Barry Goldwater

Barry Goldwater (1909–1998) was an American politician and author who helped shape modern U.S. conservatism. A businessman from Phoenix, Arizona, he served as a Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona, first elected in 1952, and later returned to the Senate in 1969, serving until 1987. Goldwater was the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 1964, running on a platform that emphasized limited government and a strong national defense. He is widely associated with the influential conservative book *The Conscience of a Conservative* (1960), which articulated themes that would resonate in later Republican politics.