35 WOMEN, LEADERSHIP, AND THE POWER OF THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT instead of the more left-leaning, pro-equal rights Democratic Party.29 Conservative women’s sudden departure from the Democratic Party begs the following questions: Who were these influential women that turned women away from the Democratic Party, and how did they orchestrate such an exodus? PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY’S BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH The Early Years On August 15, 1924, Phyllis (MacAlpin Stewart) Schlafly was born in St. Louis, Illinois, to Bruce and Odile (Dadie) Stewart. Schlafly’s parents christened her in the Catholic Church, and her faith informed and dictated her political and social beliefs. Although Schlafly’s mother obtained a bachelor of arts and a master’s degree, she preferred to stay home with her daughters instead of pursuing her career. However, during the 1940s Depression Era, Schlafly’s mother had to enter the workforce to help provide for her family. Carol Felsenthal, Schlafly’s biographer, argues that her “impatience with women who glorify working and cheapen homemaking probably stems from this fundamental fact of her early life—her mother was forced to work at a time when women did[not]; when she would have much preferred to keep house and work for good causes instead of wages.”30 Her mother’s strength, dignity, education, and perseverance motivated Schlafly to succeed academically and professionally. Schlafly’s father also influenced and shaped her gender views. Though he spent much of the 1930s looking for a job to help support his family, he encouraged his wife when it was apparent her job was more lucrative than his. Mr. Stewart also supported capitalism and free enterprise. Many of his friends noted that “[h]e believed in it [free enterprise] with a fervor that most people save for religion.”31 Later, Schlafly supported and campaigned for politicians, most notably Ronald Reagan, who bolstered free enterprise and limited welfare.32 Education and Career Phyllis Schlafly experienced public and private education. She attended public school for most of her elementary years and returned to City House, a prestigious, all-girls Catholic school to complete her high
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