Founding Mother

Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman’s Crusade, by Donald T. Critchlow (Princeton, 438 pp., $29.95)

During a 1973 debate with Phyllis Schlafly, Betty Friedan fumed, “I’d like to burn you at the stake.” But Friedan’s conservative witch was inflammable, and unflappable. By the time the veteran conservative organizer was leading the successful battle to kill the Equal Rights Amendment, she was immune to the rantings of an angry feminist. For over 20 years, Phyllis Schlafly had been patronized, purged, and pilloried for the causes she championed. The praise she deserves has finally arrived, in this overdue tribute to her half-century of grass-roots activism.

About the Author

Kate O'Beirne

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Equal Rights Amendment

Feminism

Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman’s Crusade, by Donald T. Critchlow (Princeton, 438 pp., $29.95)

During a 1973 debate with Phyllis Schlafly, Betty Friedan fumed, “I’d like to burn you at the stake.” But Friedan’s conservative witch was inflammable, and unflappable. By the time the veteran conservative organizer was leading the successful battle to kill the Equal Rights Amendment, she was immune to the rantings of an angry feminist. For over 20 years, Phyllis Schlafly had been patronized, purged, and pilloried for the causes she championed. The praise she deserves has finally arrived, in this overdue tribute to her half-century of grass-roots activism.