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{{short description|American conservative interest group}}
The '''Eagle Forum''' is a ] organization founded in ] and led by ]. Primarily focused around social issues, it describes itself as '']''. Membership is around 80,000 . There are two programs geared towards today's youth: the "Teen Eagles" program for ages 12 - 17 and the "Eagle Forum Collegians" for conservative-minded college students.
{{Infobox organization
| logo = Eagle Forum Logo.gif
| logo_size = 118
| type =
| key_people =
| website = https://eagleforum.org/
| name = Eagle Forum
| formation = {{start date and age|1972}}
| founder = ]
| headquarters = ]; ]
| leader_title = President
| leader_name = Kris Ullman
| revenue = $239,244<ref name = 990-2023>{{cite web | url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/510189035 | title=Eagle Forum | date= December 2023 | website=ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer | access-date=2024-09-13 }}</ref>
| revenue_year = 2023
| expenses = $332,333<ref name = 990-2023/>
| expenses_year = 2023
| dissolved =
}}
{{Conservatism US}}
'''Eagle Forum''' is a ] ] in the ] founded by ] in 1972. Focused on ], it is ]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kornfield |first=Meryl |last2=Knowles |first2=Hannah |last3=Cheeseman |first3=Abbie |date=2024-07-17 |title=Republicans approve new platform with revised abortion position |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/15/republican-party-platform-trum-abortion/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and describes itself as ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reischman |first=Collin |date=2015-02-02 |title=Martin will not seek MRP Chairman post |url=https://themissouritimes.com/martin-will-not-seek-mrp-chairman-post/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=The Missouri Times |language=en}}</ref> Critics have described it as ], ], ], and ]. A ] organization, it is affiliated with the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund, which is a ], and the Eagle Forum Political Action Committee (PAC).<ref name=":3">{{cite court|litigants=Eagle Trust Fund v. United States Postal Service, et al.|vol=|reporter=|opinion=19-5090|pinpoint=41a|court=United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|date=June 23, 2020|quote=|postscript=|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-1026/167150/20210125151547390_ETF%20USPS%20Pet%20App.pdf|litigants-force-plain=}}</ref> It organizes the'Eagle Council, an annual training for conservative speakers.<ref name=":4">{{cite book |last1=Ford |first1=Lynne E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVtFJ5tvINsC&pg=PA158 |title=Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics |date=12 May 2010 |isbn=9781438110325 |pages=158 |access-date=2012-03-26}}</ref>


After Eagle Forum endorsed ], board members who supported the ] left the organization and founded Phyllis Schlafly Eagles,<ref name=":5">{{cite web |last1=Moseley |first1=Brandon |date=28 May 2020 |title=Phyllis Schlafly Eagles' President Ed Martin endorses Bill Hightower for Congress |url=https://www.alreporter.com/2020/05/28/phyllis-schlafly-eagles-president-ed-martin-endorses-bill-hightower-for-congress/ |access-date=12 March 2021 |website=Alabama Political Reporter}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=September 19, 2018 |title=Annual Eagle Council honors Phyllis Schlafly with three days of far-right conspiracy theories |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/09/19/annual-eagle-council-honors-phyllis-schlafly-three-days-far-right-conspiracy-theories |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en}}</ref> a 501(c)(4), and Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle PAC.
The organization's ] is stated as:


==History==
''Eagle Forum's Mission is to enable conservative and pro-family men and women to participate in the process of self-government and public policy making so that America will continue to be a land of individual liberty, respect for family integrity, public and private virtue, and private enterprise.''
In 1967, ] launched the Eagle Trust Fund for receiving donations related to conservative causes.<ref name=":3" /> After the 1972 proposal of the ] (ERA), Schlafly reorganized her efforts to defeat its ratification, founding the group "Stop ERA"<ref name="diamond">{{Cite book |last=Diamond |first=Sara (Sara Rose) |url=https://archive.org/details/roadstodominionr00diamrich/page/246 |title=Roads to dominion: right-wing movements and political power in the United States |date=1995 |publisher=New York : Guilford Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-89862-862-3}}</ref> and starting the ''Eagle Forum Newsletter''. In 1975, Stop ERA was renamed the Eagle Forum.<ref name="diamond"/>


