Seth Perlman / AP
Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly died Sunday at age 92, according to Eagle Forum, the group she founded in 1972.
Schlafly was known for her work against the Equal Rights Amendment, critiquing the work of "radical feminists" and calling on Americans to instead support her "pro-family" movement. She wrote 27 books in support of her views and remained involved in politics through this year, endorsing Donald Trump in March and also attending the Republican National Convention.
Schlafly died in her home in St. Louis surrounded by family, Eagle Forum said.
Schlafly began her career as a lawyer, with degrees from Washington University and Harvard. For 50 years, she published a newsletter, and she was also known for a syndicated newspaper column and appearances on conservative radio.
"Phyllis Schlafly is America’s best-known advocate of the dignity and honor that we as a society owe to the role of fulltime homemaker," her biography on the Eagle Forum website read. "The mother of six children, she was the 1992 Illinois Mother of the Year."
Her first book, 1964's A Choice Not An Echo, was a best seller and credited with pushing the Republican Party into the modern conservative movement. The book's message for Republicans to support a true conservative aligned in the Republican nomination of Barry Goldwater.
In the 1970s, Schlafly campaigned against the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have constitutionally assured that no person could be denied civil rights on the basis of their sex. Schlafly said making laws sex-neutral would harm women by forcing them to register for the draft and deny them other benefits, such as Social Security provisions for dependent wives.
"I think the main goal of the feminist movement was the status degradation of the full-time homemaker," Schlafly told NPR in 2011. "They really wanted to get all women out of the homes and into the workforce. And again and again, they taught that the only fulfilling lifestyle was to be in the workforce reporting to a boss instead of being in the home reporting to a husband. That is an attitude toward marriage and homemaking that I think is intolerable and false."
In a statment, Trump praised her work toward reshaping American conservatism.
"She was a patriot, a champion for women, and a symbol of strength," Trump said. "She fought every day right to the end for America First. Her legacy will live on in the movement she led and the millions she inspired."
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2bZyIWy
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