deficit spending would threaten to destroy the nation.

In 1953, Goldwater was assigned to the Air Force Reserves and attached to the Continental Air Command’s Fourth Air Force with a “top secret” clearance. While he spent weeks of active duty in his new assignment, he made a special point not to accept the reservist pay to which he was fully entitled. After attending the Senior Officers’ Jet Aircraft Instrument School in 1955, he participated in a simulated SAC war mission by making a 16-hour flight in a B-47 Bomber that included fighter attacks, radar bomb runs and in-flight refueling.

In late 1955, Goldwater received an assignment as a ready reservist to Air Defense Command Headquarters as assistant to the Deputy Director for Personnel. Following this assignment, he transferred to the office of the Director of Legislative Liaison at Air Force Headquarters, and traveled to Germany and Austria to study the military air transport system’s overseas operations, and those of the Hungarian refugee relief organization. As a result of such special flight duties, he was elevated to “Command” pilot, and a year later graduated from the senior officer’s extension course of the Air War College.

Meanwhile, Goldwater continued to speak out, saying that he would not break faith with the American people by supporting the almost frenzied rush to give away the resources and freedoms of America through federal spending programs. He now planted his conservative flag. But despite his conservatism, he supported the expansion of government with regard to matters affecting national security. He supported Alaskan statehood and the creation of the Federal Aviation Agency. By the end of his first term, Goldwater had earned the title, “Mr. Conservative.”

After he easily won re-election in 1958, Goldwater was promoted to brigadier general in the Air Force Reserves. He not only piloted a U-2 reconnaissance plane to 50,000 feet, but later made an extensive inspection of the defense early warning line of radar alert stations stretched along the Arctic circle by flying all the way from Greenland over the North Pole to Alaska. After completing a course on guided missiles in 1960, he received an assignment as Assistant to the Deputy Chief for Personnel in Air Force Headquarters, while also training with the 101st Air Base Wing at Andrews Air Force Base. Meanwhile, he co-sponsored the bill supporting Hawaiian statehood, as well as one to establish the National Wilderness Preservation System.

A movement now began to nominate Goldwater for President, but it was something he did not desire. Though he was greeted by a tumultuous ovation at the Republican National Convention, Goldwater graciously withdrew in favor of Richard Nixon, who later lost a close election to John F. Kennedy. In 1961, Barry traveled to Vietnam to gain first-hand knowledge about the war situation. Later in the year, he and other leaders visited West Germany, Italy, Turkey, Iran and Spain to assess American military strength and influence.

In 1962, the Goldwater family sold its stores to Associated Dry Goods. However, Barry remained as chairman of its board. That same year, after he received a promotion to major general in the Air Force Reserves, he publicly promoted the construction of the controversial RS-70, saying that there must be an appreciation of its reconnaissance, information gathering, and strike potential capabilities. He also visited SAC headquarters, where he flew an 8-hour simulated war mission in an airborne command post involving multi-missile attacks on the United States.

By late 1963, the “Draft Goldwater for President” movement swept the nation. If successful, his nomination would pit him against President Kennedy. But instead, an assassin’s bullet made Lyndon Johnson his opponent. In accepting his party’s nomination, Barry stated that it would be a campaign of principles, not personalities, and promised that it will be a direct confrontation between the welfare state and a society of free, independent, and responsible citizens. But his loss to Johnson was a classic in American politics. Though he put up a valiant fight and risked his political future, his conservatism was a generation too soon to find majority acceptance.

After his defeat, Goldwater continued his Air Force Reserve activities, attending the Senior Officers Orientation Course at the Air War College, and receiving briefings on personnel problems at numerous Air Force bases. In 1967, he retired from the Reserves as a major general with 37 years of devoted service. Re-elected to the Senate by a landslide in 1968, as a member of its committee on aeronautical and space sciences, Goldwater was thrilled when American astronauts step upon the moon in 1969.

In 1969, Goldwater represented President Nixon at the Paris Air Show, and flew the French Concorde SST. He inspected the Russian SST, and fortunately for him he was not permitted fly it. The plane crashed on its next flight. During this period, Goldwater was one of the few political leaders pushing for the building of the National Air and Space Museum, for he had an unusual appreciation for the history of aviation and its pioneers. Fortunately, as a result of his and other’s efforts this great museum stands today as a monument to flight and space.

In 1970, Goldwater published his book, "The Conscience of the Majority", in which he presented a positive outlook at the great issues shaping the 1970s. During these years, he also supported legislation providing for an all-volunteer military, supporting NASA research, funding the purchase of F-14 fighters, and the development of the supersonic B-1 bomber.