The Eagle Forum was part of the ] in the 1970s, which emphasized social issues important to the ] in the conservative movement.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meagher |first=Richard |date=2009-06-10 |title=Remembering the New Right: Political Strategy and the Building of the GOP Coalition |url=https://politicalresearch.org/2009/06/10/remembering-the-new-right-political-strategy-and-the-building-of-the-gop-coalition |journal=Political Research Associates |language=en}}</ref> A similar group, ], formed in 1979, and both grew after the election of ] in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cuniberti |first=Betty |date=1985-10-02 |title=Other Voices Crying Out Against the Feminists : Concerned Women for America at 2nd Convention Join Other Conservatives |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-10-02-vw-16246-story.html |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
The Eagle Forum maintains three offices: the Education Center is located in Clayton (Saint Louis), Missouri; the Operations Center is located in Alton, Illinois; and the Washington, D.C., which focuses on legislation and lobbying.


The Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund was organized in 1981 as a non-profit wing of Eagle Forum.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Eagle Forum v. Phyllis Schlafly's Am. Eagles|vol=451|reporter= F. Supp. 3d |opinion=910|pinpoint= |court=United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois|date=Apr 1, 2020|quote=|postscript=|url=https://casetext.com/case/eagle-forum-v-phyllis-schlaflys-am-eagles-1|litigants-force-plain=}}</ref> It is a ] ] under ] (IRS) code.
==Stances==
''A version of this list from the organization itself can be found ''


In 1994, the Eagle Forum’s political action committee raised $250,000 for ] and ] candidates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rivenburg |first=Roy |date=1996-07-02 |title=Gale-Force Phyllis |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-07-02-ls-20341-story.html |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
'''Opposed''' to:


In the mid-2000s, Eagle Forum, along with the ], mobilized conservative opposition to a so-called ] and the ]. As a result of two organizations' activities, 23 state legislatures saw bills introduced condemning the NAU while the ] and ] administrations were deterred “from any grand initiatives.”<ref name="Pastor 2011 p.">{{cite book | last=Pastor | first=Robert |author-link=Robert Pastor | title=The North American Idea: A Vision of a Continental Future | publisher=Oxford University Press, USA | publication-place=New York | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-19-978241-3 | oclc=741646639 | pages=11, 76}}</ref>
* Encroachments on American soverignity through the ] or treaties
* ]
* ]
* Sending off U.S. troops for participation in foreign wars, unless national security is at risk and respect for ] power is shown.
* The calling of a new ]
* ], self-esteem courses, global education, and ] in the school setting.
* ] or the ]
* Federal involvement in education, such as the ] program, ], and national testing / standards.
* The ] and limitations on ] (such as video recording).
* ] and ].
* Psychological testing without parental consent.
* The federally financed and regulated ].
* The airing of "]" programming in the classroom.
* The ]
* Same-sex marriage
* Proposals for a ]
* The ] program
* ]
* The use of ] in schools
* ]
* ]


Eagle Forum members have often worked within the ]. The Texas state Eagle Forum chairperson, ] was named Republican national committeewoman from Texas at the state convention in 2008 and then, in October 2009, was chosen as interim chairperson of the ].
'''Supports''':


=== Phyllis Schlafly Eagles ===
* A ] defense system.
Disputes among Eagle Forum leaders, including some of Schlafly's children, resulted in court battles, starting in 2016.<ref name="Bernthal 2016">{{cite web | last=Bernthal | first=Jeff | title=Eagle Forum split lands in court | website=FOX 2 | date=April 26, 2016 | url=https://fox2now.com/news/eagle-forum-split-lands-in-court/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429180405/http://fox2now.com/2016/04/26/eagle-forum-split-lands-in-court/ |archive-date=April 29, 2016 |access-date=May 28, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Rachael Herndon |date=2016-04-29 |title=Ed Martin tries to drag Roe into Eagle Forum mess |url=https://themissouritimes.com/ed-martin-tries-to-drag-roe-into-eagle-forum-mess/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=The Missouri Times |language=en}}</ref> Board members who supported the ] left the organization and founded Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, a different 501(c)(4) organization.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" /> Phyllis Schlafly Eagles also established a political action committee, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle PAC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDermott |first=Kevin |date=2016-09-13 |title=Eagle Forum board members accuse Martin of trying to 'monetize' Schlafly's name in wake of her death |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/eagle-forum-board-members-accuse-martin-of-trying-to-monetize-schlaflys-name-in-wake-of/article_6dae1d45-e3b7-5452-ba4c-2ae4004ae58a.html |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |language=en}}</ref>
* The establishment of ].
* A large reduction in ].
* Making ] tax-deductible for individuals.
* An end to ].
* The private enterprise system
* The sanctity of human life and is strongly ].
* Requiring positive ].
* The teaching of ] and believes every child should be able to read and write by the end of the first grade (usually age 7).
* The rights of ]
* Teaching of ] in schools.
* The "]" model for political expression and activism over the internet and through older forms of media.
* The role of the full-time ] and the institution of ]
* Stationing U.S. forces to guard the ].


Leaders of the organizations sued each other over use of organizational mailing lists, use of Schlafly's name and image, and related issues.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kohler |first=Jeremy |date=October 22, 2016 |title=Judge orders shakeup of Schlafly's Eagle Forum |url=https://www.salina.com/story/news/politics/2016/10/22/judge-orders-shakeup-schlafly-s/21174921007/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Salina Journal |language=en-US |agency=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mannies |first=Jo |date=2017-01-03 |title=Battle over Phyllis Schlafly's legacy intensifies, with her children at the center |url=https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2017-01-02/battle-over-phyllis-schlaflys-legacy-intensifies-with-her-children-at-the-center |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=STLPR |language=en}}</ref> In 2017, Eagle Forum declared that Ed Martin, John Schlafly, Andy Schlafly, and Kathleen Sullivan no longer have any connection to Eagle Forum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Montgomery |first=Peter |date=2018-07-27 |title=Eagle Forum Slams Competitor For Using Phyllis Schlafly Name While Supporting Pro-Choice Candidate |url=https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/eagle-forum-slams-competitor-for-using-phyllis-schlafly-name-while-supporting-pro-choice-candidate/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Right Wing Watch |language=en-US}}</ref>
== See also ==
* ]


], president of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles and the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, served as the ] deputy platform policy director in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mannies |first=Jo |date=2017-01-03 |title=Battle over Phyllis Schlafly's legacy intensifies, with her children at the center |url=https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2017-01-02/battle-over-phyllis-schlaflys-legacy-intensifies-with-her-children-at-the-center |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=St. Louis Public Radio (STLPR) |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Steakin |first=Will |last2=Kim |first2=Soo Rin |date=July 9, 2024 |title=Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025 -- but its architects helped shape his RNC party platform |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-distance-project-2025-architects-helped-shape-rnc/story?id=111759747 |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>
== External links ==
*


== Political and social positions ==
]
The Eagle Forum is involved in conservative issues. The Eagle Forum supports English-only education in schools. It opposes federal support for ] and ].<ref name=":4" />
]

Schlafly described the Eagle Forum as an alternative to ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Patricia |date=2016-09-05 |title=Phyllis Schlafly, political activist who helped push GOP to the right, dead at 92 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/09/05/phyllis-schlafly-political-activist-who-helped-push-gop-to-the-right-dead-at-92/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> It is opposed to a number of feminist issues, which founder Phyllis Schlafly claimed were "extremely destructive" and "poisoned the attitudes of many young women." The organization believes only in a family consisting of a father, mother and children. They are supportive of women's right to choose to be "fulltime homemakers",<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Join Eagle Forum and Phyllis Schlafly -- Join Eagle Forum so you will have a voice at the U.S. Capitol and at State Capitols |url=http://www.eagleforum.org/misc/descript.html |access-date=2015-12-02 |website=www.eagleforum.org}}</ref> and oppose ]. Eagle Forum is ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kornfield |first=Meryl |last2=Knowles |first2=Hannah |last3=Cheeseman |first3=Abbie |date=2024-07-17 |title=Republicans approve new platform with revised abortion position |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/15/republican-party-platform-trum-abortion/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> It has defended the push for government defunding of Planned Parenthood.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Planned Parenthood's Odious Activities - Eagle Forum|url = http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/column/planned-parenthoods-odious-activities.html|website = Eagle Forum|access-date = 2015-12-02|language = en-US}}</ref>