After his election to the Senate in 1974, he became the ranking member of its Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee. Among the important legislation that he sponsored was exempting general aviation from emergency fuel allocations, prohibiting unionization of the armed forces, and increasing military pay and benefits.

Goldwater retired in 1987, serving as chair of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees in his final term.

Achievements

• Despite his loss of the 1964 presidential election in a landslide, Goldwater was the politician most often credited with sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s. His book "The Conscience of a Conservative", published in 1960, became an instant hit with the political circles in the US which covers a wide range of topics ranging from Goldwater’s conservative ideologies to civil rights and social welfare programs.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Coming Breakpoint

    (In this book, published in 1976, conservative politician ...)

    1976
  • The Conscience of a Conservative

    ("The Conscience of a Conservative" was published by Goldw...)

    1960
  • The Face of Arizona 1964
  • With No Apologies: The Personal and Political Memoirs of United States Senator Barry M. Goldwater 1979
  • Why Not Victory: A Fresh Look at American Foreign Policy 1962
  • People and Places 1967

Religion

Goldwater was an Episcopalian, though on rare occasions he referred to himself as Jewish. While he did not often attend church, he stated that "If a man acts in a religious way, an ethical way, then he's really a religious man — and it doesn't have a lot to do with how often he gets inside a church."

Politics

Elected as a Republican, Goldwater described himself as "not a me-too Republican" but one "opposed to the superstate and to gigantic, bureaucratic, centralized authority."

Views

A maverick who spoke his mind regardless of consequences, Goldwater was the personification of the Western ideal of rugged individualism. He opposed any intrusion by the federal government in what he considered to be the state's domain. Goldwater's position on gay rights put the former conservative standard-bearer squarely in conflict with religious conservatives who opposed any effort to outlaw discrimination against homosexuals.

Quotations: "A Government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away."

"All the great civilizations fell when people lost their initiative because government moved in to do things for them."

Membership

In 1963, Goldwater joined the Arizona Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was also a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and Sigma Chi fraternity. He belonged to both the York Rite and Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, and was awarded the 33rd degree in the Scottish Rite. After his election to the Senate in 1974, he became the ranking member of its Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee.

Personality

Barry Goldwater developed a reputation for "outspoken unreliability" because even his Republican colleagues could not predict what he might say. He was a prominent spokesman for amateur radio and its enthusiasts. Electronics was a hobby for Goldwater beyond amateur radio. Goldwater was an amateur photographer and in his estate left some 15,000 of his images to three Arizona institutions. He was very keen on candid photography.

Quotes from others about the person

• More than any other person [Goldwater] was the catalyst who transformed the modern-day conservative movement from a lonely voice in the wilderness into a potent political force. He is credited by many with remaking the Republican party and setting it on the conservative course that brought Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush to power many years later.

Interests

• Sport & Clubs

  Goldwater ran track and cross country in high school, where he specialized in the 880 yard run.

Connections

In 1934, Goldwater married Margaret "Peggy" Johnson, daughter of a prominent industrialist from Muncie, Indiana. They had four children: Joanne, Barry, Michael, and Peggy. Goldwater became a widower in 1985, and in 1992 he married Susan Wechsler, a nurse 32 years his junior.

Goldwater's son Barry Goldwater Jr. served as a United States House of Representatives member from California from 1969 to 1983. Goldwater's grandson, Ty Ross, a former Zoli model, is openly gay and HIV positive, and the one who inspired the elder Goldwater "to become an octogenarian proponent of gay civil rights."

Father:

Baron M. Goldwater

Mother:

Hattie Josephine Williams

Spouse:

Susan McMurray Wechsler

late spouse:

Margaret Johnson

Son:

Barry Goldwater

Barry Morris Goldwater Jr. (born July 15, 1938) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California, serving from 1969 to 1983.

Son:

Michael Goldwater

Daughter:

Joanne Goldwater

Daughter:

Margaret Goldwater

Grandfather:

Michel Goldwasser

Michel Goldwasser, a Polish Jew, was born in 1821 in Konin, part of Prussia 1793–1919, whence he immigrated to London following the Revolutions of 1848. Soon after arriving in London, he anglicized his name from Goldwasser to Goldwater. Michel married Sarah Nathan, a member of an English Jewish family, in the Great Synagogue of London.

Friend:

John Kennedy

Friend:

Herbert Hoover

References

• Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus
  2001
• Goldwater
  1989