=== Opposition to the ERA ===
]
After gaining publicity for her book, '']'', Phyllis Schlafly began her fight against the ratification of the proposed ]. The ERA had passed in the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 354 to 23. Five months later, the amendment passed in the Senate with a vote of 84 to 8, and 7 members abstaining. In order to be adopted into the Constitution, the amendment had to be ratified by three-fourths (38) of the states. Schlafly then reorganized her efforts to defeat its ratification, founding the group "STOP ERA" and starting the Eagle Forum Newsletter. STOP ERA was established in the fall of 1972 an organization dedicated to the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment. The group's name is an acronym for the phrase "Stop Taking Our Privileges".<ref name=":1"/>

In one issue of the Eagle Forum Newsletter, titled "Whats Wrong With Equal Rights for Women", Schlafly argued against the ratification of the ERA on the basis that it would take rights and protections away from women. According to Schlafly, the passage of the ERA could "mean Government-funded abortions, homosexual schoolteachers, women forced into military combat and men refusing to support their wives." The newsletter began to circulate, and many conservative women wrote to their legislators, relaying the concerns voiced by Schlafly in the Eagle Forum Newsletter.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Phyllis Schlafly|url = http://www.makers.com/phyllis-schlafly|website = MAKERS|access-date = 2015-12-02}}</ref> Support for The Eagle Forum grew with the support of many conservative women and various church groups, as did the opposition to the ERA. Many of the same women who had helped Schlafly distribute her book were involved with STOP ERA. Less than a year after its creation, STOP ERA had grown to several thousand members.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade|url = https://archive.org/details/phyllis_cri_2005_00_7649|url-access = registration|quote = stop%2520era.|publisher = Princeton University Press|date = 2005-01-01|isbn = 0691070024|first = Donald T.|last = Critchlow}}</ref>

State legislators were able to vote on the ERA beginning in March 1972 and were given a deadline in 1979. Within a year, thirty states had ratified the ERA, and the amendment needed only eight more states to pass. In 1977, STOP ERA protested the Equal Rights Amendment at the 1977 ] in Houston, Texas. STOP ERA claimed that the national plan of action that was proposed at the conference was “anti-family". At the conference, Phyllis Schlafly teamed up with Indiana State Senator Joan Gubbins to form a "], pro-family" coalition to voice the conservative opposition to the ERA.<ref>{{Cite web|title = NATIONAL WOMEN'S CONFERENCE, 1977|url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pwngq|website = tshaonline.org|access-date = 2015-12-02|first = COTTRELL, DEBBIE|last = MAULDIN}}</ref> Schlafly also testified against the potentially harmful effects of the ERA before Georgia, Virginia, Missouri, and Arkansas legislatures. STOP ERA's tactics were successful; by the 1979 deadline the amendment still needed three states to pass. The ERA was then given a three-year extension, during which no states ratified or rescinded the amendment. By the time of the ERA's defeat, the Eagle Forum had reached 50,000 members.<ref name=":1" />

Since its initial defeat, the Equal Rights Amendment has been revisited by legislators, such as ].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Equal Rights Amendment|url = http://maloney.house.gov/issues/womens-issues/equal-rights-amendment|website = Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney|access-date = 2015-12-02|archive-date = 2015-12-08|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208062520/http://maloney.house.gov/issues/womens-issues/equal-rights-amendment|url-status = dead}}</ref> In March 2021, a United States Federal court ruled that the window of time to ratify the ERA had expired and recent efforts by Nevada, Illinois and Virginia to support ratification are "too late to count".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stracqualursi |first=Veronica |date=2021-03-07 |title=Federal judge says deadline to ratify ERA 'expired long ago' in setback to advocates' efforts |url=https://abc7chicago.com/10395278/ |access-date=2021-09-07 |website=ABC7 Chicago |language=en}}</ref>

== Programs and activities ==
The Forum has a "Teen Eagles" program for children ages 13–19, and "Eagle Forum Collegians" for conservative-minded college students.<ref name=":4" /> Phyllis Schlafly's son, Andrew Schlafly, started ], a wiki-based encyclopedia project, with students from an "Eagle Forum University" project.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vettese |first=Troy |title=What's the Difference Between Misplaced Pages and Conservapedia? |url=https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/whats-the-difference-between-wikipedia-and-conserv |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=History News Network |language=en}}</ref>

There are also state chapters of the Eagle Forum, such as the Utah Eagle Forum led by ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schott |first=Bryan |date=January 10, 2022 |title=Eagle Forum conference helps inject fringe ideas into Utah’s political mainstream |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2022/01/10/eagle-forum-conference/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Doug |date=2004-11-07 |title=Eagle eye: Moral crusader Ruzicka wields 'phone tree' |url=https://www.deseret.com/2004/11/7/19859730/eagle-eye-moral-crusader-ruzicka-wields-phone-tree/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Deseret News |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Conservatism}}
* ]
* ]
*]<ref name=":6" />

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://eagleforum.org/}}
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|510189035|Eagle Forum 501(c)(4)}}
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|371097202|Eagle Forum Education And Legal Defense Fund 501(c)(3)}}
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|823851756|Eagle Forum Foundation 501(c)(3)}}

{{American Social Conservatism}}
{{Authority control}}

]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 13:56, 26 December 2024

American conservative interest group
Eagle Forum
Formation1972; 52 years ago (1972)
FounderPhyllis Schlafly
HeadquartersAlton, Illinois; Washington, D.C.
PresidentKris Ullman
Revenue$239,244 (2023)
Expenses$332,333 (2023)
Websitehttps://eagleforum.org/
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Eagle Forum is a conservative advocacy group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972. Focused on social issues, it is socially conservative and describes itself as pro-family. Critics have described it as anti-feminist, anti-LGBT, ultraconservative, and far-right. A 501(c)(4) organization, it is affiliated with the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and the Eagle Forum Political Action Committee (PAC). It organizes the'Eagle Council, an annual training for conservative speakers.

After Eagle Forum endorsed Ted Cruz in the 2016 election, board members who supported the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign left the organization and founded Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, a 501(c)(4), and Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle PAC.

History

In 1967, Phyllis Schlafly launched the Eagle Trust Fund for receiving donations related to conservative causes. After the 1972 proposal of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), Schlafly reorganized her efforts to defeat its ratification, founding the group "Stop ERA" and starting the Eagle Forum Newsletter. In 1975, Stop ERA was renamed the Eagle Forum.

The Eagle Forum was part of the New Right in the 1970s, which emphasized social issues important to the Christian right in the conservative movement. A similar group, Concerned Women for America, formed in 1979, and both grew after the election of Ronald Reagan in 1981.

The Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund was organized in 1981 as a non-profit wing of Eagle Forum. It is a tax deductible charity under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code.

In 1994, the Eagle Forum’s political action committee raised $250,000 for Senate and House of Representatives candidates.

In the mid-2000s, Eagle Forum, along with the John Birch Society, mobilized conservative opposition to a so-called North American Union and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. As a result of two organizations' activities, 23 state legislatures saw bills introduced condemning the NAU while the Bush and Obama administrations were deterred “from any grand initiatives.”

Eagle Forum members have often worked within the Republican Party. The Texas state Eagle Forum chairperson, Cathie Adams was named Republican national committeewoman from Texas at the state convention in 2008 and then, in October 2009, was chosen as interim chairperson of the Republican Party of Texas.

Phyllis Schlafly Eagles

Disputes among Eagle Forum leaders, including some of Schlafly's children, resulted in court battles, starting in 2016. Board members who supported the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign left the organization and founded Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, a different 501(c)(4) organization. Phyllis Schlafly Eagles also established a political action committee, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle PAC.

Leaders of the organizations sued each other over use of organizational mailing lists, use of Schlafly's name and image, and related issues. In 2017, Eagle Forum declared that Ed Martin, John Schlafly, Andy Schlafly, and Kathleen Sullivan no longer have any connection to Eagle Forum.

Ed Martin, president of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles and the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, served as the Republican National Committee deputy platform policy director in 2024.

Political and social positions

The Eagle Forum is involved in conservative issues. The Eagle Forum supports English-only education in schools. It opposes federal support for daycare and sex education.

Schlafly described the Eagle Forum as an alternative to women's liberation. It is opposed to a number of feminist issues, which founder Phyllis Schlafly claimed were "extremely destructive" and "poisoned the attitudes of many young women." The organization believes only in a family consisting of a father, mother and children. They are supportive of women's right to choose to be "fulltime homemakers", and oppose same-sex marriage. Eagle Forum is anti-abortion. It has defended the push for government defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Opposition to the ERA

Symbol used for signs and buttons by ERA opponents

After gaining publicity for her book, A Choice, Not an Echo, Phyllis Schlafly began her fight against the ratification of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA had passed in the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 354 to 23. Five months later, the amendment passed in the Senate with a vote of 84 to 8, and 7 members abstaining. In order to be adopted into the Constitution, the amendment had to be ratified by three-fourths (38) of the states. Schlafly then reorganized her efforts to defeat its ratification, founding the group "STOP ERA" and starting the Eagle Forum Newsletter. STOP ERA was established in the fall of 1972 an organization dedicated to the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment. The group's name is an acronym for the phrase "Stop Taking Our Privileges".

In one issue of the Eagle Forum Newsletter, titled "Whats Wrong With Equal Rights for Women", Schlafly argued against the ratification of the ERA on the basis that it would take rights and protections away from women. According to Schlafly, the passage of the ERA could "mean Government-funded abortions, homosexual schoolteachers, women forced into military combat and men refusing to support their wives." The newsletter began to circulate, and many conservative women wrote to their legislators, relaying the concerns voiced by Schlafly in the Eagle Forum Newsletter. Support for The Eagle Forum grew with the support of many conservative women and various church groups, as did the opposition to the ERA. Many of the same women who had helped Schlafly distribute her book were involved with STOP ERA. Less than a year after its creation, STOP ERA had grown to several thousand members.

State legislators were able to vote on the ERA beginning in March 1972 and were given a deadline in 1979. Within a year, thirty states had ratified the ERA, and the amendment needed only eight more states to pass. In 1977, STOP ERA protested the Equal Rights Amendment at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas. STOP ERA claimed that the national plan of action that was proposed at the conference was “anti-family". At the conference, Phyllis Schlafly teamed up with Indiana State Senator Joan Gubbins to form a "pro-life, pro-family" coalition to voice the conservative opposition to the ERA. Schlafly also testified against the potentially harmful effects of the ERA before Georgia, Virginia, Missouri, and Arkansas legislatures. STOP ERA's tactics were successful; by the 1979 deadline the amendment still needed three states to pass. The ERA was then given a three-year extension, during which no states ratified or rescinded the amendment. By the time of the ERA's defeat, the Eagle Forum had reached 50,000 members.

Since its initial defeat, the Equal Rights Amendment has been revisited by legislators, such as Carolyn Maloney. In March 2021, a United States Federal court ruled that the window of time to ratify the ERA had expired and recent efforts by Nevada, Illinois and Virginia to support ratification are "too late to count".

Programs and activities

The Forum has a "Teen Eagles" program for children ages 13–19, and "Eagle Forum Collegians" for conservative-minded college students. Phyllis Schlafly's son, Andrew Schlafly, started Conservapedia, a wiki-based encyclopedia project, with students from an "Eagle Forum University" project.

There are also state chapters of the Eagle Forum, such as the Utah Eagle Forum led by Gayle Ruzicka.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Eagle Forum". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. December 2023. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  2. Kornfield, Meryl; Knowles, Hannah; Cheeseman, Abbie (2024-07-17). "Republicans approve new platform with revised abortion position". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  3. Reischman, Collin (2015-02-02). "Martin will not seek MRP Chairman post". The Missouri Times. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  4. ^ Eagle Trust Fund v. United States Postal Service, et al., 19-5090, 41a (United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit June 23, 2020).
  5. ^ Ford, Lynne E. (12 May 2010). Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics. p. 158. ISBN 9781438110325. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  6. ^ Moseley, Brandon (28 May 2020). "Phyllis Schlafly Eagles' President Ed Martin endorses Bill Hightower for Congress". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Annual Eagle Council honors Phyllis Schlafly with three days of far-right conspiracy theories". Southern Poverty Law Center. September 19, 2018. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  8. ^ Diamond, Sara (Sara Rose) (1995). Roads to dominion: right-wing movements and political power in the United States. Internet Archive. New York : Guilford Press. ISBN 978-0-89862-862-3.
  9. Meagher, Richard (2009-06-10). "Remembering the New Right: Political Strategy and the Building of the GOP Coalition". Political Research Associates.
  10. Cuniberti, Betty (1985-10-02). "Other Voices Crying Out Against the Feminists : Concerned Women for America at 2nd Convention Join Other Conservatives". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  11. Eagle Forum v. Phyllis Schlafly's Am. Eagles, 451 F. Supp. 3d 910 (United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois Apr 1, 2020).
  12. Rivenburg, Roy (1996-07-02). "Gale-Force Phyllis". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  13. Pastor, Robert (2011). The North American Idea: A Vision of a Continental Future. New York: Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 11, 76. ISBN 978-0-19-978241-3. OCLC 741646639.
  14. Bernthal, Jeff (April 26, 2016). "Eagle Forum split lands in court". FOX 2. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  15. Dunn, Rachael Herndon (2016-04-29). "Ed Martin tries to drag Roe into Eagle Forum mess". The Missouri Times. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  16. McDermott, Kevin (2016-09-13). "Eagle Forum board members accuse Martin of trying to 'monetize' Schlafly's name in wake of her death". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  17. Kohler, Jeremy (October 22, 2016). "Judge orders shakeup of Schlafly's Eagle Forum". Salina Journal. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  18. Mannies, Jo (2017-01-03). "Battle over Phyllis Schlafly's legacy intensifies, with her children at the center". STLPR. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  19. Montgomery, Peter (2018-07-27). "Eagle Forum Slams Competitor For Using Phyllis Schlafly Name While Supporting Pro-Choice Candidate". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  20. Mannies, Jo (2017-01-03). "Battle over Phyllis Schlafly's legacy intensifies, with her children at the center". St. Louis Public Radio (STLPR). Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  21. ^ Steakin, Will; Kim, Soo Rin (July 9, 2024). "Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025 -- but its architects helped shape his RNC party platform". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  22. Sullivan, Patricia (2016-09-05). "Phyllis Schlafly, political activist who helped push GOP to the right, dead at 92". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  23. "Join Eagle Forum and Phyllis Schlafly -- Join Eagle Forum so you will have a voice at the U.S. Capitol and at State Capitols". www.eagleforum.org. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  24. Kornfield, Meryl; Knowles, Hannah; Cheeseman, Abbie (2024-07-17). "Republicans approve new platform with revised abortion position". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  25. "Planned Parenthood's Odious Activities - Eagle Forum". Eagle Forum. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  26. ^ Critchlow, Donald T. (2005-01-01). Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691070024. stop%2520era.
  27. "Phyllis Schlafly". MAKERS. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  28. MAULDIN, COTTRELL, DEBBIE. "NATIONAL WOMEN'S CONFERENCE, 1977". tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2015-12-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. "Equal Rights Amendment". Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  30. Stracqualursi, Veronica (2021-03-07). "Federal judge says deadline to ratify ERA 'expired long ago' in setback to advocates' efforts". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  31. Vettese, Troy. "What's the Difference Between Misplaced Pages and Conservapedia?". History News Network. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  32. Schott, Bryan (January 10, 2022). "Eagle Forum conference helps inject fringe ideas into Utah's political mainstream". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  33. Robinson, Doug (2004-11-07). "Eagle eye: Moral crusader Ruzicka wields 'phone tree'". Deseret News. Retrieved 2024-09-14.

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